The Parliament of Montenegro adopted late this evening the amendments to the five remaining laws needed to obtain the Report on the Assessment of the Fulfillment of the Temporary Criteria in Chapters 23 and 24 (IBAR), in the negotiations with the European Union (EU).
Amendments to the law on prevention of corruption, confiscation of property benefits obtained through criminal activity, on the media, on the national public broadcaster - Public Media Service of Montenegro, and on audiovisual media services were adopted.
Amendments to the Law on Prevention of Corruption were supported by 68 MPs, three abstained, and none were against.
67 parliamentarians voted for changes to the Law on Confiscation of Property Gains from Criminal Activity, three abstained, and there were no votes against.
Amendments to the Law on Media were supported by 71 parliamentarians, none voted against, and there were no abstentions.
68 MPs voted for changes to the Law on the National Public Broadcaster - Public Media Service of Montenegro, while three abstained, and there were no votes against.
The Assembly did not accept the amendments of a group of MPs - Nikola Rakočević (DPS), Nikola Zirojević (SD), Ana Novaković Đurović (GP URA), Adrijan Vuksanović (HGI) and Radnika Ćinćur (special club of MPs) to the bill. In one of the amendments, they requested that the condition for the election of the General Director of Radio and Television of Montenegro (RTCG) be ten years of work experience. That amendment was supported by 27 MPs, and 29 were against it.
With the second amendment, they demanded that advertising and teleshopping be prohibited in television programs between 20 and 22 p.m.
"In television programs, the duration of advertising and teleshopping spots in the period between 6 and 24 hours may not exceed 15 percent of that period," the amendment reads.
It is also stated that in Radio programs, the duration of advertising may not exceed seven minutes per hour of the broadcast program.
28 deputies were in favor of that amendment, 36 were against it, and seven abstained.
The amendment of the deputy of the Albanian Alliance, Ilir Čapuni, who requested that, when determining the proposal of the list of candidates for the Council of the RTCG, the competent working body of the assembly is obliged to appreciate the specificities of the language of a minority nation, was not accepted either.
71 MPs voted for the Law on Audiovisual Media Services, there were no abstentions, and no votes against.
Previously, on Thursday, the Assembly adopted seven "IBAR laws" - on lobbying, on courts, on the Judicial Council and judges, on the Judicial Training Center and the State Prosecutor's Office, on the Special State Prosecutor's Office, on the State Prosecutor's Office, and on the Criminal Code. procedure.
The last law on the agenda is the draft law on audiovisual media services.
This law was adopted by the votes of 71 deputies.
"This is a big day for us, because we have shown that we can, despite our differences, come together around a common goal," Mandic said in his presentation and added that he was glad that the representatives of the Government had come, even though he did not know that they would come. .
Adžić pointed out that Milović should have appeared in the Assembly because he was sent "when he should have received blows", and that Spajić appeared "when praises were received".
The second law is the Proposal for the Law on confiscation of property benefits acquired through criminal activity.
The law was adopted with 67 votes in favor, and it was also adopted to enter into force the day after its publication in the official gazette.
The law on media was also adopted. 72 MPs voted in favor. An integral part of the law are three amendments of the Legislative Committee.
The Law on Public Broadcasting was adopted in principle with 68 votes in favor and three abstentions.
14 amendments were submitted to this law.
The amendment submitted by Čapuni was not won, as 24 MPs voted for it, five against and 39 abstained.
Ćinćur explained that the amendment proposed by her and other MPs refers to advertisements in prime time on RTC, and the other to lowering the conditions for the election of the director of the public service.
Both amendments were rejected.
The law was adopted with the votes of 68 deputies in favor and three abstentions.
The plenary session of the parliament continued.
In addition to Vujović, Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksa Bečić, Interior Minister Danilo Saranović, Minister of European Affairs Maida Gorčević and Minister of Foreign Affairs Filip Ivanović appeared in the hall.
Mandić put the laws on hold.
First up is the Proposal for the Law on Prevention of Corruption.
Six amendments were submitted to the bill, four of which were submitted by the Legislative Committee, and two by MPs Zirojević, Nenezić and Mugoša.
