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The Paradoxes of Moldovan Sports. An insight into the nature of the Transnistrian conflict

Author(s): Adam Eberhardt / Language(s): English

Mutual relations in the area of sports, which in contemporary international contacts often not only reflect the true nature of political relations but sometimes even affect them, can be a valuable contribution to the analysis of this conflict’s nature.Why did the Transnistrian government, despite the use of anti-Moldovan rhetoric, agree to Transnistrian athletes representing Moldova during the Olympics and in other international competitions? Why does it accept the presence of sports teams from both banks of the Dniester playing in the same leagues? Why does Transnistria, despite being much smaller, predominate in many sports? How is it that Sheriff Tiraspol, the flagship football club of the business and political circles controlling Transnistria, managed to win the Moldovan championship ten times in a row and is the main source of players for Moldova’s national team? Does sport really ‘know no borders’ or perhaps the border on the Dniester is different than seems at first sight?

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In Putin’s Shadow. Dmitry Medvedev’s presidency

Author(s): Jadwiga Rogoża / Language(s): English

Dmitry Medvedev’s presidency was an experiment carried out by the Russian ruling elite. Even though the new president has been a loyal member of the ruling camp, this decision involved certain risk that the extensive constitutional powers could eventually encourage the new president to seek emancipation, which could provoke internal conflicts and splits in the elite. This paper analyses Medvedev’s presidency and tries to answer the question why this scenario did not take place and why Medvedev failed to overcome the restrictions imposed on him at the start of his presidential term. The paper also presents the activation of certain social groups during Medvedev’s presidency and their calls for a new social contract with the government.

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'The power gained, we will never surrender' Russian ruling elite versus the succession and economic crisis

Author(s): Jadwiga Rogoża / Language(s): English,Polish

Even though the economic crisis proved harmful to the Russian economy and people's living standards, it has nonetheless failed to make the elite revise its policy. Despite some problems, the government has managed to sustain economic and political stability, thanks to the reserves it amassed in the times of prosperity, and to the propaganda campaign that protected it, above all Vladimir Putin. The crisis failed to force the elite to implement deeper structural and political reforms. Moreover, it has actually reinforced existing tendencies, such as state control over the economy and its oil-oriented character, the elite's economic expansion at the expense of private businesses, and the preservation of political power. Thus, the crisis has so far failed to dismantle Putinism, indeed quite the reverse - it has in fact contributed to its becoming 'set in stone'.

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The Berlin Republic. Evolution of Germany's politics of memory and German patriotism

Author(s): Krzysztof Marcin Zalewski / Language(s): English

Important changes have occurred in recent years in the attitude of a majority of the German elite towards the history of the 20th century and the political identity built on collective memory. Until recently, the sense of guilt for the crimes of the Third Reich and the obligation to remember were prevalent.While these two elements of Germany's memory of World War II are still important, currently the focus increasingly shifts to the German resistance against Nazism and the fate of the Germans who suffered in the war. Positive references to Germany's post-war history also occupy more and more space in the German memory. In 2009, i.e. the year of the 60th anniversary of the Federal Republic of Germany and the 20th anniversary of the fall of Communism, the efforts of German public institutions concentrate on promoting a new canon of history built around the successful democratisation and Germany's post-war economic success. The purpose behind these measures is to build a common historical memory that could be shared by the eastern and western parts of Germany and appeal to Germany's immigrants, who account for a growing proportion of the society.

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The Great Game around Turkmenistan

Author(s): Maciej Falkowski,Aleksandra Jarosiewicz / Language(s): English

The rise of a new leader of the state of Turkmenistan – President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, who became ruler of the central Asian state after the 21-year rule of Saparmurad Niyazov, the self-proclaimed Turkmenbashi, who died on December 21, 2006 – has initiated changes in Turkmenistan’s political life. The new president has broken with the previous policy of self-isolation, and has directed the country towards openness to the outside world. Opportunities have thereby arisen for competitors in the ‘Great Game’, to gain political influence in Turkmenistan and access to hitherto unexploited Turkmen deposits of gas and oil. A new stage in the Great Game, which has been played for influence in Central Asia and control of access to its energy resources for many years, can thus be said to have been launched, and Turkmenistan has become the main setting for it. The major actors involved are Russia, the United States, China and the European Union.

