Goran Danilovic, from the opposition Democratic Front, slammed the court’s decision, reported on Friday, to rule unconstitutional the agreement on language in education which was struck in 2011 between the government and opposition.

The court’s ruling was “partisan and provocative”, and aimed at serving the interests of Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, Danilovic wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday.

His party colleague Andrija Mandic meanwhile told the pro-Serb portal IN4S that he opposed what he said was a discriminatory policy towards Serbs in Montenegro.

The 2011 agreement envisaged changes to the law on education which would see pupils in Montenegro’s schools studying “Montenegrin-Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian language and literature”.

The 2007 constitution had previously stipulated that Montenegrin was the sole official language.

Former Prime Minister Igor Luksic, who struck the deal in 2011, said at the time that the amendment “clearly shows that Montenegrin is the official language, and the same time ensures full protection of the other languages from any form of discrimination”.

In return for the amendment to the education legislation, the opposition agreed to support to changes to the country’s electoral law, for which a two-thirds parliamentary majority was required.

Mandic suggested that the decision to overturn the agreement might have a negative impact on the ongoing talks over proposed constitutional changes, which also require a two-thirds majority in parliament and are one of the main preconditions for the country’s further advance towards the EU.

“It is not late for the opposition to protect its own interests and the interests of the largest language community in the country,” he added.

The 2011 census revealed that over 40 per cent of people in Montenegro say they speak Serbian, even though less than 30 per cent declared Serb to be their ethnicity.

Reacting to the criticism of its decision, the constitutional court told Podgorica-based daily Pobjeda on Sunday its concern was the education law, not any political deal which had been struck./balkaninsight