Horizontal Facility III - Combating hatred and intolerance in Montenegro

Back Montenegro Institutions Assess Progress in Aligning Laws with the Same-Sex Partnerships Framework

Vasileios GIANNIAS

Modified 10 Months ago.

Montenegro Institutions Assess Progress in Aligning Laws with the Same-Sex Partnerships Framework

Montenegro is taking further steps to ensure that the rights of same-sex couples are fully protected, as institutions met on 9 July to review progress on aligning existing laws with the Law on Same-Sex Partnerships.

Organised under the joint European Union and Council of Europe action Combating hatred and intolerance in Montenegro, the meeting gathered representatives of ministries and institutions responsible for adapting laws and by-laws under their jurisdiction. The aim was to provide updates on the current status of legal harmonisation, identify gaps, and explore avenues for technical support from the Council of Europe in moving forward.

Representative of NGO Queer Montenegro also attended the meeting, and presented their study on alignment, offering concrete solutions for amendments of respective laws and by-laws.

Lejla Dervišagić, Head of the Council of Europe Programme Office in Podgorica, reminded that the Law on Same Sex partnerships was adopted five years ago with the expert support from the Council of Europe.

Mirjana Pajković, from the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, emphasised that legislative alignment is one of key activities under the Action plan for fulfilling the final benchmarks in negotiating Chapter 23- Judiciary and Fundamental Rights.

Friederike Wuenschmann, from the EU Delegation in Montenegro, spoke about importance of having accurate data on alignment process for the purpose of preparing annual country report for Montenegro.

Representatives of various ministries shared progress updates, with alignment already underway in many areas. However, more efforts must be invested in aligning laws within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The meeting concluded with an agreement to continue regular exchanges on the alignment process, with the next follow-up meeting tentatively planned for the end of September.

The action “Combating hatred and intolerance in Montenegro” is implemented within the joint European Union/Council of Europe programme "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkiye".

Podgorica, Montenegro 9 July 2025

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The action “Combating hatred and intolerance in Montenegro” offers assistance in improving the record of fighting discrimination, hatred and intolerance in Montenegro. It intervenes in line with the latest trends in the field of racism and intolerance in Europe as outlined in the Annual Reports of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), as well.

The technical support is provided as part of the Montenegro’s EU accession process, in line with European standards – notably those from the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance and its recommendations (2017) and conclusions (2020) on Montenegro – as well as with the COE Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member States on combating hate speech (2020) EU Anti-racism Action Plan 2020-2025.

This action is implemented within the joint programme of the European Union and the Council of Europe “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” running from 2023 until 2026.

What are the goals and objectives of the action?

to increase the awareness of the institutions, of the civil society and of the population in Montenegro about hatred and intolerance and related European standards
to develop a harmonised and effective institutional approach to tackle these issues

Who benefits from the action?

institutions of Montenegro
civil society organisations
youth and people leaving in the local communities
the general population

How does the action work?

through provision of expertise and capacity building initiatives
through awareness raising possibilities, involving local level partners, youth and the people of Montenegro
by adapting existing tools and methodologies of the Council of Europe and combining them with relevant EU standards
by providing occasions for inter-institutional dialogue on issues of pertinence to equality, to foster co-operation among partners and for enhancing the dialogue between state and non-state stakeholders
it builds on the results achieved under the previous phase of the Horizontal Facility programme and the action on Promotion of diversity and equality in Montenegro and the regional on Promotion of diversity and equality in the Western Balkans

What do we expect to achieve?

institutions show an overall improved record of reforms to combat discrimination, hatred and racism in line with European standards, better addressing the needs of vulnerable groups and minorities
people in Montenegro become more aware of the negative effects that hate and racism have to the cohesion of the society and are enabled to respond to these challenges in the local context
Montenegrin institutions and civil societies improve their awareness and capacity to react to discrimination and hate motivated incidents and attacks in line with European standards
institutions and other local stakeholders are aware of the dangers posed by hate speech to the society and their effects in Montenegro and take initial steps to respond to hate speech in a systemic manner

What is the budget of the action?

The total budget of the actions is 400 000 EUR.

The budget allocated to the overall Horizontal Facility programme amounts to ca. 41 million EUR (85% funded by the European Union, 15% by the Council of Europe).

How to get more information?

About the Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye

The “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” is a joint initiative of the European Union and the Council of Europe that enables the Western Balkans Beneficiaries and Türkiye to meet their reform agendas in the fields of human rights, rule of law and democracy and to comply with the European standards, which is also a priority for the EU enlargement process.