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An Asian alternative? Russia's chances of making Asia an alternative to relations with the West

Author(s): Marcin Kaczmarski / Language(s): English

Under Vladimir Putin's rule, Russia consistently and systematically expanded its activity in Asia, establishing closer political contacts with key countries in the region, rebuilding relations with former allies from Soviet times, and strengthening its presence in the Asian markets, in the energy sphere also. These activities were accompanied by intensive Russian propaganda, the message of which was that relations with the West can be restricted in favour of developing closer relations with Asian states.A justified question concerning the Russian Federation's realistic possibilities arises in this context: To what extent can it make Asia an alternative to theWest in geopolitical, economic and energy terms? Can Russia build an anti-Western alliance with Asian states? Is it able to reduce its dependence on the European market by developing its trade with Asia? Is it possible to redirect a substantial portion of Russian energy resource exports onto Asian markets? A presentation of the existing ties between Russia and theWest (here considered as the USA and the EU) will serve as a starting point for answering these questions. The following chapters will analyse Russia's opportunities in Asia in terms of geopolitical issues, the economy and energy

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Chechnya: Between a Caucasian Jihad and 'hidden' separatism

Author(s): Maciej Falkowski / Language(s): English

1. Even though Chechnya remains the most unstable republic in the Russian North Caucasus, the open armed conflict known as the Second Chechen War, which broke out in the autumn of 1999, is gradually dying down. The fighting has become less intensive every year, and the militants, worn out by years of warfare, are unable to take the initiative and seriously challenge the federal troops stationed in Chechnya. However, even if the militants have lost strength, this does not mean that the conflict is over. The region's history and the increasingly tense situation in the other Caucasian republics bordering Chechnya suggest that instability will probably continue for many more years.2. Several years ago, the conflict in Chechnya could have been characterised as a war between Chechen separatists and the government of the Russian Federation. However, the nature of the conflict has changed significantly over the last four or five years. At present, it is not only a Russian-Chechen conflict, but also an internal clash between the separatist militants and those Chechens who are co-operating with Moscow. The conflict also has an increasingly apparent social background. Finally, the militants' ideology has also changed: today they are fighting not so much for national liberation as for the Islamic cause.3. Even though the intensity of fighting in Chechnya has abated in recent years, the conflict has spilt over to the other Caucasus republics such as Ingushetia, Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkaria. As a result, this is presently not so much a Chechen conflict as a regional clash between the authorities and the Caucasian (including Chechen) Islamists. The latter seek to 'liberate' the entire North Caucasus and establish sharia law in the region. 354. The Chechen militants are weaker now, and the conflict has changed from a struggle for national liberation into a fight for the Islamic cause; but this does not mean that Russia has ultimately solved the problem of Chechen separatism. Today, it manifests itself not through armed struggle, but through demands for ever-wider autonomy within the Russian Federation ('hidden' separatism). Such demands have been raised by the formally pro-Russian government of Chechnya, led by Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov. The objective is to acquire real, rather than formal, independence from Moscow, especially in the economic sphere. An analysis of the current situation in the republic leads to the conclusion that this objective has already largely been achieved; today Chechnya in many areas remains outside the Russian legal system and enjoys extensive internal autonomy. 5. A renewed outbreak of the armed conflict in Chechnya seems unlikely in the immediate future, the main reason for this being that the Chechen people are tired of the long war. In the longer term, however, it appears inevitable that the Chechens will rise against Moscow again, fighting either for national liberation or for Islam. In the former case, the movement will be probably led by the current, formally pro-Russian government. However, it is also possible that by that time, the Caucasian Islamists will have gained enough strength to become the driving force behind a new, massive uprising against Russia, whose objective will be to create an Islamic state in the North Caucasus.

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What Future for Ukraine?