Zirojević explained that the first amendment refers to the fact that a person unworthy to be elected to the ASK Council is a person who has been convicted of the criminal offense of corruption, and the deputies requested that the law also apply to other criminal offenses.
With the votes of 21 MPs in favor, 37 against and four abstentions, the amendment was not adopted.
Explaining the second amendment, Zirojević pointed out that according to it, the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees applies to KAS officials.
With the votes of 19 deputies in favor, 38 against and seven abstentions, the amendment was not adopted.
The MPs also voted that the Law enters into force on the day following its entry into force.
The Assembly adopted the Law on Prevention of Corruption with the votes of 68 deputies in favor and three abstentions.
The legislative committee accepted the amendment proposed by the Government, as well as the amendments proposed by groups of deputies.
At the Committee for the Political System, the Judiciary and the Amendment, the deputies discussed the amendments.
The amendment proposed by the deputy of the Albanian Alliance (AA) Ilir Capuni was rejected. According to this amendment, two members of the RTCG Council would have to be from among the Albanian people, but special Albanian members would not be elected, but those institutions that now elect members, would have to elect two members from that national community.
Vuković stated at the committee that today they do not have the proposal that they had in March, because in the meantime PES MP Čarapić sent amendments to Brussels without the consent of Vujović's department.
He asked whether there is any correspondence between the Government and Brussels regarding the amendments proposed by the deputies, to which Vujović replied that the contact point is the Ministry of European Affairs (MEP).
Čarapić replied that he sent his suggestions to the EC before the adoption of the laws themselves through the MEP, who is the contact with that international institution. He said that he wanted to "test his solutions before the EC", and that he received a positive opinion from that international institution.
Vuković said that the Government sent it in March when the EC accepted it, and that "today it is not right according to Čarapić".
Zirojević pointed out that the Government did not hold a session where the decision was made that the solutions proposed by the opposition were "identical to those that were rejected".
Neither of the two amendments proposed by the group of deputies was adopted.
Earlier today, the Government established an amendment to the Draft Law on the National Public Broadcaster - Public Media Service of Montenegro.
"The amendment corrected a technical error that occurred during the drafting of the Draft Law on the National Public Broadcaster - Public Media Service of Montenegro," the Government stated in its explanation.
Bogdanović said that "in Montenegro there are media that can only be called media, but in fact they are branches of the power centers".
The Democrat MP called the public service "Propaganda machinery of political subjects", but also pointed out that it should be professionalized.
"It needs to be professionalized because of those journalists who fear for their lives because of their work. It was not so long ago in 2004 when Duško Jovanović was killed. With his death, we lost confidence in justice. Jovanović is not the only one, but there are also Tufik Softić, Olivera Lakić , Jelena Jovanović," announced Bogdanović and recalled the case when "the property of 'Vijesti' was set on fire."
After Bogdanović's presentation, Mandić gave a twenty-minute break for the committee and deputies to consider the amendments.
Zoja Bojanić Lalović (DPS) pointed out that it is necessary to have an optimal strategy of pluralism, citing examples of media from the region that have influence in Montenegro.
Vujović said that the EC emphasizes freedom of speech, but that the media operating on the Montenegrin market are also subject to criminal liability by Montenegrin courts.
She added that the previous law was such that anyone who applied and proved they had equipment and money had to be assigned a national frequency.
Bojanić Lalović asked whether the EC supported the proposal that ten years are needed for a leadership position.
Sonja Milatović (DPS) told Milović that "it is to his credit that he is unfit for the colorful orchestra led by Spajić" and added that it was a warning to Vujović not to agree to the amendments.
She pointed out that "the struggle for supremacy in the RTCG is still going on, as it was in the police".
"From the center of Russian propaganda in Serbia, an action is being taken to fully establish control over Montenegro, and complete control over RTCG is only one in a series of steps being taken. I remind you that today, out of five television stations, four of them are completely or partially owned by the structures from Serbia. Only the public service is owned by Montenegro, whose editorial policy follows the orientation of the Government, which is ideologically and politically inferior to Belgrade," said Milatović, adding that a certain number of portals are financed with "Russian-Serbian money" and that "spread misinformation and draw targets".
