Corruption vs. Hope: Montenegro’s Turning Point | Focus on Europe

0:00 Montenegro has a new face and she is part of it.

0:04 Ines Mrdovic has made it her mission to free the country from the long

0:07 reign of corruption that took hold under the ousted autocrat Milo Djukanovic.

0:13 Let's not forget Milo Djukanovic was still

0:15 wearing sweaters when he came to power.

0:19 The once fresh-faced member of the Yugoslav Communist

0:22 League remained in power for over 30 years.

0:26 Milo Djukanovic is the face of the old Montenegro.

0:31 Under him, Montenegro became known as a kind

0:34 of mafia state in southeastern Europe, with organized crime,

0:37 political instability and systemic corruption impacting the daily

0:41 lives of the country's 600 000 inhabitants.

0:47 The turning point came in 2023,

0:49 when Djukanovic was unseated from power following waves of protests over years.

0:57 Now the country is vying for EU membership in 2028,

1:01 but at first needs to ferret out corruption.

1:05 It's no easy feat.

1:07 Ines Mrdovic takes us to Kolasin.

1:11 For a few years now, it's been home to this luxury hotel,

1:19 Djukanovic' family and inner circle are all millionaires.

1:26 This hotel is a symbol of their power.

1:28 It was built by his son's company.

1:34 Ines is convinced it was used for money laundering.

1:37 But finding hard proof is difficult.

1:40 Either way, she says,

1:41 the Djukanovic' clan's lingering influence is hampering political renewal.

1:47 Take this highway, for example.

1:49 It's really more of a blockade to the country's fresh start.

1:52 Djukanovic commissioned it in 2014.

1:55 It's oversized and overpriced.

1:57 The price tag of €1 billion is hard for the small Balkan nation to pay.

2:02 Montenegro had to settle a loan from China

2:05 in installments that will go on for years.

2:12 Much of the work was done by so-called favored firms.

2:15 This substation was built by a company owned by Milo Djukanovic' son,

2:23 The old regime's legacy weighs heavily on the country.

2:30 We met Montenegro's new president of the Supreme Court, Valentina Pavlicic.

2:36 She, too, wants to confront the country's dark past.

2:40 And yet.

2:44 Our institutions weren't prepared for what was coming.

2:50 Within one year, authorities have had to handle

2:53 several highly complex cases involving organised crime.

2:58 What can you do if you don't have the qualified staff?

3:04 Who's to blame then?

3:09 One such complex case shows why some change

3:12 has been hard to bring about in Montenegro,

3:15 even after Djokanovic was removed from power.

3:18 2013 saw a spectacular break in at the Supreme Court.

3:22 Evidence vanished.

3:24 Police and prosecutors in the dark.

3:26 All suspects released.

3:29 It was all rather suspicious.

3:31 And now Pavlicic presides over the country's Supreme Court.

3:37 Even as Montenegro is struggling with its past, it's forging ahead.

3:43 Most of the population supports the government's course to join the EU.

3:51 Corruption is hard to measure,

3:53 but we're fully aware its legacy is a serious obstacle for economic development.

3:59 Among other aspects, corruption gets in the way of free market competition.

4:07 The new government points to progress in advancing the rule of law.

4:13 The former Supreme Court president has already been convicted,

4:18 along with several judges and special prosecutors.

4:21 So have the former chief special prosecutor,

4:24 the president of the commercial court,

4:26 the director and two assistant directors of the police,

4:29 and the director of the National Security Agency.

4:33 This is a testament to Montenegro's momentum in the fight against corruption.

4:42 Even if the forces of the old guard remain strong.

4:45 They're now facing more than just a pro-EU government.

4:49 Unlike in the past, they're now having to answer to the public.

4:53 One current example.

4:55 A road near the coast is being modernized.

4:58 Contractors offered a set price and then suddenly demanded more money.

5:04 One official refused to approve the extra costs and took it to Ines Mrdovic.

5:15 A local official came to ask us for help.

5:19 He needed to sign off the extra costs.

5:23 We went to the media and sparked a lively reaction.

5:28 All of a sudden the contractors announced

5:30 they didn't need the extra funds anymore.

5:35 Montenegro is changing.

5:38 The EU has signaled openness to the country becoming its next member,

5:43 as long as it can meet the criteria and is

5:45 able to shake off the shadows of its past.