Head of Parliament Andrija Mandić concluded today's session of the Assembly, whose agenda included, among other things, the draft law on the budget of Montenegro for 2025.
This means that the budget for the next year will not be adopted and that temporary financing will be used.
According to the Law on Budget and Fiscal Responsibility, if the law on the state budget is not adopted by December 31, the Ministry of Finance, until its adoption, approves monthly "up to one twelfth of the actual expenditures in the previous fiscal year" to consumer units.
The country entered the year 2021 with temporary financing because the Government of the then Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić, which was constituted at the beginning of December, did not have time to prepare it. The temporary financing lasted half a year.
Before the conclusion of the session, Mandic said that he was forced to impose the measure on the deputies and ended the session.
"Help us enter the European Union (EU)," said Mandic, adding that "he is ready to carry them on his back to the EU."
"At this moment, we have a very clear demonstration by opposition deputies, and I am interrupting the session at this moment. You will be informed about future work. This patience of ours as the parliamentary majority, I think should have a positive effect on you. Colleagues, we perceive you as the closest. Montenegro is small, we have no one closer than you, and we are close to the EU. Help us, gentlemen from URE, as the biggest Europeans in this parliament colleagues from DPS, to enter the EU together. I'm closing the session," said Mandić.
The member of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) Aleksandra Vuković Kuč said that the opposition will not allow the Assembly sessions to be held.
She said that they are doing this because of the letter of the Constitutional Court which confirmed that the Constitutional Committee violated the constitutional order.
"While we are waiting for the Prime Minister to come to his senses, we had an insult to a female MP in the Assembly that was not condemned by the President of the Assembly, the Prime Minister, or the President of the State," said Vuković Kuč.
On the agenda of the parliament were:
Proposal for the Law on the Budget of Montenegro for 2025;
Proposal for a decision on the indebtedness of Montenegro for the year 2025;
Proposal for the Law on Amendments to the Law on Patents;
Proposal for the Law on Confirmation of the Agreement on the Implementation of Article 65 of the Convention on the Recognition of European Patents;
Proposal for the Law on Amendments to the Law on Recognition of Foreign Educational Documents and Equalization of Qualifications;
Proposal for the Law on Amendments to the Law on Employment Mediation and Rights During Unemployment;
Proposal for the Law on Amendments to the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance, in accordance with Article 85 paragraph 2 of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly;
Report on the work of the Agency for Electronic Communications and Postal Activity for the year 2023 with the Financial Report of the Agency for the year 2023 and the Report on the audit of the financial statements of the Agency for Electronic Communications and Postal Activity for the year 2023 by the independent auditor "Spin Off" doo Podgorica;
Financial report with report on the work of the Regulatory Agency for Energy and Regulated Utilities for 2023;
Annual report on the work of the Capital Market Commission and the state of the capital market for the year 2023 and the report of the authorized auditor on the financial operations of the Capital Market Commission for the year 2023;
Report on financial operations and Report on the work of the Electronic Media Agency for the year 2023;
Proposals of financial plans with work plans for the year 2025 of independent regulatory bodies, namely: Agency for Electronic Communications and Postal Activity, Regulatory Agency for Energy and Regulated Utilities, Commission for the Capital Market and Agency for Audiovisual Media Services;
Report on the state of the energy sector of Montenegro for the year 2023;
Report on activities related to regulated utility activities in 2023;
Twentieth semi-annual report on overall activities within the process of integration of Montenegro into the European Union for the period July - December 2023;
Twenty-first semi-annual report on overall activities within the process of integration of Montenegro into the European Union for the period January - June 2024;
Proposal for the Law on Amendments to the Law on Payment Transactions;
Proposal for the law on energy;
Proposal for the Law on Amendments to the Law on the National Security Agency;
Proposal for the Law on Amendments to the Labor Law;
Proposal for a law on exercising the right to financial support for persons who were employed in companies in the wood processing industry sector;
Proposal for a Law on Amendments to the Law on Medicines;
Elections, appointments and dismissals.
The opposition, which announced that it will not allow the Assembly sessions to be held until the disputed decisions on the retirement of the judge of the Constitutional Court, which was adopted by the Constitutional Committee and confirmed by the Assembly, are withdrawn and declared null and void, two days ago came before the government with the aforementioned demands.
No one from the majority made an official statement about it.
After the Constitutional Committee of the Parliament of Montenegro stated on December 17 that Constitutional Court judge Dragana Đuranović was terminated due to the fulfillment of the conditions for an old-age pension, the opposition parties expressed their dissatisfaction, calling that act a "constitutional coup" and demanding the immediate annulment of that decision.
Government representatives defended the decision of the Constitutional Committee. Prime Minister Milojko Spajić stated that the decision passed through the plenum and that there is no mechanism for its withdrawal, suggesting that the Constitutional Court could review the Assembly's decision, as it did before.
The Constitutional Court was supposed to consider the constitutionality of the decision of the Constitutional Committee yesterday, but it did not.
The Constitutional Committee made a decision that Đuranović met the conditions for an old-age pension, and that the Constitutional Court did not inform it about it, as written in the Constitution. The decision was made on the basis of data on seniority and age of all judges, which the president of the Constitutional Court, Snežana Armenko, submitted to the committee, at the request of the president, Jelena Božović.
At the session, the Assembly noted the termination of the function of judge Đuranović, and its leader Andrija Mandić stated that the decision is in accordance with Article 154, paragraph 1 of the Constitution of Montenegro, which provides for the termination of the function of a judge of the Constitutional Court when he meets the conditions for an old-age pension.
The opposition continued to insist on withdrawing the decision and continued to prevent the holding of the Assembly session.
The spokesperson of the European Commission for Enlargement, Guillaume Mercier, expressed the EU's concern about the Assembly's decision to retire Đuranović, stressing that Montenegro should amend the current legal framework in accordance with the recommendations of the Venice Commission.
This was repeated by the head of the EU delegation in Podgorica, Johan Satler. He said that he encourages the ruling majority to open a dialogue with political actors about the decision of the Assembly regarding the retirement of the judge of the Constitutional Court.
"But I also encourage the opposition to consider the government's offer to discuss a common public platform whose goal is to put national interests above party interests, and to provide cross-party support for all reforms and decisions necessary to complete the EU accession negotiations," Satler said in interview "Pojeda" last week.
When it comes to changes to the Constitution and changes to the Law on Dual Citizenship, Spajić previously said that this will not happen without the highest social consensus, while Mandić said that the laws will be passed by a majority of votes.
The continuation of the parliamentary session has been announced for today, with the adoption of the budget for 2025 on the agenda. The Assembly previously told "Vijesta" that they fear that the budget will not be adopted by the end of the year, but that temporary funding will have to be introduced.
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