Her party colleague Oskar Huter pointed out that these laws lead to unfair competition, and that "the public service is dominated by subjectivity and favoritism".
"Because if they did not dominate, the main news would be SE's views on why RTCG does not implement court decisions. But who cares about SE and court decisions. If they respected them, Raonic would not be a director and would not be able to write amendments," said Huter. .
Rakočević (DPS) pointed out that Montenegro is close to getting IBAR, but for that they have to adopt media laws.
"Do you know when we will enter the EU? If we adopt media laws that correspond to media pluralism and the interests of democracy and citizens. If we want laws that correspond to the interests of citizens, we must adopt media laws with two corrections. Those corrections are in accordance with the opinion of the minister who is with the team worked on solutions and sent them to Brussels, which gave them the green light. After that green light, we are asking for the law to be returned and the two provisions that were entered before the law was sent to Brussels, "he said. deputy of DPS.
Vuksanović said that he hopes that the new laws will affect the reduction of hate speech against national minorities in the media.
The MP of the Albanian Forum (AF) Nikola Camaj addressed the citizens in the Albanian language.
He said that after 2006, the Albanian media did not progress with the same dynamics as the others.
Camaj pointed out that the media laws "represent a step forward compared to the previous ones".
MP AF said that it is not easy to arrange that the media space is not contaminated, but that this is their future task.
Camaj said that his coalition will support the laws, but will also work to improve them until they enter the EU.
Bosniak Party (BS) MP Admir Adrović also pointed out that it is good that the field of electronic media is better regulated by the new media laws, as well as provisions that will increase the transparency of ownership.
Nevertheless, he recalled that the Community of the Municipality indicated that these laws do not suit local broadcasters because some of them will not be able to be financed, but that he hopes that a solution to this problem will be found. Adrović announced that his party will vote for these laws.
Independent MP Radinka Ćinćur said that the legal solutions "favor the Public Service".
"If the drafting of media laws was worked on for more than two years under the watchful eye of the EC and SE, whose key request was to increase the independence in the work of the management boards of RTCG and AEM, and if the draft law adopted by the line ministry included a legal solution that is asking for an increase in the number of council members from nine to 11, what is the reason to seek approval from the ministry for the adoption of amendments that degrade the department's efforts?" asked Ćinćur.
Abaz Dizdarević (DPS) said that "media pluralism, which is prescribed by strategic documents, implies a wide range of different information from all spheres of social interest that are provided to users of media services, along with a variety of political, economic, social and cultural attitudes, opinions and analyzes based on which citizens are informed more properly and impartially".
"Will this law define this kind of impartiality that aims to fulfill the expectations of citizens, that is, the public interest? Obviously, this is not about the public interest, but about the struggle of two factions of the parliamentary majority for political control over the public service. How else? explain the binding instructions of Spajić to the ministers other than as an expression of no confidence in them?" said the DPS deputy and characterized the law as "lowering the bar for the selection of people in the RTCG".
Vujović replied that according to the new law, electronic media must be registered in the register, that journalists must be consulted during the election of the editor-in-chief, but also the penalties that can be imposed by the Agency for Electronic Media (AEM).
Dražen Petrić (PES) pointed out that citizens' trust in the EU is at 80 percent, and that this alliance has no alternative in Montenegro.
He said that the citizens of Montenegro have seen what the values of the EU are, and that, in addition to the economy, it is also the "rule of law".
"Without the media, we cannot talk about an effective fight against crime and corruption. Through the media, pressure is exerted on the institutions to work in accordance with the law. Without them, we cannot inform the citizens of our views as politicians, but also what the institutions are doing. Therefore, there is no democracy without the media," Petrić pointed out.
He added that it is important to adopt a program of public debate on public service, but also to introduce the institute of responsibility, i.e. that the director can be dismissed.
Vujović said that, despite the fact that Montenegro is a small market, it has a large number of media.
She pointed out that according to the new law, RTCG cannot be privatized, but also that a member of the Council cannot be dismissed by the parliamentary committee.
Vujović said that she fought for 298 articles of law and innovations in legal solutions, that she was transparent and defended the positions of her department, but that she was sometimes in the minority.
"The EC also gave a positive opinion on the PES amendments," said the Minister of Culture and Media.
