The announced annulment of the Government's decision on the recognition of Kosovo in the Zeta parliament cannot have formal legal significance, and therefore it should be viewed as a marketing move ahead of the national elections.
With these words, the interlocutors of "Vijesti" interpret the message of the committee club "For the future of Zeta", led by the Democratic Front (DF), that at the next session of the Zeta Assembly, a "declaration on the annulment and invalidity of the decision" on the recognition of Kosovo on the territory of that municipality will be adopted. Nothing has been done about it yet.
The declaration was announced last Friday, four days after Montenegro supported the proposal for Kosovo to join the Council of Europe (CoE).
The Democratic People's Party (DNP), one of the constituents of the DF, announced that they support the request of Zeta colleagues to express disagreement "with the minority policy" of the Government of Dritan Abazović, but also of all previous governments "which, contrary to the majority will of the citizens, implemented and implement a treacherous foreign policy...".
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Doctor of Law Đorđije Blažić told "Vijesta" that the Municipal Assembly (SO) of Zeta does not have the authority to annul the Government's decision on the recognition of Kosovo made in 2008, and that therefore the plan of some of the Zeta councilors represents politicking.
"Such a possible decision cannot have any formal-legal significance, because it is not within the competence of local self-governments. It is state jurisdiction par excellence, i.e. competence of the Government, because it leads the internal and external policy of the country. It is clearly written in the Constitution. In a legal sense, it would be a move beyond any reason, the Constitution, the law, the legal order of local self-governments... They can only do it for marketing reasons, to gain political points, but it would be out of the question," he says.
Until yesterday, the proposal for a declaration on the "recognition" of Kosovo had not been submitted to the Zeta parliament, in which the DF has an almost absolute majority (16 out of 32 councilors). This was confirmed to "Vijesti" by the head of parliament, Luka Krstović (Democrats), saying that unofficial announcements by his colleagues indicate that the initiative will be submitted soon.
The President of the Municipality of Zeta, Mihailo Asanović, told the paper that the DF councilor club should do that these days.
"We expect it to be adopted during May," he said.
A few days ago, Asanović stated that he knew that the declaration would not have legal validity, but that the DF wanted to send a message that "the people do not think like the government." On that occasion, he recalled the statement of former Prime Minister Duško Marković, who said in 2018 that the Government recognized Kosovo despite the fact that over 85 percent of citizens were against it.
Adviser to the Prime Minister for foreign policy, Đorđe Radulović, told "Vijesta" that the Government, in accordance with the Constitution, conducts internal and external policies, and that the recognition of states, as well as the establishment of diplomatic relations, are under its authority.
He states that the announced move of the Zeta parliament should be viewed in the light of several factors, one of which is the early elections scheduled for June 11.
"As Zeta councilors emphasized, their decision does not have an international legal effect, but is of a declarative nature... Bearing in mind that with the emergence of new political structures and parties, the political geometry that existed until August 30, 2020 no longer exists, messages like this among other things, wants to gather and keep its traditional electorate and ensure the desired result in the elections", he said.
Radulović says that, from a political point of view, moves like the one planned are part of a legitimate political strategy, but the question is how wise it is for Montenegrin society.
"That we transpose every regional or global geopolitical issue into the domestic political arena, ignoring much more important things that concern the quality of life of our citizens," he adds.
President Zeta Asanović recently said that he believes that the declaration on the "recognition" of Kosovo will also be made by other municipalities where DF has a majority. That alliance, apart from Zeta, has its own people at the head of five other municipalities - Nikšić, Budva, Pljevlja, Beran and Mojkovac, while in several others they participate in the exercise of power.
However, "Vijesti" yesterday did not receive an answer from any of the DF municipal presidents to the question of whether such initiatives are planned.
The leaders of Nikšić and Beran, Marko Kovačević and Vuko Todorović, did not respond to the calls and messages of "Vijesti", the president of the Municipality of Pljevlja, Dario Vraneš, directed the newsroom to the official of the DF, Milan Lekić, who also did not announce himself, while the office of the head of the Municipality of Mojkovac, Vesko Delić, confirmed that they received the paper's questions, but did not send the answers to them...
"Vijesti", instead of the arrested leader of Budva, Milo Božović, tried to contact the president of the SO and DNP official Nikola Jovanović, but he did not answer the calls and messages either.
The DF unofficially told the newspaper that in other municipalities, so far, there have only been informal discussions about initiatives, and that there have been no concrete moves in this regard.
The President of the Committee for International Relations and Emigrants, Miodrag Lekić, told "Vijesti" that the announcement from Zeta is probably a consequence of the "insufficiently serious decision of the Government" to support Kosovo's membership of the Council of Europe, but that he thinks it is not the right move.
"With an understanding of the possible reasons for the reaction of the Municipality of Zeta, it does not mean that its conclusions are adequate, and here I am primarily referring to the constitutional and legal competences of municipalities in Montenegro," notes Lekić.
On Wednesday, a control hearing was held before the Committee chaired by the Prime Minister and the coordinator of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MVP) Abazović on the topic of the Government's decision to support Kosovo's entry into the SE.
Lekić says that this topic is "highly sensitive" among citizens, and that the Government made the decision in a "frivolously improvised way", and that it is obvious that political consequences have been produced.
"One of them is the announced decision in the municipality of Zeta, and they can appear in one way or another in other, even institutional environments. In this case, instead of solving the issue in an institutionally serious manner, the Government, perhaps not being sufficiently aware of the complexity of this issue, created new problems", concludes the interlocutor.
Radulović: Recognition of Kosovo is a new part of regional cooperation
Đorđe Radulović states that the Government takes care of the social inclusion of all citizens "so that everyone experiences the state as their own", and that despite legitimate and desirable disagreements over certain political issues, no space or reason is left for the radicalization of any group or individual.
He points out that Montenegrin foreign policy during the last 16 years, since the restoration of independence, has three key principles - EU, NATO, good neighborly relations and regional cooperation. He adds that the recognition of Kosovo in 2008 determined "a new component within regional cooperation", which, he says, consists in promoting all neighboring states, including Kosovo, in regional and international aspirations.
"On these foreign policy principles, the 42nd and 43rd governments were formed, and it is known that this was one of the conditions for obtaining the necessary majority in the parliament. If one wants to deviate from the consistent foreign policy doctrine, it would require a new political agreement after the elections, according to which the Government and the MFA would work, because the executive branch works on the principles and platform voted in the parliament", stressed Radulović.
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