Author(s): Anna Górska / Language(s): English,Polish

One hundred days after the inauguration of the Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko and the appointment of the new government led by Yulia Tymoshenko it is traditionally the time for first reviews and assessments of the new authorities' policy. In the case of Ukraine, this is particularly interesting. The regime change occurred largely as a result of an anti-system public protest known as the orange revolution. However, Maydan did not principally formulate any positive programme. Rather, it vocally protested against what the society no longer accepted - lawlessness of the authorities, corruption, poverty, lies in highest offices and the media, and disregard for the society which the leaders only remembered during electoral campaigns but still refused to respect the voters' will. Hence, the principal challenge for the new authorities should be to reshape the system which Leonid Kuchma continued building for years as a kind of symbiosis between political and business groups and the bureaucracy. Yushchenko's pre-election declarations, the presentation of his programme and the choice of European integration as the strategic objective, which the president repeatedly declared in his speeches both in Ukraine and during his many foreign visits, all these indicate that the system reconstruction is meant to lead to the creation of a democratic state of law and a market economy. In the period in question, the new authorities' policy was focused on dismantling the system created by the former regime and on wide-scale replacements of officials, struggle against corruption and implementation of the social promises made during the campaign. This could be regarded as preparation for the implementation of the principal objectives concerning the creation of a new Ukraine, but in fact the government is largely motivated by the short-term goal of next year's parliamentary elections. The measures that have been taken are arguably justified but it is Orange was the campaign colour of Viktor Yushchenko. Another term used to refer to the upheaval is Maydan, standing for Independence Square (Maydan Nezalezhnosti), the main square in Kyiv where the several-weeks long protest was staged. obvious that the new political style and the manner of operation of the new authorities are often reminiscent of the previous regime. Particularly difficult to accept are practices such as the use of law to one's own ends and behind-the-scenes bargaining over appointments and competencies of officials. This is due to the fact that the new authorities include many people who held high state offices in various periods of Leonid Kuchma's presidency. The old habits and attitudes, sometimes combined with involvement in various political-business arrangements, adversely affect the quality of politics. Economic policy suffers most because of the absence of a strategy for social and economic development, programme and ideological differences among the new leaders, and, to some extent, the "legacy" of the previous authorities. The problems that emerged already in the first months suggest that the transformation process in Ukraine is going to be difficult, long, and susceptible to various distortions, and that the principal reforms will only be undertaken after the parliamentary election of March 2006.

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Defenders of the besieged fortress. On the historical legitimization of Russia’s special service

Author(s): Jolanta Darczewska / Language(s): English

The history of the special services and the ideas which organise them in the symbolic sphere are an important part of the reflection on their contemporary role and position. Over the centuries, the secret services defined Russia's relations with the outside world, shaped its domestic situation, and influenced the fate of the societies and nations that were part of the Russian and Soviet empires. Many generations of their subjects and citizens have been raised in the cult of state security: in this way, the services' negative image (as a powerful machine of repression) was washed away in the public awareness, and their successes and contributions in the fields of modernising and building the power of the country were emphasised. This served, and still serves, to legitimise them, and also to legitimise the ruling elite in Russia.

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Priceless friendship

Author(s): Iwona Wiśniewska / Language(s): English

The Western sanctions have proved painful for the Russian elite not only in terms of finance, but also of image and prestige. However, thanks to the EU's much softer sanctions policy compared to the US, the Russian oligarchs have still been able to conduct their business in Europe, either directly or through intermediaries. Since March 2014, the Kremlin has tried to compensate selected businessmen for at least some of the losses they have suffered. The activities of the Russian state apparatus are a coordinated policy aimed at supporting oligarchs in the immediate vicinity of the president, the costs of which have been borne by Russian society. The flow of assets among individual persons belonging to the Russian elite (both among private businessmen and state-owned companies) which has occurred as a result of the sanctions and the attempts to minimise losses, has revealed the close symbiosis and the blurring of boundaries between private and state capital in Russia.

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Troublesome Investment. The Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant in Astravyets

Author(s): Joanna Hyndle-Hussein,Szymon Kardaś,Kamil Kłysiński / Language(s): English

When Belarus embarked on the construction of its first nuclear power plant in Astravyets in 2012, the official objective was to significantly reduce the share played by imported Russian gas in the country’s electricity production. However, the Belarusian leadership’s decision to build the plant in close co-operation with Russian partners defeated that purpose. Russia has in fact taken over full control of its implementation as it is financing the US$ 10 billion project almost entirely. Russia is the project’s contractor, is providing the technology and will also provide the nuclear fuel. The plant will thus diversify the fuel mix in electricity production, but not the source of imports. Moreover, as Poland and Lithuania have refused to buy electricity from the plant, Belarus now faces the challenge of utilising the energy surplus that will emerge.

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In search of new routes. Ukraine's foreign trade after the Revolution of Dignity

Author(s): Sławomir Matuszak / Language(s): English

The Ukrainian-Russian war not only came as a shock to the Ukrainian political elite and public – it also turned out to be a kind of a shock therapy for the Ukrainian economy. Very serious and deep changes have taken place in Ukraine’s trade co-operation with other countries since 2014. The Kremlin’s aggressive moves caused Ukraine to lose not only a major share of its market in Russia but also in the remaining post-Soviet countries and contributed to the collapse of the sale of products of the machine industry, the only Ukrainian export with a high added value. In turn, the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) agreement with the EU proved to be an effective tool helping the Ukrainian economy to overcome the crisis and compensate for the consequences of the collapse of trade with post-Soviet countries. This was possible even though the expectations of representatives of the Ukrainian government that the EU market would soon compensate for the lost post-Soviet markets turned out to be unrealistic, in particular in the case of industrial production. At present, Ukraine relies on exports of raw materials and low processed products to an even higher degree than before the crisis. The only difference is that metallurgical products have been replaced as the dominant exports by products of the food and agricultural sector.

