Strasbourg, 20.06.2025 – The Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority languages, in a mid-term report published today, welcomes several policy steps taken by the authorities of Montenegro. It regrets, however, that the recommendations contained in the sixth evaluation report of 2023 to integrate Romani into formal education, to tackle the lack of qualified teachers, and to introduce it in official use in at least one local self-government unit, were not implemented. The Committee recommends stepping up efforts to promote the Romani language in Montenegro, in co-operation with the speakers. 

The Committee of Experts welcomes the inclusion of language use goals in the new Strategy for Minority Policy for 2024-2028 and encourages the authorities to actively involve representatives of regional or minority language speakers in its implementation. It also welcomes the ongoing preparation of the new Strategy for the Social Inclusion of Roma and Egyptians and encourages the authorities to consider incorporating objectives for promoting the Romani language in Montenegro. 

One of the recommendations for immediate action provided in June 2023 was to introduce Romani into formal education. The Committee of Experts takes note of the various projects and initiatives funded by Montenegro to promote Romani. It also welcomes the publication of a Romani-Montenegrin Language dictionary and encourages the authorities to explore ways in which it can serve as a basis for developing teaching materials, thereby supporting the relaunch of the standardisation process.

The Committee of Experts regrets, however, that this recommendation has not yet been implemented and that Romani remains absent from formal education. Effective measures are needed to integrate Romani at all levels of public education: as a first step, the authorities could consider introducing it at the preschool and primary levels, where the lack of standardisation is not an insurmountable obstacle, and subsequently consider including it at all levels of formal education.

Another recommendation for immediate action was to develop and implement a coherent strategy for the teacher training for the teaching in/of Romani. 

According to the authorities, the lack of qualified teachers is a key obstacle to developing such a strategy. To address this issue, the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, in co-operation with the University of Montenegro, is considering introducing a master's level programme in Romani, with guest lecturers from neighbouring countries holding classes until the first generation of graduates can assume lecturing positions. The Committee of Experts takes note of this, but stresses that further and urgent measures are needed to tackle the lack of qualified teachers. The authorities could consider short-term remedies to incentivise students, such us further scholarships, guaranteed employment or salary bonuses, the committee recommends. 

The third recommendation for immediate action was to introduce Romani in official use in at least one local self-government unit, where the Romani speakers have their highest concentration.

The authorities acknowledged that Romani is still not in official use in any municipality. The main issue is that the number of speakers does not reach the 5% threshold in any administrative unit. Besides, there is a lack of administrative personnel formally trained in Romani. On 5 November 2024, however, the first court interpreter for Romani in Montenegro was appointed. The committee takes positive note of this appointment, which can contribute to using Romani before judicial authorities. 

The Committee of Experts is concerned, however, that this repeated recommendation has not been implemented. It reiterates its recommendation to the Montenegrin authorities to take effective steps to enable the official use of Romani in at least one administrative unit. The authorities are encouraged to continue efforts to find a solution to this issue, to enter into a dialogue with Romani speakers, and to actively promote the recruitment of Romani speakers within the local public administration. 

The Committee of Experts also reiterates that it is necessary to inform the organisations concerned of the recommendations and to take into consideration the needs and wishes expressed by them in the implementation and related reporting.

The Montenegrin authorities are to present their next periodical report on the implementation of the Committee of Experts recommendations by June 2027.