Montenegro’s EU Mission Hasn’t Filed Spending Reports in Six Months

Two independent sources who spoke to Antena M said Montenegro’s Mission to the European Union has not submitted financial reports to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the past six months.

The diplomatic mission, led by Ambassador Petar Marković, must report monthly on its use of public funds. However, no such reports have been filed for half a year.

Antena M contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, currently headed by Ervin Ibrahimović, to ask whether Ambassador Marković has been fulfilling this obligation. Instead of providing a direct answer, the Ministry offered vague references to publicly available regulations—a familiar pattern seen across various departments in the current government.

We also asked how such a failure is addressed, whether it constitutes a breach of ministry regulations, and what consequences might follow. The Ministry stated that any delay must be properly justified. Their full response reads:

“In response to your inquiry, we inform you that diplomatic and consular missions are required to submit monthly financial reports in line with the internal rules and procedures of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The financial operations of these missions are part of the overall financial framework of the Ministry. 

Should there be any delays due to objective reasons, missions must justify and submit the report as soon as possible, in coordination with the Ministry’s Financial Affairs Department”.

In other words, the Ministry neither confirmed nor denied Antena M’s reliable findings. There was also no mention of any investigation or potential disciplinary measures related to the missing reports.

According to Article 44, Paragraph 5 of Montenegro’s Law on Foreign Affairs, heads of diplomatic missions must operate following the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and are specifically “responsible for the lawful financial management of the diplomatic mission”.

Marković was appointed to his post in October 2021. Antena M has learned that financial management under his leadership received poor marks in the mission’s annual review. Nevertheless, this did not prevent him from continuing in the role for another term.