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Europe Now!

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Europe Now! Movement
Pokret Evropa sad!
Покрет Европа сад!
AbbreviationPES!
PresidentMilojko Spajić
Vice presidentOlivera Injac
FoundersMilojko Spajić
Jakov Milatović
Founded26 June 2022; 3 years ago (2022-06-26)
HeadquartersCrnogorskog bataljona bb, Podgorica
Youth wingThe Youth of Europe[1]
IdeologyPopulism[2]
Economic liberalism
Pro-Europeanism
Political positionCentre[5]
International affiliationCentrist Democrat International
Colors  Gold
  Blue
  White
Parliament
19 / 81
Local Parliaments
56 / 844
Mayors
2 / 25
Website
evropasad.com

The Europe Now! Movement (Montenegrin and Serbian: Pokret Evropa sad! / Покрет Европа сад!, PES!), is a centrist, pro-European, and economically liberal political party in Montenegro.[4][3] Founded in June 2022 by former ministers Milojko Spajić and Jakov Milatović, the party advocates free-market economic reforms, European integration, and anti-corruption policies.[6]

History

[edit]

The movement was founded on 26 June 2022 by Milojko Spajić and Jakov Milatović, who had previously served as independent Minister of Finance and Economy, respectively, in the technocratic cabinet formed after the 2020 parliamentary election.[7][8][9] The two had announced plans to establish a political movement in February 2022, shortly after the cabinet of Zdravko Krivokapić lost a vote of confidence in Parliament.[10]

Other founding members included former Defense Minister Olivera Injac and university professor Filip Ivanović.[11] The movement was named after the “Europe Now” economic reform programme introduced in January 2022, which increased the minimum wage from €222 to €450 through reductions in healthcare contributions and tax reforms.[12][13]

The party announced its intention to cooperate with centrist, civic, and minority interest parties, such as the Democrats-led and the URA-led coalitions, while criticising the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro (DPS), Democratic Front (DF), and Socialist People’s Party (SNP), accusing them of corruption and contributing to ethnic polarisation in Montenegro.[14][15][16] Lawyers Andrej Milović and Vasilije Čarapić joined the movement in September 2022 and became members of its presidency.[17]

The movement first contested the 2022 local elections, achieving notable results, particularly in Podgorica election, where it contributed to the defeat of the DPS administration that had governed the capital since the 1990s.[18][19][20] Jakov Milatović headed the party’s electoral list in Podgorica and participated in the formation of a new governing coalition in the city assembly.

The confirmation of the election results was delayed until March 2023 due to vacancies in the Constitutional Court of Montenegro and complaints submitted by several minor nationalist organisations alleging electoral irregularities.[21][22] In addition to its results in Podgorica, the movement won the mayoral offices in Danilovgrad and Žabljak and joined governing coalitions in seven of the eleven municipalities in which it participated. Subsequent opinion polls indicated increased public support for the movement.[23][24]

In January 2023, Milojko Spajić announced his candidacy for the 2023 presidential election.[25] He was subsequently disqualified by the State Election Commission over allegations that he held Serbian citizenship in addition to Montenegrin citizenship, which would have made him constitutionally ineligible to run for president.[26][27] Following his disqualification, the movement nominated Jakov Milatović as its presidential candidate.[28] In the first round of the presidential election, Milatović won 29% of the vote, advancing to the runoff against incumbent president Milo Đukanović.[29][30] In the second round, held on 2 April 2023, Milatović defeated Đukanović with approximately 60% of the vote.[31]

At the 2023 parliamentary election, the movement, led by Spajić, emerged as the largest political party in Montenegro, winning 24 seats in the Parliament of Montenegro.[32][33]

In February 2024, Jakov Milatović left the party following internal disagreements.[34]

In November 2025, PES! joined the Centrist Democrat International.[35]

Election results

[edit]

Presidential elections

[edit]
Election Candidate 1st round 2nd round Result
Votes % Votes %
2023 Jakov Milatović 97,858 28.92% 221,592 58.88% Won

Parliamentary elections

[edit]
Election Party leader Performance Alliance Rank Government
Votes % Seats +/–
2023 Milojko Spajić 77,203 25.53%
22 / 81
 New PES–UCG–Civis 1st Government

Positions held

[edit]
President of Montenegro Years
Jakov Milatović 2023–present
Prime Minister of Montenegro Years
Milojko Spajić 2023–present
Mayor of Podgorica Years
Olivera Injac 2023–2024
Saša Mujović 2024–present

