Montenegrin lawmakers are expected to adopt agreements between Montenegro and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on economic cooperation, tourism and real estate development on Tuesday.
The parliamentary majority is expected to support the agreements recently signed in Dubai by Prime Minister Milojko Spajić and UAE Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, which open the door for Arab billionaire Mohammed Alabar to invest in Montenegro, specifically in Velika Plaža near Ulcinj, after Serbia, Albania and Croatia.
Violent reactions at local and national levels
Ahead of the vote on the draft laws ratifying the agreement between Montenegro and the UAE, the opposition, the authorities in Ulcinj, environmentalists, and part of the civil sector are protesting.
The Montenegrin Competition Agency announced that it would investigate whether state aid rules were violated in this case, and the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption stated that it was particularly controversial that the Government, through the agreement, obliged itself to provide land to the investor without applying public procurement, tenders or procedures prescribed by national legislation governing state property.
The opposition party URA has filed a criminal complaint with the Special Prosecutor's Office against Prime Minister Spajić for signing a document that, as they stated, is nothing more than an agreement to sell off Montenegro.
The government adopted the cooperation agreements with the UAE in an electronic session that lasted 33 minutes, warned the Network for the Affirmation of the Non-Governmental Sector (MANS), and the director of that NGO, Vanja Ćalović-Marković, called on the authorities to first put them up for public debate, so that the agreements could be improved - in the interest of all citizens of Montenegro.
Agreements with the UAE – in the interest of individuals and against the EU?
Aleksandar Dragićević, one of the civic activists opposing Alabaro's "vision" of the megaproject on Velika Plaza, tells DW that the MPs who are supposed to adopt the agreements on Tuesday do not know what the projects are. He says they trust the investor that everything will be in accordance with the laws, even though he has a negative reputation in Serbia and Albania - due to delays, corruption and lack of transparency.
"Montenegro's European path is at risk because investors from the UAE are given a privileged position compared to those coming from EU countries. And under the terms of the agreement - there is no serious investor who would not invest in having the best parts of Montenegro ceded to him for 90 years, in building tourist capacities and apartments for the market, in bringing and paying for all the supporting infrastructure, in allowing him to edit planning documents, and in speeding up procedures by suspending laws. Before signing the agreement, the Prime Minister did not inform the MPs, the Government or the local community, but is implementing the entire process the way he wants," Dragićević adds.
Prime Minister Spajić, on the other hand, presented the agreements with the UAE to MPs in parliamentary committees as "generators of economic growth." "MPs will not vote on an agreement with an investor or a specific project, but on an international agreement on economic cooperation between the two countries," Spajić said.
Parliament Speaker Andrija Mandić from New Serbian Democracy stressed that these agreements are "an opportunity for the revival of Montenegro," although he is aware of the revolt of the local community.
Dragićević, however, expects the agreements to get the green light in the Parliament. As he says, not because the Prime Minister and the Government have dispelled the numerous doubts that citizens and MPs have, but because the majority does not vote according to conscience, logic and for the good of Montenegro, but according to the instructions of their party leaders.
"In order not to provoke the anger of the prime minister, who would dismiss ministers from their parties, the majority MPs are keeping their doubts about the announced investments to themselves and will raise their hands. For the civil sector and the local community, the agreements are just the beginning of the fight. At every step, the government will face strong resistance - protests, objections and the use of procedures and laws - all in order to preserve the space and Montenegro," Dragićević told DW.
How did Alabar enter the story?
After the World Government Summit, which was held in Dubai in early February this year and was attended by a Montenegrin delegation led by Spajić, Alabar entered Montenegro through a back door. In record time, he founded a company and participated in a tender for the lease of several beaches on Velika Plaza in Ulcinj.
It was immediately clear that the builder of the Burj Khalifa, the Dubai Mall, Belgrade on the Water and an exclusive complex in Durres, Albania – whose wealth is estimated at 2,3 billion euros – has much greater ambitions in Montenegro.
After a surprise meeting between Alabar and the President of the Municipality of Ulcinj, Genci Nimanbegu, the public forgets about the beaches and learns that a megaproject is "simmering" in Ulcinj, which causes a revolt among the people of Ulcinj.
"Twenty million square meters of Ulcinj's Velika Plaza are planned to be leased for 99 years. I don't know how anyone thought of doing this without public discussion, involving the local government and the professional public..." said the Mayor of Ulcinj, supported by the local parliament, as well as a large number of citizens.
They also organized protests, from which they announced that Spajić intends to give Alabaru valuable state land for use, on which he will build - without a tender or public debate - bypassing the current spatial plans, the state development strategy, as well as the principles of environmental preservation and biodiversity of this unique, largely untouched area.
The Montenegrin Prime Minister, however, presents the Arab billionaire as a credible investor who will invest an incredible 35 billion euros. However, as the investor himself explained, this sum reflects the "broader economic impact of the project."
In an interview with Television Vijesti, Alabar admitted that he does not yet have a detailed plan, but he presented a vision - how he imagines his project on Velika Plaza and what exactly he would build and how much:
"It would be a continuation of the beautiful architecture you have. There would be a lot of greenery, apartment buildings no higher than three or four floors, beaches would remain accessible to all citizens, but they would be clean. The local community would also be involved, so people who sell chicken in Ulcinj would sell more chicken in restaurants. People who sell shampoo would sell more shampoo in hotels," Alabar pointed out, adding that he would respect all Montenegrin and European laws.
The big beach (isn't) a big lie
The NGO coalition "Big Beach or Big Lie" protested in front of the Parliament regarding the Government's intention to urgently include laws on the ratification of the agreement with the United Arab Emirates on the agenda.
Jovana Janjušević from the Center for the Protection and Study of Birds (CZIP) said that MPs are not deciding on Velika Plaza, but on the sovereignty of Montenegro, and that environmentalists fear that - if investors give up on Velika Plaza - Buljarica, Durmitor or Biogradska gora will be "attacked".
"Protected areas mean nothing to Prime Minister Spajić and that is what is problematic," said the CZIP representative.
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