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Eroding Freedoms: Media and Soft Censorship in Montenegro

Author(s): Vladimir Vučković,Ana Vujošević / Language(s): English

In Montenegro, soft censorship is exercised primarily through politicised, discretionary and non-transparent distribution of public money and subsidies to media. Lack of transparency and standard and equitable procedures in allocation of public funding seriously distorts the media market, improving business prospects of some outlets and endangering the existence of others. This is directly related to how favourably or critically media outlets report on governmental activities. The media landscape in Montenegro is deeply and widely politicised. A sharp division between “supporters” and “critics” of state policies has grown more vivid in recent years. There are on-going attempts to diminish the influence of some media outlets on the Montenegrin public. “Hard censorship” has included violence against journalists—the murder of the editor-in-chief of daily Dan, Dusko Jovanovic, on 27 May 2004, remains unresolved, as do most attacks on journalists and on media property, which doubtless evokes self-censorship among media practitioners concerned with self-preservation.2 Much more common in recent years is soft censorship: indirect, often financial pressures, intended to weaken the capacities and even threaten the viability of targeted media outlets that criticize the government. “Soft censorship” is defined as an attempt by government to influence media reporting through various forms of pressures, without recourse to legal bans, open censorship of news content or direct physical attacks against media infrastructure or journalists. The notion of “soft censorship” as a form of official pressure on media is detailed in a 2005 paper by the Open Society Justice Initiative. It describes three principal forms of soft censorship: abuse of public funds and monopolies, abuse of regulatory and inspection authorities, and paralegal pressures.3 All these exist in Montenegro today. Additional reports by WAN-IFRA and the Center for International Media Assistance have raised awareness of this escalating problem.4 This paper catalogues the forms and maps the extent of soft censorship by Montenegro’s state and public institutions against media outlets and media practitioners. This is done primarily through the lens of finances, which is the dominant means of soft censorship in the country. Included is an overview of instruments that facilitate or limit official financial support: allocation of advertising services by public institutions to favoured media; selective distribution of subsidies and other state aid; paid content; and other forms of administrative and technical assistance or obstruction. The study covers public institutions relevant to media and soft censorship across the three branches of government, as well as other sociopolitical actors significant to understanding this problem in the Montenegrin context. The research team faced several challenges; no such research has been conducted before, and information from public sources was in many cases limited or released only very slowly. Moreover, the topic is taboo to many journalists who fear criticizing media owners or the government, and who sometimes have scant awareness of the mechanisms and impact of soft censorship. The lack of transparent and consistent procedures for distribution of public funds to media has substantial influence on media freedoms in Montenegro. This report presents evidence that public institutions have sought to manipulate media outlets and influence their editorial policies by selective and non-transparent financing. This also seriously undermines competition and inhibits development of a sustainable media market. Opacity in state media funding is aggravated by an inadequate implementation of the legal framework for media support, further opening opportunities for official actors to exploit media for partisan purposes. This report describes various means for distributing public funding to media through which political actors exercise control or pressure on media content and viability. It analyses mechanisms of potential influence of public institutions on media editorial policies, and gives examples of abuse of public funds to manipulate media reporting to pursue partisan political goals. This report’s key findings summarize challenges concerning soft censorship in Montenegro. Its recommendations urge actions that would reverse the erosion of media freedom in Montenegro—and improve prospects for development of free independent and pluralistic media that could provide the accurate, impartial reporting on activities of the government, political parties and other institutions required to promote democratisation of Montenegrin society and governance.

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Equal chances for all media in Montenegro - 2015 Annual report

