Mr Garcevic responded to questions posted on the Facebook page “Safe Future” (“Sigurna buducnost”).
Asked what criteria Montenegro has to meet to join NATO, Garcevic said some of them were related to defence.
“It is important to say that the Parliament’s oversight role has been strengthened,” Garcevic said.
The National Coordinator also stressed that a future member state had to implement reforms in the areas of rule of law and justice.
“Reforms in the process of joining NATO are very similar to the reforms being implemented within negotiations for EU membership. That is why all the former socialist countries of Eastern Europe had become NATO member states before they joined the EU. The two processes are overlapping and they are grounded on the same values. NATO member states are mostly the members of the EU too. The principles of the rule of law, parliamentary democracy, strong institutions, etc. are crucial both in the EU and NATO. Had it been different, would countries such as the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway Luxembourg, Belgium, France, Germany, Iceland, Canada and others be members of NATO? These countries have been recognised through respecting the rule of law and developed democratic institutions,” Garcevic explained.
He stressed that NATO membership can only enhance and accelerate reforms necessary for future EU membership.
“That was the case with all the East European countries that joined NATO and became EU member states,” Garcevic explained.
Asked whether citizens would be allowed to vote on joining NATO, Garcevic explained that the Constitution of Montenegro did not foresee organising referendum on that issue.
“By joining NATO, a country does not lose its sovereign rights. On the contrary, it becomes a member of an organisation where decisions are made by consensus, which means that all decisions must be adopted unanimously. The best example illustrating this is Greece, which vetoed accession of Macedonia to NATO due to the name issue in 2008, although all the other countries, including the United States, had already agreed that Macedonia would become a member state,” he explained.
He pointed out that NATO membership concerned all citizens of Montenegro.
“That’s why a comprehensive debate on the benefits of membership is being conducted. This debate has been going on for several years, but it is particularly intense this year because the NATO invitation is likely to be received by the end of the year. This debate is supposed to provide information to citizens such as what NATO is, how to become a member, what reforms have to be implemented, how the Alliance operates, how decisions are made in the Alliance etc” he said.
At the same time, he added, MPs for the parties supporting NATO membership currently made qualified majority in the Parliament of Montenegro,.
“MPs are representatives of citizens who voted for them. The act of voting for parties that support NATO membership (regardless of whether they are in opposition or are part of the ruling coalition), the citizens gave them the mandate to decide on this issue in the Parliament,” Garcevic said.
Commenting on the benefits of joining NATO, Garcevic stressed that it represented a system of collective security guarantying Montenegro border security, long-term safety and stability (once it becomes its member).
He added that snow storms in Montenegro a few years ago and the rapid response of NATO members to our call for help was one of the proofs of how this worked in practice.
“At the same time, they would expect us to assist in the activities of the Alliance in accordance with our capabilities,” Garcevic said.
When it comes to spending on the military budget, he said that the very fact of being a part of a larger security system, provided countries with limited defence budget to be better protected.
“Within NATO, countries such as Montenegro, as well as Luxembourg and Iceland, develop specific resources only because they are part of a collective security system that protects them. That is why this concept is more profitable, and more efficient in practice, for Montenegro comparing to other models,” Garcevic said adding that in the long term, a stable system, safety and security created the preconditions for economic development, attracting foreign investors, more intensive fight against organised crime and other security threats.
“The experience of other Eastern European countries that became members of NATO is best confirmation for these arguments,” Garcevic concluded.
