Montenegro lawmakers elect pro-EU government

Montenegrin lawmakers on Thursday approved a new government that promised to speed up European Union integration and make an effort to bridge a deep political divide in the small Balkan nation.

The government of Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic won support from 45 lawmakers in the 81-member parliament while three votes were against. The vote came weeks after the previous government was ousted in a no-confidence motion in February.

The election in Montenegro is seen as a boost to US and EU efforts at maintaining stability in the volatile Balkans amid the conflict in Ukraine.

Abazovic served as a deputy prime minister in the previous administration formed after a 2020 election that removed the long-ruling Democratic Party of Socialists from power.

Abazovic, however, later cited stalled EU integration to initiate the government's ouster through the no-confidence motion.