The Economic Committee proposed Gajević and Martinović as members of the Fiscal Council

The Committee on Economy, Finance and Budget proposed to the Parliament to appoint Stevan Gajević and Lidija Martinović as members of the Fiscal Council. The Fiscal Council is an independent body that will oversee the implementation of fiscal policy and provide proposals and measures for its improvement.

Gajević was proposed for membership in the Fiscal Council by the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, while Martinović was proposed by the Committee. The government did not propose its own candidate.

In addition to Martinović and Gajević, Bratislav Pejaković was also among the candidates.

Committee Chairman Boris Mugoša stated that a hearing of candidates was held on March 30, after which they asked Milatović and the Ministry of Finance for candidates. He explained that they were told by Novica Vuković's department in mid-May that the Government had decided not to nominate a member, while Milatović nominated Gajević.

"We need to determine a proposal for a decision on the appointment of a member of the Fiscal Council, one of which would be a proposal from the committee, one from the president, while the Government did not have a proposal. We would then forward it to the parliamentary procedure...", stated Mugoša.

After the vote of the Committee members, Martinović received four out of seven votes, while three abstained, so they decided to propose Martinović as a member to the Assembly. Mugoša stated that he would request a vote at the plenary session tomorrow.

The European Commission had previously called for the Fiscal Council to be filled, warning in its Progress Report on Montenegro at the end of last year that Montenegro must more decisively limit public spending and increase budget revenues while respecting fiscal rules, implement the Law on Budget and Fiscal Responsibility, and establish the Fiscal Council in time to consider the 2026 budget.

Although the legal conditions for the formation of the Fiscal Council were created almost three years ago, this body has not been formed to date because two competitions for the selection of its members failed.

New Serbian Democracy MP Dejan Đurović added that the World Bank helped in the preparation of the competition, in order to obtain a composition that would control the fiscal system, and that they did not have a large number of candidates due to the lengthy process.

Mugoša added that two members would make the council functional, while a competition would be announced for the third.

He also stressed that the municipalities of Tivat and Zeta submitted opinions on the amendments to the Law on Financing Local Self-Government, that they are against the amendments and the proposed model. He also pointed out that the Union of Municipalities requested to attend the discussion on the Law on Road Traffic, but Europe Now MP Milan Zečević withdrew it.

Mugoša stated that he also received a letter from the second-ranked bidder in the tender process for Montenegrin airports, and that "Corporación América Airports" (CAAP) pointed out objections to the tender process and illegal changes to the concession contract to the detriment of the state.

"We have not received the draft agreement that the Government adopted, it has not yet reached us," Mugoša emphasized.

He added that they agreed to hold a joint session with the Committee for Tourism, Agriculture, Ecology and Spatial Planning, on the topic of the economic effects of the pre-season and preparations for the season, and would also invite the Minister of Tourism Simonida Kordić.