Podgorica, 29 November 2024 (MIA) – We should not be pushed into resolving issues related to vetoes from our neighbors, nor should we include in our constitution solutions that don’t exist anywhere else. To join a family, you must be compatible, meaning you need to share the same values and principles, President Gordana Siljanovska Davkova said Friday during her lecture at the Faculty of Law, University of Montenegro, on “The Western Balkan Democratic and Euro-Integration Marathon.”

She underlined that the countries in the region face a tough road to the European integration and the cause is the absence of a strategy from the EU.

"I do not think," the president said, “that some EU member states are ahead of us, and as she noted, the assessment should be based on the Copenhagen criteria, while the EU itself needs deep reform."

“It is important that standards are respected in these processes, as they will lead us to a solution,” she noted.

In this regard, Siljanovska Davkova added that we need to respect each other in the region, because if we do not respect ourselves, no one else will either.

During her lecture, Siljanovska Davkova also commented on partitocracy, which, as she explained, is an undemocratic model where the distinction between the party and the state is erased.

“To join the public administration, it is not so much about having a good CV or being skilled or competent, but about having a party membership card. This is how average and below-average people take over the administration, and if you enter through a party card, your loyalty won’t be to the Constitution or the laws, but to those who hired you,” she said.

She noted that the numbers reflecting the exodus of young people to Western European countries are catastrophic, and if we do not confront this issue, we will not progress far.

"There is no greater wealth for us than human capital, especially for small countries. However, the average and below-average individuals do not appreciate intellect, they become frustrated, which is why they fail to implement measures to retain young people," noted Siljanovska Davkova.

She argued that ethnic background should not be a criterion for employment, but rather expertise and competence.

“It should not be a requirement to be Macedonian, Turkish, or Vlach to hold a position, but here, it is. When institutions are filled based on ethnic criteria, there is no rule of law, only partitocracy and ethnocracy,” she added.

In this context, she added that such criteria are closely linked to corruption and crime, and without them, there can be no progress, while the most capable individuals will leave.

“We must start from the second, third, and fourth years of university, inviting the best students to join the government, reassuring them that they should stay, and engaging them. The best should receive higher salaries, or they will leave. When you are surrounded by average and below-average people, there can be no progress. That’s why we need such reforms, both in my country and in the region,” she said.

After her lecture at the Faculty of Law in Podgorica, President Siljanovska Davkova is scheduled to meet with Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajić.

Photo: MIA