Author(s): Ana Nenezić / Language(s): English

The project “Equal chances for all media” aims to contribute to the creation of clear oversight mechanisms for the public finances and for the allocation of state aid to the media, as required by the European Union regulations and the international standards and best practice. The general objective of project is to raise awareness among the interested public about responsible management of the public budget, and analyse the relationship between the state institutions and the media in Montenegro as reflected in the financial allocations of public funds to the media on various grounds. The study focuses on the public sector as defined by the Law on the Budget of Montenegro, which encompasses public institutions, municipalities (local self-government units), independent regulatory bodies, agencies and enterprises in which the state or the municipalities hold a controlling stake, the judiciary (courts and the prosecution), Ombudsman, and others. Centre for Civic Education (CCE) first flagged this issue five years ago, and has been monitoring it ever since. The result of our efforts so far have been four national and one international report, which serve as the go-to reference on media financing in the country for various international actors. For the purpose of continuous monitoring of this problematic area, this year we again conducted another comprehensive study to collect information on the size and distribution of financial resources allocated by public sector bodies to the media in 2015 on grounds on service provision contracts, specialised services or other. The recipients included the media, PR agencies, production houses and public opinion polls. The analysis provides up-to-date and comprehensive review of the allocation of public funds to the media in 2015, at the national as well as the local level. We also compiled an illustrative overview of three-year trends in the allocation of public money for the financing of media in Montenegro.

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Izbori i etički principi – prijedlog unaprijeđenja etičkog postupanja organa za sprovođenje izbora u Crnoj Gori

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): Montenegrine

Prateći odredbe člana 32 Zakona o izboru odbornika i poslanika i usvojene Strategije za borbu protiv korupcije i organizovanog kriminala za period 2010- 2014, Državna izborna komisija je na sjednici održanoj 20. decembra 2010. godine, donijela Etički kodeks organa za sprovođenje izbora u Crnoj Gori (u daljem tekstu: Etički kodeks). Posljedično, Etički kodeks je stekao status pravnog akta nakon zvaničnog objavljivanja. Etički kodeks organa za sprovođenje izbora podijeljen je u četiri poglavlja: Poglavlje I – Opšte napomene kojim se definišu primjena, cilj i sadržaj kodeksa; Poglavlje II – Principi kodeksa koji uređuju oblast dužnosti i zabrane članova organa za sprovođenje izbora; Poglavlje III – Nadzor nad sprovođenjem kodeksa; i Poglavlje IV – Završne odredbe. Sadržaj donijetog Etičkog kodeksa u većoj mjeri zadovoljava evropske izborne standarde. Ali, karakteriše ga parcijalna limitiranost u sadržinskom smislu što rezultira u pojedinim poglavljima nedovoljnom razrađenošću opštih postulata na kojima počiva profesionalni obrazac ponašanja, standardi i principi rada članova Državne izborne komisije Crne Gore (DIK), opštinskih izbornih komisija (OIK) i biračkih odbora (BO). Ovaj nedostatak posebno je vidljiv u odredbama koje se odnose na redefinisanje cilja kodeksa, uvođenje načela i vrijednosti, i upotpunjavanje u dijelu nadzora nad sprovođenjem kodeksa. U strukturalnom smislu, Etički kodeks je, takođe, u većoj mjeri adekvatno i primjereno uređen, pokrivajući skoro sve oblasti (primjena, cilj i sadržaj, dužnosti i zabrane članova organa za sprovođenje izbora, nadzor nad sprovođenjem kodeksa, završne odredbe) radi stvaranja efikasnog i efektivnog mehanizma poštovanja pravila ponašanja propisanih njihovim nadležnostima. Međutim, gotovo istovjetno kao i u sadržinskom smislu, i u strukturalnom kontekstu Etički kodeks demonstrira određene praznine koje bi trebalo popuniti uvođenjem novog poglavlja koje se prevashodno odnosi na „obaveze upoznavanja sa sadržajem Kodeksa svih članova organa koji stupaju na dužnost.“ U konačnici, analiza Etičkog kodeksa u suštinskom smislu ukazuje da je izborni etički kodeks svrsishodan i vrijednosno utemeljen u sadržinskom i strukturalnom okviru posljedično obezbjeđujući u većoj mjeri konkretna i kredibilna pravila ponašanja za članove organa za sprovođenje izbora. No, uočljivi su određeni sadržinski nedostaci, konceptualne i strukturalne manjkavosti koje bi trebalo riješiti u nastupajućem periodu.

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Equal chances for all media in Montenegro - Annual report for 2016

