Vice President of the Parliament of Montenegro Mr Branko Radulović paid a study visit to the Kingdom of Denmark, from 21 to 24 October. During his visit he met with Deputy Speaker of the Danish Parliament and a member of the Nordic Council Presidium Mr Bertel Haarder, who also hosted the visit, chairpersons and deputy chairpersons of the following committees: Foreign Policy Committee, Foreign Affairs Committee, European Affairs Committee, Climate, Energy and Building Committee, Business, Growth and Export Committee, Legal Affairs Committee, and Environment Committee as well as with reputable professors and experts for the Western Balkans affairs.

The visit was organised in the context of promotion of cooperation between the parliaments of Montenegro and Denmark and exchange of opinions in the process of European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Montenegro, progress that Montenegro had achieved and further activities which were required in order to meet the EU membership criteria, but also on internal challenges that the EU was facing and its future steps in this context.

During the meeting with numerous representatives of the Danish Parliament, Vice President Radulović was especially interested in the opinions of the Danish parliamentarians regarding further enlargement of the EU and especially on position of Montenegro in this process, but also reforms at the European Union level.

Representatives of the Danish parliament were in agreement that the enlargement process of the European Union needed to continue, and that every country that wanted to be a member and met the membership criteria should be a part of the Union. They especially emphasised the existence of membership perspective for the Western Balkan countries, especially those that had started the negotiation process, including Montenegro. However, it was of the essence to fulfil the criteria, implement reforms and achieve tangible results.

In addition, they pointed out that Montenegro was facing significant challenges regarding the strengthening of the rule of law and fighting organised crime and corruption at a high level.

On the other hand, it was pointed out that due to certain internal challenges, within the Union itself as well, there would be certain reforms in the political, economic and administrative context.

Referring to the Euro-Atlantic integration, the Danish parliamentarians said, among other things, that due to developments at the international level, enlargement was not one of the NATO priorities at the moment.  

In addition to European and Euro-Atlantic integration, the topics covered at the meeting included the position of the Danish Parliament in the political system of this country, its control and oversight role over the work of the executive power, work of the judicial bodies, election of judicial officials, as well as some topics from the field of human rights, economic and social policy, entrepreneurship, energy and environmental protection.

As especially useful to Montenegro Vice President Radulović evaluated the experiences of Denmark in the field of economic and social policy, entrepreneurship, energy and protection of the environment, having in mind that that Denmark was recognised as one of the most successful countries in stimulating entrepreneurship and modernising of the welfare system, and that it was a country with the standard of living among the highest in the world.  

During the three day stay in Denmark, in addition to the Danish parliament, Vice President Radulović also visited the Office of Parliamentary Ombudsman, where they spoke of the effectiveness of work of the Danish Ombudsman who, among other things, significantly contributed to achieving a high level of transparency of work of public institutions and fighting against corruption, significance of establishing a good cooperation between the protector of human rights and the parliament, and developing citizens’ trust in its work.

The Vice President also visited the European Environmental Agency, where they talked about establishing effective monitoring system of the state of the environment and about support which the Agency could provide for Montenegro in strengthening of this system, finding funds and new solutions in order to enhance the state of the environment.