Pejović: I am resigning from my position in the Government

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22.02.2018. 10:00h Ažurirano: 22.02.2018. 10:00h

I sent a letter to the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Duško Marković, in which I informed him that for moral reasons I am resigning as a member of the Government of Montenegro, the Minister of European Affairs, Aleksandar Andrija Pejović, announced today.

"As a responsible and conscientious citizen, respecting the activities of Montenegrin institutions, I decided to act in this way in order to relax the Government and myself from the pressure that arose after the decision of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, number UPI 02-01-10/15 of 16. II 2018. I will certainly use the legal remedy and seek my right in the legal procedure, firmly convinced that I have not violated the law on any of the grounds stated in the Agency's Decision. I emphasize that I acted according to the valid regulations adopted by the Government of which I am a member and which were done according to comparative examples in Croatia and Serbia, where the function of chief negotiator also includes the status of ambassador in the Mission in Brussels, which can be seen from the attachment to this announcement," Pejović pointed out.

He added that he is sure that the absence of a conflict of interest will be proven in the further legal proceedings, in order to protect his personal integrity and thus the credibility of the institutions of the system.

"When it comes to compensation for the performance of additional duties, I would like to clarify that it is determined by the decision of the President of the Government of Montenegro No. 03/3-881 of May 5, 2017. It is understood that, in accordance with the Government's Decision on the establishment of a structure for accession negotiations of Montenegro to the European Union, Article 7, paragraph 2, hereby ends my duty as Minister of European Affairs - chief negotiator, which I perform in the Mission of Montenegro to the European Union in the status of ambassador. Within the position I covered, I appreciate that I performed my work conscientiously and responsibly with full respect for Montenegrin laws and European standards, as evidenced by the results of the department I managed," said Pejović.

On February 2, the Center for Civic Education (CGO) published the documentation that was sent to the competent authorities for the initiation of the procedure against Aleksandar Andrija Pejović. They then submitted an initiative to Prime Minister Duško Marković to start the procedure for the dismissal of Pejović due to, as they stated, a violation of the Constitution in the part of incompatibility of functions and a request to the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK) to start proceedings against Pejović to determine conflicts of interest and restrictions on the exercise of public functions.

Pejović received 4.690 euros per month since May last year. In addition, he was paid for accommodation in Brussels, for which he received from the budget 1.936 to 2.497 euros per month.

On February 19, the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK) announced that it had determined that Pejović could not have the status of ambassador because he violated the Law on Prevention of Corruption and that is unconstitutional.

Pejović said that he will take responsibility for the decision of the KAS stating that he violated the Law on Prevention of Corruption and that he will exercise his rights in accordance with the Law.

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