On day one of the meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA), President of the Parliament of Montenegro Mr Ivan Brajović met with high officials of this organisation. The meetings were also attended by Vice President of the Parliament of Montenegro Mr Branimir Gvozdenović.
Mr Brajović spoke with the OSCE PA's Special Representative on South East Europe Mr Roberto Battelli, and then with Special Representative on Mediation Mr Ilkka Kanerva. After that followed the meetings with the OSCE PA's Secretary General Mr Roberto Montella and Special Representative and Head of the OSCE PA's Vienna Office Mr Andreas Nothelle.
During the day, Mr Brajović also spoke with the OSCE PA’s Vice President Mr Kent Härstedt, and then with Head of the OSCE PA's Observation Mission on the October elections Ms Margareta Cederfelt, as well as with rapporteur Mr Azay Guliyev.
- I spoke with high officials of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, on the topic of the need for a more intensive cooperation among the national parliaments of the member states of this organisation. My interlocutors have shown great interest in the work of the Parliament of Montenegro, after the positive assessment of its parliamentary elections. I emphasised excellent cooperation of state institutions with the OSCE's Observation Mission, thus reaffirming the cooperation, in the spirit of demonstrated mutual trust and responsibility. I informed my interlocutors that Montenegro and its institutions constantly work on improvement of fundamental democratic values, which we have been strengthening in cooperation with the OSCE partners. Those values entail, among other things, respect for human rights and freedoms, including the freedom of expression and the right to unobstructed performance of activities, President Brajović summed up his bilateral activities during day one of the Winter Meeting of the OSCE PA.
The joint meeting of the three general committees, which was opened by OSCE PA President Ms Christine Muttonen together with President of the National Council of Austria Ms Doris Bures, was preceded by the meeting of the Standing Committee where, among other things, the rapporteurs presented their findings during their time in observation missions. They presented comments to the parliamentary elections in Montenegro, as well as the events relating to the attempt of the terrorist act, which were the subject of the activities of the state authorities of Montenegro.
Key findings of the OSCE Pa’s observers’ report confirmed that “Montenegrin people voted in a peaceful and regulated manner, and under a revised legal framework. The elections were held in a competitive environment and characterised by general respect for fundamental freedoms”. The report gives recommendation for overcoming weaknesses in implementation of electoral legislation.
It was also emphasised at the OSCE Pa’s Standing Committee that in the elections the citizens of Montenegro had made important decisions with regard to strategic and geopolitical positioning of the country. The need for all parties to contribute to continuation of reforms in Montenegro through joint efforts was also pointed out.
The President of the Parliament of Montenegro thanked the rapporteurs on the objective image of the elections in Montenegro which was presented today to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.
In separate meetings of the three committees, in accordance with their responsibilities, they considered the security challenges from the aspect of growing populism, spread of terrorism, and climate change.
In addition to President Brajović, the Permanent Delegation of the Parliament of Montenegro to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly consists of the Vice President of the Parliament Mr Branimir Gvozdenović, and MPs Ms Aleksandra Vuković and Mr Nikola Rakočević.
The OSCE PA's Special Representative on South East Europe Mr Roberto Battelli said:
- In the capacity of the OSCE PA's Special Representative on South East Europe, I had the opportunity to exchange opinions with President Brajović, with special reference to the region which also includes Montenegro. Montenegro’s choice to join the European Union and NATO, i.e. its path towards the Euro-Atlantic integration as one of its priorities, may contribute to stability of the country and the region. Considering that the EU and the OSCE share the same principles, I believe that they should support this choice of Montenegro, said Mr Battelli.
Following the meeting, the OSCE PA's Secretary General Mr Roberto Montella said:
- I had a very interesting meeting with the President of the Parliament of Montenegro, we discussed the current political situation in Montenegro. Considering that I have a long experience with Montenegro, dating back from 2003, we discussed the progress of Montenegro in the reform processes relating to the aspects of implementation of laws, judiciary, and media. We noticed excellent progress achieved by Montenegro since 2003. We also discussed regional issues in South East Europe, perspective of the country with regard to the European Union and NATO. We also commented on the issues that the OSCE deals with, such as terrorism and migration. It was a very interesting meeting. The President has shown great interest in taking part in multilateral diplomacy here, said Mr Montella.
VIDEO:
Youtube: Bilateral meetings and declarations of Mr Batelli and Mr Montella
Cloud: Bilateral meetings and declarations of Mr Batelli and Mr Montella
Youtube: Joint meetings
Cloud: Joint meetings
