The reconstruction of the existing Government has definitely been agreed, but it is not yet entirely certain whether it will be in July or a little later, "Vijesti" has learned from several sources.
The meeting of the leaders of the majority parties, where this was discussed, was held ten days ago. Three sources of "Vijesti" say that they understood from the talks with the coalition partners that it could be as early as Tuesday. However, a source from the top of the Europe Now Movement (PES) said that the decision on the exact date has not yet been made and that it is not entirely certain that the reconstruction will take place in July.
The reconstruction of the Government, with the entry of constituents of the former Democratic Front (DF) into it - the New Serbian Democracy (NSD) and the Democratic People's Party (DNP) - is foreseen by the coalition agreement signed during the formation of the new parliamentary majority and the new Government at the end of October last year. It is planned that the reconstruction will take place no later than the budget for 2025, which means by the end of this year.
In support of the interlocutors from the ruling coalition who think that the reconstruction may not take place in July, the Prime Minister's alleged wish Milojko Spajić to additionally try to get the Bosniac Party (BS) into the reconstructed Government. The entry of BS into the Government was previously opposed by the DNP, and the Democrats set a condition for them to dissolve the coalition with the Democratic Party of Socialists in Bijelo Polje and to form a government in that municipality with a majority from the state level, and the coalition agreement would have to be changed, which would prolong the whole process.
In addition, the Prime Minister, who should propose and defend the reconstruction of the Government in the Parliament, is traveling to Paris on Wednesday (July 24) for the opening of the Olympic Games, and will return on July 29, according to the platform adopted by the Government yesterday.
If the reconstruction does not take place in July, an extraordinary session of the Assembly would have to be scheduled in August and September.
According to the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly, the applicant for an extraordinary session cannot request a session within a period of less than 15 days from the submission of the request, and for the agenda of the session, he can propose only proposals for acts of which he is the proposer. In the regular session that ends on July 31, the Speaker of the Parliament, based on the agreement of the President's Collegium, can schedule a session within a period of less than seven days, and can propose the agenda at the session.
In the preparation of the reconstruction of the Government, it turned out that there are several procedural issues, among which is the way to replace ministers whose portfolios are separated. "Vijesti" sources state that one way is for the ministers whose ministries are being separated and who remain in the government to resign or be dismissed from their positions and be re-elected, and the other is to only elect the ministers of the newly established ministries.
Another question is whether the reconstruction should be part of the item "elections and appointments" or should be a separate item on the agenda.
Spajić's government currently has 19 ministries and 23 members. After the reconstruction, according to the coalition agreement, the Ministry of Education and the Department of Spatial Planning and Tourism should belong to the NSD, and the post of Vice President and Minister of Transport should belong to the DNP. ZBCG currently supports the Government without participating in it.
The ZBCG coalition raised the issue of reconstruction immediately at the end of last year, saying that the procedure should follow the New Year holidays, a few months after that or in the first half of 2024. Spajić postponed it until receiving the Report on the Assessment of the Fulfillment of Temporary Benchmarks for Chapters 23 and 24 (IBAR) in June.
President of the Assembly and leader of NSD Andrija Mandic said in an interview for Belgrade Politika on Saturday that the reconstruction of the Government will happen very soon, already at the end of July.
Previously, on July 9, when he was a guest on TV Adria, he said "that the reconstruction can happen next week, and certainly by the end of July".
"We signed a coalition agreement that foresees the reconstruction of the government. We made an agreement that was not logical when it was signed, because the second most powerful political entity did not get a chance to be in power. As the parliamentary majority, we have done a lot, we have done many things for which we are praised in Brussels and in the EU. We received a positive IBAR and we think that now is the moment for the coalition 'For the Future of Montenegro' to enter the government," he said.
He said that they want to "strongly enter the Government" and make new reforms. He emphasized that it would be good if the government expanded to include the Bosniak party.
Western partners did not look favorably on the fact that "pro-Russian and pro-Serbian" parties will become part of the government in a NATO member state. From the USA they said several times that the former DF is not their partner.
In the preparation of the reconstruction of the Government, it turned out that there are several procedural issues, among which is the way to replace ministers whose portfolios are separated. The sources of "Vijesti" state that one way is for the ministers who remain to resign or be relieved of their functions and be re-elected, and the other is to only elect the ministers of the newly established ministries.
Representatives of coalition partners, including NSD and DNP, attended yesterday's press conference where Spajić and his associates presented the draft Fiscal Strategy and part of the Europe Now 2 program. They announced their "absolute" support for Spajić's program in parliament.
Spajić will not attend the prime minister's hour on July 26
Prime Minister Milojko Spajić will not attend the prime minister's hour scheduled for July 26, because he will be in Paris then.
He canceled the prime minister's hour that was scheduled for June 29 and asked the Assembly to postpone it to July 1. However, the holding of the Prime Minister's Hour was prevented by the opposition, due to, as they stated, the Prime Minister's relationship with the Parliament.
The new Prime Minister's hour is scheduled for today.
In the platform adopted by the Government yesterday, it was stated that Spajić will travel to Paris on July 24th, where he will attend the opening of the Olympic Games, and that he will stay there until July 29th.
The delegation, which will be led by Spajić, will also include the head of his cabinet Branko Krvavac, then the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Sports and Youth Dragoslav Šćekić and State Secretary in the Ministry of Sports and Youth Vladimir Obradović.
"The expenses of the Montenegrin delegation during the aforementioned visit will be borne by the Montenegrin Olympic Committee," the platform reads.
President Jakov Milatović will also go to Paris for the opening of the Olympic Games.
Until now, it was not the practice for both the president and the prime minister to attend this ceremony.
Even yesterday, the Government did not answer the questions of "Vijesti" when the Prime Minister received the invitation, whether the delegation will use a state plane, a private one or a commercial flight, whether they are aware that President Milatović is also going to the opening...
The President's Public Relations Office said that on April 29 this year, Milatović received an invitation from the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, and the President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, to attend the opening of the Olympic Games in Paris.
"According to the invitation, President Milatović will stay with his wife in Paris from July 25 to 28, where they will attend the gala dinner hosted by the President of France and the President of the International Olympic Committee at the Louvre Museum, the 'Sports for Sustainable Development' summit and the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games games", they said.
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