Vujović said that the process was fast-acting. She added that a clause on the selection of members from non-governmental organizations was introduced, i.e. that they are required to work on media projects and that they have existed for at least three years.
The Minister of Culture and Media said that she agreed with the claim about advertisements in the so-called "prime time", but that the funds given to the Fund for Media Pluralism have been increased.
Vuković asked the minister if she had the right to accept an amendment.
Zirojević said that "Vujović is the second minister from among the Democrats who does not ask questions in his portfolio, after the Minister of the Interior Danilo Saranović".
"Democrats have chosen not to protect their minister, who confirm everything the prime minister says," said the SD deputy.
He asked "how many court verdicts are needed to remove general manager Boris Raonic".
Stjepović responded to Zirojević by reminding him of the "Petlja", "Ramada", and "Stanovi" affairs.
The Democrat MP said that he agreed with the "prime time" provision and with the fact that ten years of experience are required for the position of general director, but that, like the other laws, he had to vote for this one because of IBAR. then correct it later.
"Are we now going to allow ourselves to ruin everything because of two provisions, but also a volley of insults at the expense of Democrats' deputies?" Stjepović asked.
Zirojević said about the "Petlja" and "Limenka" affairs that they still haven't been prosecuted, even though four years have passed since the change of government.
There was an argument between Stjepović and SD MP Branislav Nenezić, after which Mandić took a one-minute break.
Vasilije Čarapić (PES) said that the EC said today that Mandić and Spajić informed them that it is very likely that the laws will be voted as agreed, without interventions.
He pointed out that information appeared that Montenegro had already received the IBAR, but that this was not true and that it had yet to receive it.
The PES MP said that after the law is passed, they must form a working group for harmonization with EU legislation.
DPS MP Ivan Vuković assessed that "the atmosphere of a gulag reigns" in the government and that Milović was punished for the amendment.
He criticized the ruling majority's proposal to lower the criteria for selecting a general director from ten to five years, as well as the return of advertisements to the so-called "prime time" on the public service.
"We are talking about media pluralism, and we are taking huge money from the private media that was provided to them by the last DPS government. The DPS policy had an ear for private broadcasters, although most of them worked against our political entity. It cannot be in the interest of Montenegro that has weak private media," said Vuković.
He assessed that "this should have been a happy day for all people in Montenegro", and it represents "a sin against all those ideals they had when independence was restored".
After a thirty-minute break, the session continued and the discussion on media laws began.
The discussion on three media laws - the Law on Media, the Law on the National Public Broadcaster - the Public Media Service of Montenegro and the Law on Audiovisual Media Services has been combined.
Minister of Culture and Media Tamara Vujović pointed out that media laws are among the key criteria for obtaining a positive IBAR.
"The changed methodology for negotiations on EU accession from 2020, which Montenegro accepted, puts in the foreground the chapters that concern the judiciary, the fight against crime and corruption, freedom, security and fundamental rights. Media laws are part of the methodology because media freedoms are fundamental of freedom," explained Vujović.
She pointed out that "we need to have a strong and powerful public service", but also that it is increasingly difficult to identify fake news and malignant influences.
According to her, the previous two governments did not have much time to deal with media laws because they were working on the fight against crime.
Vujović pointed out that these laws were worked on by a working group of 25 members, which included representatives of the media community, independent regulators, non-governmental organizations, the Media Union, the judiciary, and competent state institutions, but also that they had the support of SE experts and EC reference directorates. .
She assessed that media laws are the priority of all priorities and ordered that the state be both defended and built in the media field and with sound media legislation.
She said that these laws have been waiting for a long time and that is why Montenegro has been suspended from the European Creative Europe program.
"We have been working for the past two years in cooperation with the Council of Europe, from which we received the first expert opinion in December 2022, the second in March 2024. I want to emphasize that the media laws were the first from this set of laws to be sent to the European Commission for an opinion March 15, after the positive opinion of the Council of Europe," Vujović said.
According to her, cooperation also took place with the EC, from which positive opinions on all three media laws arrived in April and May.
"Consultations were daily, and the final positive opinion was received on May 23," she recalled.
