Luksic to Discuss EU Requirements with Opposition

"In the coming days I will initiate political consultations with representatives of the opposition on the topic of European integration in an attempt to reach a solution as quickly as possible when it comes to election legislation and also everything else that is currently hindering our path to the European Union,” Luksic said following talks with visiting German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle.

The EU has made it clear that Montenegro must fulfil various conditions if it is to be considered eligible for EU membership. One of these conditions is the updating of its election law.

However previous attempts to pass a reformed election law have so far failed. Adoption of the law requires that two thirds of the Montenegrin parliament vote in favour of it. However, in seven previous attempts opposition parties have either voted against or abstained from voting.

A key stumbling block in talks so far as revolved around the issue of language. Opposition parties have demanded that Serbian be included in Montenegro’s education system and argued for the resolution of questions surrounding nationality.

Westerwelle has previously said that every country joining the EU must have a democratic legislation and has welcomed the readiness of the Montenegrin government to treat the question of the election law as a priority.

“The EU is a community of democracies and part of that are free and fair elections and appropriate electoral legislation. Elections must be organised in such a way that respects democratic principles,” the German foreign minister was reported as saying.