The EMI Montenegro Congress: Fostering Civil Society in the Candidate and Potential Candidate countries took place on 21-23 November 2013 in Budva, Montenegro.

The aim of the EMI Montenegro Congress was to follow up on the achievements of the Istanbul Congress (February 2011) and the Ljubljana Congress (April 2009). We met in Budva, 21-23 November 2013, in order to further explore the possibilities of enhancing the quality developments and perspectives of civil society in the candidate and potential candidate countries.

In this age of crisis and apparent decreased faith in the European project, fostering civil society in the candidate and potential candidate countries has grown to the rank of top priority task for the European Movement International. The EMI believes that a strong union between civil society and the European institutions will help persuade national governments in the region to undertake reforms. A positive evolution of the democratic transformation process in the Western Balkans and Turkey in recent years now needs to be pushed further, and followed up with the introduction of bodies, laws and regulations which stimulate the strengthening of civil society.

The respective sessions were scheduled around the following frameworks:

• Introductory Session: The EU accession process as a framework for national reforms and strengthening of cooperation of governments and NGOs
• Thematic Session 1: Overview of the situation of the countries towards enlargement / Reflection on the Enlargement Package 2013
• Thematic Session 2: Civil Society development
• Thematic Session 3: The EU enlargement in times of economic crisis
• Concluding Session: Regional Cooperation as a Framework for Fostering of European Integration and Protection of Human Rights

The Final Report of the Montenegro Congress, attached below, contains a summary of each of the sessions, as well as the minutes of all sessions, and links to the foreign press coverage of the Congress.