The councilors of the Ulcinj Municipal Assembly (MA) today unanimously adopted conclusions regarding the operations of the Public Company for Coastal Zone Management (PK) and the principles that should guide future investment projects at an extraordinary session. The Assembly, among other things, agreed that the Law on PK should be amended and stated that future investments must not lead to undesirable demographic changes.
The Assembly expressed serious concerns about the way the Public Enterprise has managed the coastal zone over the past 30 years.
"This concern particularly relates to the fact that the extent of the coastal zone in Ulcinj is as much as 13% of the entire territory of the municipality and that it is under the coastal zone regime, which represents an unprecedented precedent in Montenegro. In some places, the border of the coastal zone reaches up to 8 km inland, which seriously limits the development potential of the municipality, and is contrary to established European standards," the conclusions state.
A disproportion is cited in relation to the rest of Montenegro - Ulcinj covers as much as 57% of the total maritime area in Montenegro, which imposes disproportionate administrative and economic obstacles on the local community and businessmen.
"Financial levies and competitiveness through the increase in VAT and the drastic increase in rents for the use of the coastal zone seriously threaten the competitiveness of Ulcinj as a tourist destination. These measures further complicate business for local entrepreneurs and reduce the attractiveness of Ulcinj for investors and tourists," the adopted conclusions state.
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The Ulcinj Municipal Assembly called on the Government and all MPs to support a set of laws that change the regulations and management practices of the maritime domain, in order to ensure a fairer distribution of competencies and resources, and enable sustainable economic development of each coastal municipality, which were proposed by MPs at the initiative of the presidents of all coastal municipalities.
Also, the Ulcinj Assembly called on the judges of the Constitutional Court of Montenegro to decide on the merits and priorities of the submitted initiatives of the Municipality of Ulcinj and the beach tenants.
The councilors also gave clear support to investments that contribute to economic development and improving the quality of life of the municipality's residents.
The Assembly voted that all investment projects must be in accordance with the principles of sustainable development, respecting the planning and strategic documents of the Municipality of Ulcinj and Montenegro, taking into account economic, environmental and social sustainability.
"Projects must be aligned with the principles of ecological responsibility, preservation of natural resources and environmental protection. The process of approving and implementing investments must be transparent, with the active involvement of the local community and the professional public. Bearing in mind that Ulcinj is a specific environment in which an ethnic minority makes up the majority of the population, in accordance with international standards and applicable legal regulations, investments must not lead to undesirable demographic changes that would threaten the cultural, ethnic or social identity of the municipality," the local parliament said, noting that the Municipal Assembly calls on all interested investors to align their projects with these principles and thereby contribute to the sustainable development of the municipality of Ulcinj.
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