La religion dans le rapport 2023 de la Commission européenne sur le Monténégro

• November 2023

The European Commission’s Montenegro Report 2023 contains less religious findings then the previous annual documents of this kind.

Going back to autumn 2022, which was not covered by that year’s Montenegro Report, it is noted that in October “the premises of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church in Podgorica were stoned”, as well as that in the same month “a day before the 10th Pride, the Serbian Orthodox Church organised a religious ceremony for the preservation of the sanctity of marriage and family.” The Commission mentioned that “in November 2022, the Basic State Prosecutor opened an investigation into police behaviour during a six-hour interrogation of the late Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral Amfilohije about violating anti-COVID-19 measures in June 2020.” The report also contains information on a court proceeding against the new Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral Joanikije as well as eight priests from Niksic priests, whom are acquitted of charges before the Basic Court in Podgorica “of having acted contrary to the Health Ministry’s orders to prevent the spread of a dangerous infectious disease by organising a prayer walk in Niksic in 2020 in which thousands of people participated.” (p. 42).

The Commission further noted that “in February 2023, the Ombudsman opened a case 43 regarding the celebration of a Russian religious holiday in several schools in Podgorica, which is forbidden by law” (p. 42), as well as pointed out that “the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro publicly called on its followers to vote for one political side” for presidential elections held in March/April (p. 11).

The report states the financial amount of 610,581 € allocated by the Ministry of Justice to religious communities, “585,000 € of which for the Serbian Orthodox Church and 30,000 for all other religious communities” (p. 42).

The Commission suggested that, “the planned national population and housing census requires careful handling by the authorities, notably as concerns sensitive issues of ethnicity, religion and language” (p. 80).

Source : Montenegro Report 2023.