Prime Minister Milojko Spajic he informed the president of the state yesterday Jakov Milatović that he will not attend the session of the Council for Defense and Security scheduled for next week "due to commitments taken in advance", most likely because he is on vacation in France, "Vijesti" has learned.
Milatović, who is the president of the three-member Council, whose member is also the head of the parliament Andrija Mandic, scheduled a session for August 20 ten days ago.
"Vijesti" learned that in a letter to Milatović, Spajić suggested that the session be held after August 25.
On his account on the Iks network, Spajić "retweeted" a post from the "PES against fake news" page, which stated that "the Council session has not been scheduled because it would require the consent of all three members."
"On the appointed day, the Prime Minister will be in Pljevlja due to urgent family obligations, about which the Secretary of the Council was informed in time," reads the publication of the page "PES against fake news".
The Defense and Security Council has not met since February, and several attempts to reschedule failed, mainly because the prime minister could not coordinate his other commitments with the dates proposed by the president, according to Milatović's public relations office.
Spajić's cabinet told "Vijesti" in early July that, "with the dynamic schedule" of the three members of the Council, it is complicated to agree on the dates of the sessions, and that this is one of the reasons that make it difficult to schedule and hold sessions, as well as that one session in May was canceled Milatović.
"Vijesti" learns that Mandić responded affirmatively to each proposed date for holding the session.
"Vijesti" sources claim that Spajić is staying with his wife and brother in a luxurious villa in the fashionable resort of Saint Tropez on the Côte d'Azur, where he allegedly traveled by private plane from Tivat on August 12.
By the time this article was published, Spajić had not answered whether this was true, nor whether his vacation was the reason why he would not attend the session of the Defense and Security Council.
From the response of the Government Public Relations Service to "Vijesti", it follows that the General Secretariat does not know exactly where the Prime Minister is, but they say that he is "on a private trip" about which they "have no information".
"Bearing in mind that in the records of the General Secretariat of the Government we do not have information about the private trip of the Prime Minister, therefore there are no registered expenses on that occasion," reads the Service's answer to the newspaper's questions about where Prime Minister Milojko Spajić is vacationing, how he traveled there and who pays for the travel expenses and accommodation.
The prime minister's office did not answer the same questions of "Vijesti".
Photos and videos were sent to the newspaper yesterday showing the expensive villa Le Mas de Maucon, where the prime minister allegedly spends his vacation, as well as Spajić, his wife and brother in a beach bar, walking, leaving restaurants, shopping...
Some of those photos were published last night by an influential user of the social network X, along with claims that they are drinking champagne worth over 8.000 euros and questions about how much accommodation in the villa costs.
Spajić's political opponents accuse him of disrespecting the parliament and other institutions, as he repeatedly refused to appear at parliamentary committee sessions for control hearings "due to other obligations". For example, at the end of June, Spajić canceled his attendance at the prime minister's hour, the evening before it took place, justifying it with an official visit to Brussels, and on the day when the parliament session was supposed to take place, he was filmed on the beach in Pržno.
Advisor to the President for Security and Defense Dejan Vuksic he asked the "irresponsible" Spajić what were the "priority reasons for canceling the session just a few days before the scheduled appointment"
"After Prime Minister Spajić canceled his attendance at the Session of the Security and Defense Council countless times, even despite the appeals of his Minister of Defense that 'due to the non-holding of the session of the Council, and therefore the non-making of decisions within its jurisdiction, the State of Montenegro, the Ministry of Defense, as and the officers of the VCG personally, are suffering huge consequences and damage', I wonder what else needs to happen for that man to at least once act responsibly and in accordance with the duties he should perform and what are the priority reasons for canceling the session just a few days before the scheduled one appointment?!", was Vukšić's response to the request of "Vijesti" to Milatović's cabinet to comment on the cancellation of the Council session.
According to the Rules of Procedure of the Council for Defense and Security, its session must be attended by all members in order for it to take place, and the Council decides unanimously.
According to the Constitution, the Council makes decisions on the command of the Army of Montenegro, analyzes and evaluates the security situation in the country, appoints, promotes and dismisses army officers, proposes to the parliament the declaration of a state of war and emergency, as well as the use of the army in international forces, and performs other tasks determined by the Constitution or by law.
In July, Milatović's public relations office announced to "Vijesta" that meetings are convened, as a rule, by written invitation, that when planning their scheduling, a date that suits all members is taken into account, and that therefore attempts are made to coordinate a common date before sending agenda. The coordination of the scheduling of the session, they add, is carried out by the secretary of the Council, according to the instructions of the head of state's cabinet.
Spajić's cabinet announced on July 30 that he would propose the next day that the session be held on August 2.
On August 6, Milatović's cabinet informed the public that the president scheduled the session for August 20, and put on the agenda the Report on the situation in the Army of Montenegro for the year 2023, the Report on the use of units, that is, members of the Army of Montenegro in international forces, peacekeeping missions and other activities abroad for the year 2023 and the Report on the participation of members of the Army of Montenegro in exercises or training abroad at the rank of platoon and higher in 2023.
"At the session, the proposal for a decision on the engagement of members of the Army of Montenegro as part of the European Union's military aid mission to support Ukraine will be considered. The Council will consider the proposals of decisions of the Ministry of Defense on the appointments, dismissals, appointments and promotions of Army officers, as well as other issues from of its jurisdiction," the announcement states. "Minister of Defense Dragan Krapović submitted to the Council for Defense and Security a proposal for a decision on the engagement of members of the Army of Montenegro as part of the European Union Military Assistance Mission Ukraine (EUMAM). The aforementioned mission was established by the Decision of the Council of the EU in 2022 in order to help strengthen the capacity of the Ukrainian armed forces, and all the activities of the mission are carried out on the soil of the EU member states.
Bonus video:
