Europe Now Movement Pokret Evropa sad Покрет Европа сад | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | PES |
| President | Milojko Spajić |
| Vice president | Olivera Injac |
| Founders | Milojko Spajić Jakov Milatović |
| Founded | 26 June 2022 (2022-06-26) |
| Headquarters | Podgorica |
| Youth wing | The Youth of Europe[1] |
| Ideology | Populism[2] Economic liberalism Pro-Europeanism |
| Political position | Centre[5] |
| International affiliation | Centrist Democrat International |
| Colors | Gold Blue White |
| Parliament | 20 / 81 |
| Local Parliaments | 56 / 844 |
| Mayors | 2 / 25 |
| Website | |
| evropasad | |
TheEurope Now Movement (Montenegrin andSerbian:Pokret Evropa sad! / Покрет Европа сад!,PES!), sometimes stylised with an exclamation mark, is acentristpolitical organization inMontenegro,[3][4] founded in June 2022 by the formerMinisters of Finance and theEconomy,Milojko Spajić andJakov Milatović, respectively. It describes itself as an economy-focused andanti-corruption movement, that iseconomically liberal.[6]
The movement was founded on 26 June 2022 byMilojko Spajić andJakov Milatović, the former independentFinance andEconomy Ministers respectively, within the short-livedtechnocratic cabinet formed after the2020 parliamentary election regime change.[7][8][9] Previously, announcing joint political engagement and the formation of a new political movement back in February 2022, shortly after the technocratic cabinet ofZdravko Krivokapić lost the confidence by the new parliamentary majority.[10] In addition to Spajic and Milatovic, prominent founding members of the movement include formerDefense Minister,Olivera Injac and university professorFilip Ivanović.[11] The name of the movement is identical with the economic reforms program that included popular set of measures, which increased minimal wage from €222 to €450 by cutting healthcare contributions, launched in January 2022 by the ministers during their tenure.[12][13] The newly-founded party also announced future cooperation with other centrist and civic-oriented political subjects, such as theDemocrats-led and theURA-led coalitions, as well with theminority interests parties, opposing the activity and positions of theDPS,DF andSNP, accusing them of corruption and fueling ethnic divisions, calling them "parties and policies of the past".[14][15][16] LawyersAndrej Milović and Vasilije Čarapić joined the movement in September 2022 and became presidency members.[17]
The movement debuted at theOctober 2022 local elections, seeing good results, especially in theelections in thecapital city ofPodgorica, which resulted in the fall from power of the populistDPS of PresidentMilo Đukanović, which had ruled the city since the 1990s, with Europe Now! list ballot carrierJakov Milatović, leading new coalition majority in the Capital City Assembly.[18][19][20] However, the formal announcement of the results is pending since the October 2022 election, until March 2023, caused by the vacancy within the Constitutional Court of Montenegro (due to the parliamentary crisis in the country), after the minor, bothMontenegrin andSerbian nationalist organizations, such as "21st of May Initiative" and theSerb List, which many accuse of acting as aspoiler party of the DPS, submitted complaints to inactive court about "irregularities during local election campaign", leaving the outgoing convocation as well DPS-led administration elected in May 2018 staying in power in acting term during 2023.[21][22] The ES also obtain the mayoral post inDanilovgrad andŽabljak, becoming part of the new ruling coalitions in seven out of 11 municipalities in which they participated in the elections. All opinion polls published in the aftermath of the local elections, as of March 2023 showed an increase in the popular support of the movement.[23][24]
In January 2023, movement co-founderMilojko Spajić announced his candidacy for theMarch 2023 presidential elections,[25] Eventually, he was disqualified due to suspicions he has Serbian citizenship, since Montenegrin law does not allow people with dual citizenship to run for the presidency. Spajić’s disqualification by the central election body, composed mostly by the DPS and DF delegates, was quick and did not wait for the completion of a probe launched by the Ministry of Interior. This gave food to speculation that decision was influenced by the DPS as Spajić was seen as a serious threat to incumbent presidentMilo Đukanović. Commission members representing the DF also voted to disqualify Spajić.[26][27] Shortly after that, movement decided to nominate its other co-founderJakov Milatović.[28] In the first round, Milatović outperformed the polls, gaining 29% of the votes[29][30] and eventually defeating long-ruling incumbentMilo Đukanović in the second round runoff on 2 April, winning roughly 60% of the votes.[31]
Spajić led the movement going into the2023 parliamentary elections, at which it became the largest party, winning 24 seats in the Parliament.[32][33]
In February 2024 Jakov Milatović left the party.[34]
In November 2025 PES! joined theCentrist Democrat International.[35]
| Election | Candidate | 1st round | 2nd round | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
| 2023 | Jakov Milatović | 97,858 | 28.92% | 221,592 | 58.88% | Won |
| Election | Party leader | Performance | Alliance | Rank | Government | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |||||
| 2023 | Milojko Spajić | 77,203 | 25.53% | 22 / 81 | New | PES–UCG–Civis | 1st | Government |
| 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 |
| Parliament | |
|---|---|
| Notable parties without seats | |
| Historical | |