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Jelena Šukić predsjednica mladih Pokreta Evropa sad". Vijesti. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  2. ^ Heil, Andy (2023-04-02). "On Europe And The West, Montenegro's Presidential Challenger Talks A Good Game. But Is He The Real Deal?". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  3. ^ a b Montenegro: The identity question as a sticking point, Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, 17 March 2023
  4. ^ a b A fresh face and dirty games in Montenegro's presidential election, IntelliNews, 16 March 2023
  5. ^ [3][4]
  6. ^ esadmin. "EVROPA SAD - Načela i vrijednosti". Pokret Evropa sad!. Retrieved 2022-10-23.
  7. ^ "Spajić i Milatović u ponedjeljak predstavljaju Pokret "Evropa sad!"" [On Monday, Spajić and Milatović will present the Movement "Europe now!"]. 25 June 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  8. ^ "Bivši ministri osnovali novu političku stranku u Crnoj Gori". Radio Slobodna Evropa (in Serbian). 2022-06-27. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  9. ^ "Želja pokreta "Evropa sad" je da nastupi na izborima u svim opštinama". RTCG - Radio Televizija Crne Gore - Nacionalni javni servis (in Bosnian). Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  10. ^ Spajić i Milatović najavili osnivanje pokreta, Vijesti, 5 February 2022
  11. ^ "Olivera Injac i Filip Ivanović u pokretu Evropa sad". vijesti.me (in Serbian). Retrieved 2022-08-31.
  12. ^ "EVROPA SAD!". Government of Montenegro. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  13. ^ Tajna izbornog uspjeha Pokreta Evropa sad u Crnoj Gori, Radio Free Europe, 25 October 2023
  14. ^ Sa DPS i DF nećemo sarađivati, Demokrate i URA partneri nakon izbora, Dan, 2 February 2023
  15. ^ Drago nam je što je strah od Evrope Sad ponovo ujedinio DPS, DF i SNP, Dan, 15 October 2022
  16. ^ Spajić: Čini mi se da DF odrađuje posao za DPS, Dan, 6 February 2023
  17. ^ Lacman, Nemanja (2022-09-09). "Andrej Milović i Vasilije Čarapić pristupili Pokretu Evropa sad". Adria TV (in Serbian). Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  18. ^ Pokret ‘Evropa sad’: DPS izgubio izbore, imat ćemo vlast u Podgorici, Al Jazeera, 23 October 2023
  19. ^ Evropa sad slavi: "Milatović je novi gradonačelnik, Dan, 23 October 2022
  20. ^ DPS izgubio Podgoricu, „Evropa sad“ najveći dobitnik, RTV Cetinje, 24 October 2022
  21. ^ Desničarski pokreti i pojedinci, povezani sa DPS-om, blokiraju tranziciju vlasti u Podgorici, press.co.me, 24 November 2022
  22. ^ Nakon deblokade Ustavnog suda, konačni rezultati u Podgorici mogući do kraja nedjelje, Dan, 28 February 2023
  23. ^ CEDEM: Evropa sad za petama DPS-u, Vijesti, 22 December 2023
  24. ^ Montenegro: the centrist pro-European "Evropa Sad!" reaches a record high of 17.4% in the latest CeDem poll, Europe Elects, March 2023
  25. ^ Spajić predsjednički kandidat Pokreta Evropa sad, Vijesti, 29 January 2023
  26. ^ Politička odluka DIK-a, proceduru osporio i predsjednik institucije, 18 February 2023
  27. ^ Spajić: Ozvaničena saradnja lidera jedinstvenog DPS-a, MINA, 18 February 2023
  28. ^ Jakov Milatović predao predsjedničku kandidaturu Archived 2023-02-26 at the Wayback Machine, RTCG, 26 February 2023
  29. ^ Po preliminarnim rezultatima Đukanović i Milatović u drugom krugu, RTCG, 19 March 2023
  30. ^ Đukanović i Milatović idu u drugi krug, Vijesti, 19 March 2023
  31. ^ Jakov Milatović ubjedljivo pobijedio: Dobio 60,1 odsto glasova, Đukanović 39,9 %, RTCG, 2 April 2023
  32. ^ Vasovic, Aleksandar; Filipovic, Branko; Vasovic, Aleksandar (2023-06-11). "Montenegro's pro-EU Europe Now Movement claims victory in snap vote". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
  33. ^ "Pokret 'Evropa sad' osvojio 24 - najviše mandata na izborima u Crnoj Gori". Radio Slobodna Evropa (in Serbian). 2023-06-12. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
  34. ^ "Montenegrin president Milatovic leaves ruling party Europe Now". SeeNews. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  35. ^ Cupac, Tamara (2025-11-23). "PES postao punopravni član CDI-ja". mina.news (in Serbian). Retrieved 2025-11-25.
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