Author(s): Ana Nenezić,Dragoljub Duško Vuković / Language(s): English

Project “Equal chances for all media” aims to contribute to promotion of media freedom and media pluralism in Montenegro, in accordance with regulations of European Union and best international practices and standards. More precisely, the project aims to mitigate the process of creation of clear mechanisms for allocation and control over financing of media from public funds and allocation of state aid to media in Montenegro, in order to harmonise this system with international standards and best practices which encourage development of media freedoms. Project is also focused on improvement of awareness of interested public in regards to responsible money expenditure from the Budget of Montenegro, indicating on relation of public sector in Montenegro toward media, through financial allocations on various grounds. Public sector, as subject of research, according to Law on Budget of Montenegro, includes state organs, municipalities (local self-government units), independent regulatory organs, public institutions and companies wherein state or municipalities have majority ownership share, judiciary (courts and prosecutions), Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms and others. Centre for Civic Education (CCE) first introduced this issue in Montenegro, and has been monitoring it closely for five years now. In this regard, CCE has produced five national and one international report that are relevant sources for numerous domestic and international addresses, though they still remain insufficiently used by Montenegrin institutions. Research for 2016 was conducted in this framework, within which there was information collected on media, informative agencies, public relations agencies, production houses, and etc. that were allocated financial resources from public sector organs on the basis of agreements on provision of services, specialised services, or other grounds. Analysis was produced that provides an updated and comprehensive overview of allocation of public funds on national and local level during 2016 to abovementioned subjects. Considering that certain trends are already being identified, cross section of total allocations for 2013 – 2016 is also provided. In addition, this publication contains review on media normative and institutional framework, as well as analysis of efficiency of implementation of Law on Free Access to Information and Law on Public Procurement (in the part of obligation of public sector organs to publish all tender documentation timely on the portal of public procurement of Public Procurement Administration of Montenegro). Finally, in relation to underlying themes, publication offers conclusions and recommendations for improving existing state, including proposals for amendments of appropriate legislative framework, which CCE has been advocating for quite some time now, so that this area would be harmonised with international standards in the area of freedom of expression and media independence, competition, state aid allocation and public procurement. Findings from previous five national reports and an international one have indicated existence of numerous irregularities and understatements when it comes to financing of media and related subjects from the Budget of Montenegro, as well as the need to regulate this area adequately. As it was observed, public sector organs have a tendency to maintain their influence through selective and non-transparent financing, thereby directly violating market conditions and competition, and exerting indirect pressure on editorial policy. Insufficient transparency of this process and the (non)existence of precise and binding criteria for allocation of funds, along with underived legal framework, additionally affects the ever-deteriorating state in Montenegrin media. Considering that the estimated advertising market in Montenegro amounts to EUR 9.5 – 10 million on annual level, amounts that are being allocated from public funds to media and related subjects lead to conclusion that state remains individually one of the key factors able to shape this market to detriment, or for the benefit of certain media, thereby their sustainability. According to available data of CCE, mostly relating to information that have been acquired from 66% or 67% of public sector organs, around 2.5 million Euros are being invested in media and related subjects from public funds on annual level, not including the additional 30% of organs that refuse to submit their information. This means that this is a realistic minimum figure, reasonably assumed to be significantly, if not twice, higher. In addition, this does not include allocations for public broadcaster RTCG, nor for local public broadcasters, with the addition of which a sum of at least 17 million Euros per year would be reached. Continued insistence on unclear mechanisms for allocation of budget funds to media will lead to further deviations on media market and it will jeopardise the functioning of some, or improve the operation of other media on discriminatory basis and contrary to competition policy of EU. Citizens, as tax payers, have the right to be informed on manner and criteria of spending of public funds, as well as whether the manner of allocation of those funds affects impartial reporting of media on state organs and decision-makers, i.e. to which extent that allocation (does not) support the pluralism of media and whether it helps or hinders development of timely, objective and impartial reporting. An important consequence of disorganisation in this area is the ever-present soft censorship, which accelerates the erosion of media independence in Montenegro. Furthermore, self-censorship is being strengthened as well as the already conspicuous polarisation of media, but also a poor quality of journalism which – as such – cannot adequately contribute to public debate when it comes to important matters of democratisation and Europeanisation of Montenegrin society, since it often neglects the code of journalists and professional standards. Causes should be sought in the fact that media were, and still remain, critical actors of clarification of numerous misuses by the government. There is not small number of cases in Montenegro when media, via investigative journalism, launched issues from various spheres, on which the public otherwise would not be informed. Those cases are drawing large attention of not just domestic, but of international public as well, thereby demonstrating the importance of media in the fight against corruption, abuse of political power, as well as against all forms of violation of human rights. However, in order for media to execute their monitoring role, they must be politically and financially independent in their work, operate under precisely regulated legal norms and free of inappropriate external political influences. Without clear mechanism and criteria of allocation of tax payers’ money, a dangerous space for interventions of government on media market is being opened. This report indicates paths which can be used to exert control and pressure on media and provides recommendations that would put an end to such poor practice, which deprives the citizens of Montenegro of their right to free and independent media, which accurately and impartially report on activities of government, political parties and other institutions, as well as on other subjects of public interest.