She stated that these laws do not stand up to the claim of some MPs that they are new, because they have already been presented to the public in Brussels, where it was said that they are satisfied and that they should not be changed without the approval of the EC.
After that, as she reminded, the PES had amendments approved by the EC, about which there were different opinions at the Government session.
"It's no secret that the ministers from my party have a different opinion".
She said that the media laws, which she is presenting today, have a positive opinion from the EC. She said that 99 percent of the text of the Ministry of Media Culture is in the laws, and the rest, "related to prime time (advertising on RTCG) and the length of experience (of the director of the public service), which we did not agree on", is not in the laws that she represents.
The members of the DPS went into the hall with their money.
Part of the opposition MPs who left the session returned in the meantime.
In his address, Zirojević thanked Milović and his team, but also asked him to answer what he thought about the amendments submitted by his party - "if he can't do it in the Parliament, he can do it on the X social network".
"No one thought that the attacks on Jelena Perović jeopardized the reputation of the institution itself," said the SD deputy.
In his closing speech, Koprivica said that in order to prevent corruption, improvement of other laws is also necessary. He stated that the categorization of officials is important in the Anti-Corruption Law.
According to him, the work on the reform of the anti-corruption legislation continues, and the selection of an independent, impartial and professional council of ASK is of the greatest importance so that "abuses that we could see with the naked eye" do not happen.
Zirojević pointed out that in his closing speech, Koprivica referred to the claims he made to Milović, as a result of which there was a polemic between him and the Vice-President of the Assembly, Boris Pejović.
Mugoša recalled the situation from one of the previous sessions, when Vice President Zdenka Popović admonished the minister for answering questions in the closing speech, as well as that previously it was a practice for the proposer not to do so during the final presentation.
Popović replied to Mugoša that, although the practice was like that, that item is not in the rules of procedure. As she added, the last changes to that document were made recently, so that then he could have proposed to change that article as well.
After Popović's presentation, a break was called.
Democrat MP Boris Bogdaović. referred to KAS and said that the detained director of that institution had given data about employees to "a foreign company", and that the Agency for the Protection of Personal Data (AZLP) had established this.
"It's like inviting lawyers to a banquet, and the main course is a lawsuit against Montenegro," he said.
The second item on the agenda discussed at today's session is the Proposal for the Law on Prevention of Corruption.
Koprivica pointed out that this law sets some basic restrictions on the performance of public functions.
According to him, the most important changes to the law are included in the proposal that is before the deputies today.
The Deputy Prime Minister cited the example of former President Milo Đukanović, who, after leaving office, sent a letter to the KAS in May asking if he should submit an asset report because he is a member of the Senate of the Capital, to which he received a reply in August, after which Đukanović submitted the same in October.
Koprivica pointed out that, when it comes to anti-corruption, the most important task is the election of new people to the KAS.
In his closing speech, Koprivica expressed his gratitude to all the members of the working group who drafted these laws, as well as "opposition MPs who support amendments to these laws, recognizing the importance of obtaining IBAR".
"We must bear in mind that it takes time for international partners to gain the necessary level of trust in Montenegrin institutions, because in this country the former President of the Supreme Court, the former President of the Commercial Court, several prosecutors, judges... We must assure our partners that even after ( Vladimir) Novović to have people who will continue on his path," said the Deputy Prime Minister.
With this presentation, the examination of this item on the agenda has been completed.
Duško Stjepović from Demokrat assessed that "the proposed law is certainly a step forward compared to the current one".
He pointed out that it is a fact that many in Montenegro have illegally acquired large property.
Miloš Pižurica (PES) read the news that the EC gave a positive IBAR and recommended holding an intergovernmental conference.
"First of all, I want to congratulate the citizens of Montenegro on the success we all achieved. We heard that the previous governments started integration, which is true, but it is also evident that these integrations stopped at one point," he pointed out.
Pižurica also pointed out that "the parliamentary majority is respected for giving in to the demands of the opposition", which is not true, but that they accept suggestions that are good, because they respect their voters.
His party colleague Darko Dragović pointed out that SDT was formed in order to "dedicate all capacities to the fight against high corruption and crime", and that it was used by the previous government as "statistical information".
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