Montenegro

President Milo Djukanovic said on Monday that he will not allow anyone to take away what belongs to Montenegro and warned of what he called "external" interference in the country's affairs.

Djukanovic insisted that the new draft law on freedom of religion was not intended to baselessly take away anyone's property.

Media in Serbia have accused the government of Montenegro of planning to "rob" the Serbian Orthodox Church, SOC, of its assets, while Serbian officials warn that a proposed law on Church property will worsen diplomatic relations.

Saturday's Church council comes after the Montenegrin government adopted a draft law which included a register of all religious objects and sites that were formerly owned by the independent kingdom of Montenegro before it became part of the Serb-dominated Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918.

The bishop reacted after the government of Montenegro said it wanted to pass a law that will declare all ancient property belonging to the Serbian Orthodox Church built before 1918 as the state property, without offering any valid reason for this in the public interest, or eminent domain (defence, energy, infrastructure) or any compensation.

Zoran Lazovic was retired in 2015 as part of a cleanup of Montenegro's intelligence service after NATO postponed the country's accession.

Environmental activists in Montenegro have submitted a petition to parliament calling for a moratorium on the construction of small hydro-power plants due to the impact on rivers and water supply.

One of the eight Serbian citizens convicted in the "coup" case in Montenegro, Branka Milic, is still in the Serbian embassy in Podgorica, while the other convicted Serbian citizens have left Montenegro for Serbia, the defence lawyer in the case, Jugoslav Krpovic, confirmed on Monday.

,,Bulgaria strongly supports the integration of Montenegro, we believe that Montenegro is the most advanced country in European integration from the Western Balkan countries.''

Milo Djukanovic in Podgorica, Montenegro, 2019. Photo: EPA-EFE/BORIS PEJOVIC

The President of Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic, on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the independent daily newspaper Vijesti and the businesman Dusko Knezevic over claims that he took bribes.

A man selling Turkish flags in Istanbul, Turkey, 02 August 2018. EPA-EFE/SEDAT SUNA

The Foreign Ministry in Montenegro has tried to ease concerns expressed about the expatriate cards it is offering its large diaspora community after some ethnic Bosniaks from Montenegro now living in Turkey expressed fears that it was designed to undermine their ethnic identity.