Podgorica, (MINA) – The pace of closing chapter in Montenegro’s EU negotiations is below expectations, assessed President Jakov Milatovic, adding that things that are not working well need to be addressed.

Responding to journalists’ questions after the Anti-Corruption Forum organized by BIRN, Milatovic said that he would like the pace of closing chapters to be faster.

“You can see that two chapters have been closed since the beginning of the year, and 19 remain to be closed by the end of the year. You can calculate the pace, definitely below expectations”, said Milatovic.

He added that “we can either lie to ourselves and say that’s it”.

“Or choose another scenario, see why it’s going slower than it should, roll up our sleeves and jointly fix what is not working well. It is important that, for the sake of the citizens, we all choose the second scenario”, Milatovic believes.

Responding to a question about the functionality of the Constitutional Court, he said that there is a concerning practice in the relationship between the Parliament and that court.

“You have the illegal retirement of one judge, and this is not something that I claim but what the European Commission stated in its report, and in the same context you have the likely unconstitutional extension of another judge’s mandate”, said Milatovic.

He said that long ago he proposed two exceptional lawyers and that there is a legitimate question of why their appointment has not been carried out.

“I think the public has received an answer, because the Parliament and the parliamentary majority want to keep the Constitutional Court in some state of blockade and dysfunctionality. This was also evident in the lack of a decision regarding the agreement with the United Arab Emirates”, said Milatovic.

Commenting on the opposition’s attitude towards the European path, Milatovic said that both sides need come to their senses and take steps that are in best interest of citizens.

As he stated, it turns out that none of the politicians in the Parliament think about the citizens.

“And do you know why? Because the citizens do not elect them directly”, added Milatovic.