Leo van Doesburg

ECPM MEPs  expressed their concerns about the new law on religious communities that was adopted in Montenegro in the beginning of this year. In a statement , they call on the government of Montenegro to abide by and implement the recommendations of the Venice Commission     and to refrain from using violence against its citizens. It also asked the European Commission to closely monitor the performance of the government of Montenegro regarding freedom of religion, as it constitutes an essential element of the EU accession.  But what has happened in Montenegro? Why does this new law raise concerns on the Freedom of Religion in Montenegro? Read  here an analysis of my colleague Lefteris Kaloterakis. 

This morning we had a meeting with our contact person Sinisa who discussed with us about the current situation in Montenegro. The situation is not that positive. Although the country is focusing to integra te in the European Union and is an official candidate for membership in the EU, there is a lot of corruption and individual interests that determine the Montenegrin political scene. Besides, the obtaining a legal status (citizenship) for people who are living for decades as refugees from other countries of former Yugoslavia is (still) problematic. The strange and unrealistic criteria and the bureaucracy are working against them. This has as consequence that thousands of people from different areas from different countries of former Yugoslavia are living in Montenegro for 12-15 years, but do not have a legal status as well as many people from the Roma background that did not receive any identity card. This is a significant number, because the official number of inhabitants of Montene...

This morning we woke up earlier, because we would have a long trip today. We left around 08:00 hrs from the hotel where we stayed. A great place only two tram-stops from the center of Zagreb. It was nice weather although still quite cold and the temperature showed minus 7 degrees. However the weather soon became warmer and the environment changed and so did the weather. We quickly reached the coast and while we in the beginning of the trip were walking on ice and snow, now it was nice spring weather with a clear blue sky (with a temperature of around plus 13 degrees! A difference of 20 degrees between t he morning we left and the afternoon. Together with the beautiful surroundings, I thought already about the summer. The road was good, and we stopped in Dubrovnik to see the panorama of the city. After Dubrovnik we had to leave the highway and it took a long time before we reached Kotor, a beautiful city on the coast in Montenegro where we had our dinner. After the dinner we went furthe...

During the whole week of the International Summer School "(South East) Europe between Identity and Integration" you can follow the developments by reading the mini-blogs on the ECPYN blogspot. Jonathan van Tongeren, secretary general of ECPYN will post there regularly. You can find the ECPYN blogspot at http://ecpyn.blogspot.com