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I have the right to know! - Report on transparency of local selfgovernments on example of capital city Podgorica, Kotor and Pljevlja

Author(s): Mira Popović / Language(s): English

The right of citizens of Montenegro to information of public importance is guaranteed by legal framework. However, in practice, local self-governments still do not show sufficient level of responsibility and transparency in work. This results in often unnecessary complication of citizens’ lives during their efforts to solve numerous current and existential issues, but also hinders overall reform processes and calls into question their legitimacy. Local self-governments still have numerous deficiencies in the part of access to information of importance for citizens, which brings them into a bureaucratized labyrinth, that takes away important time and other resources from parties and bodies of public administration. Considering benefit and awareness of citizens, both those who were or will be parties in proceedings before bodies of state administration or local self-government, it is necessary that work of local self-governments is rendered more transparent which includes also far faster and better availability of data and documents prescribed by laws on municipalities’ webpages. Reform processes in Montenegro, unfortunately, do not progress in a desired pace, hence, even in this area, we identify numerous deficiencies in fulfilment of obligations of local self-governments, especially in the part of transparency of work that is at the same time also one of efficient manners of prevention but also fight of corruption. Numerous reports of international actors and civic sector in Montenegro indicate that even the system established by the Law on Free Access to Information is insufficiently defined in part of monitoring and enacting supervision over respect of the same, and passivity of local self-governments to implement this Law, especially to proactively post information on their work on official Internet pages is also aggravating. Report on transparency of local self-governments, with the focus on municipalities of Kotor, Pljevlja and Podgorica, was created within the framework of project ‘I have the right to know – responsible municipalities in the service of citizens’ that is financed from funds of the European Union and Kingdom of Netherlands through regional project WeBER.

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How much are Montenegrin local self-governments (non)transparent? - Analysis of transparency of the work of 23 local self-governments in Montenegro

Author(s): Mira Popović / Language(s): English

The public administration system in Montenegro is undergoing reform interventions for decades with the aim of harmonizing with the best European standards and practices, which should, among other things, make public administration more accessible to citizens. An important parameter of improving public administration work is transparency, which is also the focus of this research. In assessing the level of transparency of local self-governments, two cross section points were chosen. The first is a crosscheck of manner of local self-governments’ resolving issues and their one-year performance in resolving requests for free access to information, with proceedings upon complaints that have arisen as a result of initiated and cases which have been resolved unfavourably for the party, including those relating to the administration silence, therefore, in accordance with the Law on Free Access to Information these data were requested from all local self-governments. The second cross-cutting point is an assessment to which extent the 23 local self-government’ websites in Montenegro contain information that must be accessible to citizens under the provisions of Article 12 of the Law on Free Access to Information. Transparency of work of local self-governments in Montenegro chronically represents one of the weaker points of the system. There is a high degree of tolerance to non-compliance with the provisions of the Law on Free Access to Information by authorised bodies, there are also numerous different interpretations of the same provisions of this Law by the officials who deal with the requests, and inadequate staff solutions are notable with the ever-increasing administration silence. All this causes a large number of complaints filed to the Agency for Personal Data Protection and Free Access to Information, which itself as well, due to a lack of staff, has the problem of resolving cases within a reasonable time. The latest amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information that have further restricted access to information and closed the system by giving discretionary right to managers of bodies to mark documents as business or tax secret without providing a deadline stating the reasons for restricting access to information, are consequently cumulatively strengthening a rather low degree of transparency of work of local self-governments. The Strategy of Public Administration Reform in Montenegro 2016-2020 recognizes a reduced level of transparency in processes such as conducting public procurement, budgeting and recruiting new staff. The same problems are also pointed out by the European Commission’s Report on Montenegro for 2018 and the Report on Implementation of Action Plan for implementation of Chapter 2 for period January-June 20183. Thus, the key planned activities are aimed at improving transparency in the planning process, the adoption of acts and their implementation with the respect of the principle of participation and establishment of a transparent public procurement procedure in accordance with the Law on Public Procurement. The SIGMA Monitoring Report on Montenegro also warns about the problem of nonavailability of data on employees and their earnings, which is part of a proactive publication of data. This paper provides a cross section of the observed parameters along with basic guidelines as to how to overcome some of the identified problems related to (non) transparency of local self-governments. The first part deals with the manner of resolving of local self-governments’ bodies and overview of the data obtained as per requests for free access to information sent to local self-governments, after which availability of data on websites of municipalities was processed in detail in comparison with the application of Article 12 of the Law on Free Access to Information. From this, conclusions and key recommendations for improvement of the existing system were made.

