The Montenegrin Parliament currently does not have the conditions to enable the transmission of committee sessions, but will continue to look for an optimal solution to that issue, the parliamentary Department for Public Relations announced. The non-governmental organization Alternative Institute sent the Parliament an initiative to, as they stated, like the parliaments in the region, enable the transmission of the sessions of all parliamentary committees or, at least, publish audio recordings from them.
The Assembly told the MINA agency that, recognizing the importance of the most important democratic principles, transparency and responsibility, they implemented a series of measures to bring the work of the parliament closer to the citizens.
That is why, as they stated, the Parliament of Montenegro is recognized as one of the most transparent institutions in the country and beyond. "In a recent survey published in Serbia, the Parliament of Montenegro was evaluated as the most transparent parliament in seven countries of the region, including two countries of the European Union (EU)," said the Department for Public Relations.
The Parliament of Montenegro regularly publishes information about its activities on the Parliament's website, including all acts in the legislative procedure with a list of votes, annual and other work reports, action plans to strengthen the legislative and control role of the Parliament. The parliament also said that they regularly respond to all requests for free access to information submitted in accordance with the law, as well as to inquiries from journalists and citizens. They reminded that, in addition, video equipment was installed in 2009, so that the transmission of sessions and other events in the plenary hall is carried out with their own capacities.
"The digital signal of the session, through the Radio Broadcasting Center, is available in real time to all national and local radio and TV stations in Montenegro. A You Tube channel has also been opened with the contents of direct broadcasts of parliamentary sessions, which can be watched in real time, as well as reproduced as needed by the user," the parliament specified. As they explained, the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly define that its work is public, which also applies to board meetings.
"So the presence of media representatives and their free reporting is implied, while representatives of civil society can attend and, if they are interested, participate in the work of working bodies in accordance with the stipulated rules and procedures", explained the parliament, adding that the documents created as the results of the committee's work are available, and are published regularly on the parliamentary website.
According to them, when it comes to the direct transmission of board meetings, it should be noted that such a practice is not widespread among parliaments, "while in some parliaments board meetings are completely closed to the public". "The Assembly service made estimates of the costs of direct transmission of sessions of working bodies, in order to define adequate sources of funding. This need was highlighted within the IPA II programming process. Through the project that is planned with the support of the EU Delegation, also from IPA funds, it is expected to further improve the transparency and openness of the work of the parliament", said the Department of Public Relations.
As they stated, in the meantime, the service planned to, as a temporary solution, equip at least one room where board meetings are held.
"During the adoption of the budget for this year, it was said to provide funds for these purposes, but due to their limitations, that project was not given priority," the parliament said.
They agree that the publication of audio recordings would improve the transparency of the work ofwrinkles, but, as they stated, those costs are not negligible either.
"In any case, the Assembly Service will continue to deal with this issue, trying to find and implement an optimal solution in the conditions of objective limitations, such as the lack of funds, personnel and space, while taking into account the priorities of the Parliament", said the Department for public relations.
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