The dispute between the government and opposition over the retirement of a Constitutional Court judge at the end of the last year led to a parliamentary deadlock and political crisis in Montenegro, a country with ambitious plans on its path to the EU.
With the mediation of the European Union, an agreement was reached to resolve the crisis by seeking the opinion of the Venice Commission, a body of the Council of Europe, on whether the Montenegrin Constitution was violated.
Regardless of the agreement reached, the government and opposition in Montenegro have yet to agree on the text of the request to the Venice Commission for an opinion regarding recent events involving the Constitutional Court.
The Venice Commission’s opinion is expected to resolve a contentious issue that sparked a political crisis. The controversy centers on the Parliament’s decision in December to declare the termination of Constitutional Court Judge Dragana Đuranović’s mandate without informing the Constitutional Court.
On December 17 last year, the Parliament declared Đuranović’s mandate terminated, despite fierce opposition. Opposition parties obstructed parliamentary sessions, arguing that the Constitution had been violated by terminating Đuranović’s mandate without the mandatory notification of the Constitutional Court.
The decision was based on the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance (PIO), which mandates retirement upon reaching the age of 65 and a minimum of 15 years of service or upon completing 40 years of service and reaching the age of 61. However, the Constitutional Court judges, by majority vote, maintained that they should retire according to the Labor Law, which stipulates mandatory retirement at the age of 66 with at least 15 years of service.
Legal debates over which law should apply to the retirement of Constitutional Court judges have persisted for years. The decision regarding Đuranović led to a political and parliamentary crisis that was eventually resolved through EU mediation.
The opposition labeled the decision on Đuranović as a “constitutional coup,” accusing the ruling parties of attempting to create a politically compliant Constitutional Court to pass unlawful decisions. Led by the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), the opposition blocked multiple parliamentary sessions, standing in front of the presiding officer’s desk. In response, Parliament Speaker Andrija Mandić sanctioned opposition MPs by suspending them from plenary sessions for 15 working days, lasting a month and a half.
Through the mediation of the EU Delegation in Montenegro, an agreement was signed between the largest ruling party, Europe Now Movement (PES), and the main opposition party, DPS. The agreement includes a provision to seek the Venice Commission’s binding opinion on Judge Đuranović’s case while temporarily halting the appointment of a new Constitutional Court judge. The deal also commits to avoiding polarizing issues, such as identity questions, without prior political consensus.
However, not all ruling and opposition parties were involved in the agreement. Despite this, parliamentary work has resumed.
“The opposition returned to Parliament immediately after the agreement was signed, although it is already evident that the commitments from the agreement—sending the request to the Venice Commission and setting aside divisive topics—are difficult to fulfill. It took ten days to harmonize the text of the request to the Venice Commission because the government and opposition could not agree on whether to frame the question as ‘was the Constitution respected’ or ‘was the Constitution violated,'” says Biljana Matijašević, journalist at Vijesti.
She adds for European Western Balkans that the opposition realized it was politically disadvantageous to remain absent from Parliament ahead of the local elections in Nikšić and Herceg Novi, as the Parliament is a key platform for political messaging and party promotion.
Matijašević noted it was surprising that not all ruling and opposition parties were included in the EU-mediated resolution of the political crisis.
“It is evident that the decision was made to take a shorter, faster route by inviting the main ruling party, Europe Now Movement (PES), and the largest opposition party (DPS) to the negotiations,” Matijašević said, adding that these parties influence others to accept the agreement.
In an initial reaction, Andrija Mandić’s party stated that the signed agreement was not the result of a consensus between the government and opposition but rather a deal made by Spajić’s party, PES.
“PES can negotiate solely on its own behalf, not on behalf of the entire government,” said Jovan Vučurović from Mandić’s New Serb Democracy.
Government’s Ambition: Closing Nine Chapters in 2025
Montenegro remains the frontrunner in the EU accession process in the Western Balkans. Last year, three negotiation chapters were closed. Montenegro also met the final benchmarks for another chapter, but its opening was blocked by Croatia in December due to Montenegro’s adoption of a resolution on Jasenovac, Mauthausen, and Dachau. The resolution was pushed by pro-Serbian parties within the ruling coalition.
Following Croatia’s blockade, intense negotiations between Montenegrin and Croatian authorities have been ongoing to resolve bilateral issues.
Montenegro aims to fulfill all obligations by 2026, with the ambition to close nine negotiation chapters in 2025. Chief Negotiator Predrag Zenović stated that an intergovernmental conference is expected in June to close several chapters, with another conference planned for the end of the year.
“We are internally ready to close Chapter 4 – Free Movement of Capital, Chapter 5 – Public Procurement, and Chapter 31 – Foreign, Security, and Defense Policy. However, closing these chapters requires consensus from all EU members, including Croatia, which blocked the process last year,” Zenović said.
He added that the pace depends on both the government’s work and parliamentary activities, which were partially blocked in recent months, potentially affecting the closing of chapters.
Biljana Matijašević argued that the pace of European integration has not met the government’s promises, adding that the government, not the opposition, bears responsibility.
“Montenegro closed three chapters last year instead of four because Croatia blocked the fourth due to the adoption of the resolution on Jasenovac, Mauthausen, and Dachau. The resolution was pushed by pro-Serbian ruling parties. Additionally, the government has so far refused to fulfill the Reform Agenda obligation to introduce visas for two non-EU countries (Russia and Belarus),” Matijašević said.
Polarizing issues remain dominant
Last year, Montenegro’s government published the “Barometer 26” platform, urging key parliamentary actors to cooperate to conclude accession negotiations by the end of 2026. The ruling coalition pledged to focus on national unity and EU integration while leaving polarizing issues to a separate resolution mechanism. Such issues include identity topics and other sensitive matters that could incite ethnic or religious tensions or destabilize Montenegro’s national security.
However, ethnic and religious issues remain dominant in Montenegrin politics, often propagated by members of the ruling coalition, particularly pro-Serbian parties led by Andrija Mandić and Milan Knežević.
“Although all parties publicly support EU integration, many seize every opportunity to raise polarizing issues such as dual citizenship, language, and the church to gain political points, especially ahead of elections,” said Matijašević.
“For example, the long-announced government reshuffle has yet to be tabled in Parliament. Milan Knežević’s Democratic People’s Party (DNP) has said it will not support the reshuffle until it receives answers regarding dialogue on the Serbian language and dual citizenship,” Matijašević explained.