Podgorica, (MINA) - The vote on the Constitutional Court judges will be a test of the MPs’ responsibility toward citizens and European integration, said the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatovic, emphasizing that he has proposed a qualified candidate who can gain support from both the government and the opposition.

He told the press, following a conference marking 25th anniversary of the Association of Court Experts of Montenegro, that the parliamentary majority had, over the past year, made at least three “very problematic decisions to the detriment of Montenegro’s European integration.”

“First, the adoption of the Resolution on Jasenovac, which complicated our relations with Croatia and weakened our negotiating position on certain open issues. Second, the adoption of the law on a non-transparent agreement with the United Arab Emirates, and third, the irresponsibility concerning the election of Constitutional Court judges”, Milatovic stated.

Regarding the election of Constitutional Court judges, Milatovic said that he had done his part by proposing Mirjana Vucinic.

He said that he had sent a letter to all MPs and offered several dates for consultations to answer any questions related to his nomination of Vucinic.

“I believe that the candidate I proposed, based on her professional qualifications, is the only one who can gain support from both the government and the opposition. If MPs are truly responsible toward the citizens and our European path, that should be the outcome of the second round of voting, which will take place in about a month”, said Milatovic.

When asked about Milos Medenica’s release from custody, since a first instance verdict in his case has not been issued in three years, Milatovic refused to comment on the specific case but found it concerning that a judicial verdict cannot be reached within three years.

“I call on the Prosecutorial Council, the Judicial Council, and the President of the Supreme Court to determine who is responsible for such concerning behavior. Justice in Montenegro seems to end with the initial arrests”, Milatovic said.

Asked whether the actions of the Special State Prosecutor’s Office, which has been summoning journalists for questioning, represent an abuse of power by a political structure aimed at suppressing freedom of speech, Milatovic said that, “as a man who stands for justice and the rule of law in Montenegro”, he supports all actions of the Special Prosecutor’s Office and the Special Police Department.

At the same time, he said, freedom of speech and media expression is the foundation of every democratic state.