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Balkanization instead of europeanization - Fight against corruption in Montenegro

Author(s): Vladimir Vučković / Language(s): English

Montenegro was granted candidate status in December 2001, and in June 2012, the European Union (EU) opened accession negotiations with Montenegro. After eight years, the European Commission (EC) country report notes limited progress in 25 chapters, good progress in seven chapters, while for one chapter it noted that no progress has been made. Accession negotiations with Montenegro started with the so-called new approach of the European Union, which referred to Chapter 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights) and 24 (Justice, Freedom and Security), as starting and ending points. Thus, the advance in these chapters has become crucial for the overall dynamics and quality of Montenegrin EU accession negotiations. This study, the first one in a series of three, aims to scrutinize one of three political membership indicators that the EU closely monitors during the accession process - the fight against corruption. Judicial reform, strengthening regional cooperation and the improvement of good neighborly relations will be additionally addressed. These EU membership conditions are included in the most important strategic documents on the enlargement policy, starting with the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA), i.e. the Stabilization and Association Process (SAP), as well as the new negotiating framework adopted in 2012, according to which Montenegro started negotiations. At the same time, they represent the basis for further progress on Montenegro’s path towards the EU. Finally, these are three dependent variables that must be kept in mind for the systematic analytical framework. Over the past eight years, Montenegro has not achieved the expected measurable results in combating corruption. However, the EU has also demonstrated political inconsistency regarding the continuous and necessary external pressure to Montenegro. Hence, Montenegro, despite of all, has been making progress in the accession process for a long time, with an evident deficit of political will to effectively approach the prevention and suppression of corruption. Consequently, corruption remains widespread and a matter of serious concern. There was also a visible change in the recent approach of EU conditional policy through a strategy of conditionality in strengthening anti-corruption policy, i.e. allowing the candidate country to progress in the EU integration process, although it does not achieve satisfactory results in the fight against corruption. Therefore, given the limited progress in the fight against corruption, Montenegro has paradoxically made for long time progress in the EU accession process. However, the fact that only eight years after opening the accession negotiation all 33 negotiation chapters have been opened and only three provisionally closed, as well as the fact that a new methodology is in force, points to the need for a significant change in the approach of the Montenegrin authorities to dynamize this process and use it effectively for the process of internal democratization and Europeanization.

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Good neighbour - Montenegro and regional cooperation

Author(s): Vladimir Vučković / Language(s): English

Three decades since the fall of communism and two decades since the last conflicts have been traumatic for the region. Although all economies, at least nominally, have fitted their functioning into modern economic flows, the prolonged transition, the legacy of the previous regime and conflicts, as well as unresolved social challenges continue to place a heavy burden on the countries of the region. Lagging behind the European Union (EU) average is obvious in almost all aspects of life and it will take a lot of time, effort and investment to bring the region closer to the EU standards. The trauma that region has experienced in recent decades is most visible in emigration, and the consequences of the so-called brain drain is to be felt. Good neighbourly relations and dedicated work on improving regional cooperation are important European integration links of all countries aspiring to EU membership. Stability in the region and strengthening the rule of law are the conditions for the Europeanization and modernization of these societies and the preconditions for the EU accession that these countries have to satisfy. Since declaring independence in 2006, Montenegro has played a constructive role and made visible progress in strengthening regional co-operation and maintaining good bilateral relations with countries in the process of joining the EU. This refers to active participation in numerous regional initiatives, as well as to Montenegro’s political commitment to the development of good neighbourly relations in the region to the greatest extent. In this regard, the positive impact of the EU on Montenegro in strengthening state efforts for regional cooperation, building regional stability and improving good-neighbourly relations, but also fostering a climate conducive to solving outstanding bilateral issues, is noted. This area is an example of the effectiveness of the EU external incentives and the readiness of domestic governing structures to comply with the requirements on the path to the EU membership. It should be noted that meeting the criteria of regional cooperation does not require the adoption of specific EU legal norms, and therefore depends primarily on the external pressure of the Union and the willingness of the political elite in the country to respond to these requirements. Of course, more outstanding issues remain, and to fully address the conditions of the Stabilization and Association Process, Montenegro should achieve a peaceful conflict resolution with Croatia over the demarcation of the border around the Prevlaka peninsula by submitting it to international arbitration before reaching the EU entrance as well as to make more efforts to resolve outstanding issues with Serbia, including border demarcation, dual citizenship and problems concerning position of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) in Montenegro.

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