Although Montenegro handled the COVID-19 crisis effectively in the early beginnings, having in mind that the first measures were introduced even before the first case was registered, as the time went by, systemic flaws were revealed. The fact that two different governments were in power during the COVID-19 crisis in Montenegro, reflected on the extent of oppressiveness of the introduced measures and resulted in different approaches. Citizens highly supported severe measures during the first wave of the pandemic, but support for the measures declined as the time went by. Selective information sharing, unclear communication of measures, violation of human rights and breaching of the Constitution contributed to the negative public attitudes towards the relevant authorities. Lack of institutional proactivity in oversight of Government’s decision-making was obvious with regards to the Parliament, the Constitutional Court and the Agency for Personal Data Protection, who failed to protect the rights of the citizens of Montenegro. When it comes to the procurement of vaccines, protective equipment and COVID-19 tests, at first Montenegro mainly relied on donations from other countries and organisations. Later the purchases of these means were conducted through non-transparent and partly unsuccessful procurement procedures. However, the cooperation with WHO and EU was on a high level, demonstrated through joint activities and projects carried out throughout the pandemic.
More details in the analysis of the response of Montenegro to the COVID-19 pandemic.
