Edging towards Europe

A small Balkan country knocks at Europe’s door

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Readers' comments


jean guy giraud

Common sense would consider that jailing a handful of corrupted leaders (when in opposition) is not, in itself, a sufficient reason for opening the EU door to yet another (micro)state. The "enlarging policy" of the Commission (blindly supported by a majority in the Council and in the EP) since the 1990's has completedly neglected to assess the capacity of the candidate countries to play within the economic and political rules of the club - and the capacity of the club to manage an incresingly numerous and unequal lot of members. The "enlarging policy" of the Commission might lead to a 35 members EU by 2025 - not including big pieces like Turkey, Ukraine and Russia. Does that make (common) sense ? JGGIRAUD


Interesting article. I have just one comment - Kosovo is not a internationaly recognized country. It is under UN interim administration in accordance with the Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999), so it would be nice if you correct this on your map. Wish you all the best in your future work.


No matter whether someone has friends both in heaven and in hell,they always fare well. The former prime minister and the president is a very powerful man although he his not in power. Besides him,his brother and sister enjoy the welfare of his political influence. Some criminals do not make any effort to keep out of public sight,for they are protected by some officials. Those criminals often commit crimes in Serbia and foreign media mistake them for Serbian citizens. Even the cocaine boss sticks his tongue out on the photographs in media, made sure he will be always out of reach of the police. In the 1990s, Montenegrin paramilitary and military with Monternegrin general in FRY bombarded Dubrovnik,but Serbia was condemned for it.Now it is a democratic country and will be a member of EU soon.B.


The situation in Montenegro is like this: - The people have to choose between the meal that they already have on the table, even though they don't like it, and the empty fridge. And what happens? Most of the people remain hungry.


Bringing Casino Royal into the EU? That would not doubt cost it some of its charms and make it unsuitable for being the setting of a movie featuring murders, high-level corruptions and money launderings....

CCH08 in reply to CCH08

Maybe the EU should ask Commander Bond to sniff around a bit as to whether corruption and organized crime still persist there, rather than just relying on the same old bureaucratic channels and governmental charades that somehow admitted Greece into the EMU. In the movie, Commander Bond encountered both within just a few hours of his arrival.


Perhaps the economist journalists could easily find information and make this article factual instead of speculative.
It is easy to confirm that high level officials of the Government of Montenegro are accused for organised crime and corruption by several countries, and most recently Djukanovic sister was accused by the US institutions for 7 million euros corruption.
There are numerous sources stating that the case presented as success of the courts is political game of Djukanovic who is making sure that his party members are loyal.
Interestingly, none of this was mentioned in the article, so it looks like pretty cheap spinning as response to serious BBC Newsnight revealing that Djukanovic family used millions of public funds for covering losses of the bank they possess, including costs of Madonna concert in Montenegro, while the profit remained to the family.



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