Demography a key concern in meeting with Montenegrin politicians

Members of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and local politicians from Montenegro met in Berane, Montenegro, on 20 October to discuss the country's EU accession process from a local perspective and the demographic challenges facing local authorities.

The meeting was that the twenty-fifth time that the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) between the CoR and Montenegro has been held and came at a time of high hopes that Montenegro could secure approval this year to become the twenty-eighth member of the EU. The country's accession prospects – in particular, the local dimension of the accession process – were the subject of a dedicated session in which Montenegrin and EU officials provided their assessments. 

The co-chairs of the JCC are Nikola Dobroslavić (HR/EPP), Chair of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County Assembly in Croatia, and Radoš Žugić, Mayor of Žabljak. 

Mr Dobroslavić and other CoR members commended Montenegro for its progress towards EU membership, but warned that actions by some high-ranking politicians in Montenegro could be seen as glorifying war criminals and are therefore incompatible with the country's EU ambitions. 

The meeting in Montenegro was the first of a series of five held by the CoR in the Western Balkans regions in the late autumn. Each provided an opportunity for CoR members and local and regional politicians in partner countries to consider EU-related reforms from the perspective of local communities, as well as to discuss a topic of particular concern for local and regional administrations in the host country.

In Montenegro, members of the JCC examined the implications for local authorities of the continuing decline in the working-age population. JCC members and experts alike agreed that demographic challenges should be met with a comprehensive approach, underlining that financial incentives for young parents would be helpful but far from sufficient.

The JCC provides a forum for dialogue and cooperation between the CoR and Montenegro on issues related to local and regional democracy and the country's EU integration.

More information:

• Meeting documents: Agenda.