The Democratic People's Party (DNP) announced today that it has concluded that its coalition partner, the Europe Now Movement (PES), wrote more statements in one day against DNP President Milan Knežević and Transport Minister Maja Vukićević, who is a member of the DNP, than they have ever written against the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) since their formation.
"But that is not a problem, the exchange of views on the public stage contributes to the strengthening of democracy and parliamentary life. What we certainly do not accept is the attempt to change theses and deliberately construct disinformation that obscures the truth. And the truth is this, Maja Vukićević did vote for the first proposed economic agreement on cooperation with the UAE (United Arab Emirates), at the session on 24.03. which was not electronic, and at which it was not mentioned once that a Proposal for an Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Tourism and Real Estate Development between the Government of Montenegro and the Government of the United Arab Emirates is being planned and prepared, which will be sent to the members of the Government for electronic approval on 25.03. at 21 pm. Maja Vukićević did not vote for this Proposal for an Agreement because it contains certain doubts that must be clarified," the DNP statement states.
They reacted to the PES statement, which, among other things, states that "Vukićević is trying to profit politically by referring to 'lack of information', even though she had all the materials at her disposal and the opportunity to express her opinion - which she did at one session by voting YES."
DNP added that the first ambiguity is - under what law can a company from the UAE lease state property for a period of 99 years?
"The length of the lease was confirmed by Prime Minister Milojko Spajić himself at a press conference," said the DNP.
The party states that the second ambiguity is - does this Agreement allow for control of the origin of money that would be invested in such projects?, and that the third ambiguity is - whose courts will have jurisdiction in the event of an arbitration dispute?
"We have already resolved one dilemma, which is that the Parliament will be competent to vote on the ratification of the Agreement. That is why we believe that such an important issue that the Agreement treats should have been discussed first within the coalition, and then in the Government, and not for members of the Government to express their views on such a crucial national topic in messages quite late in the evening. Why rush if we are solving the economic destiny of Montenegro? The DNP has never stated that it is against investments, but in a transparent and legally established manner. That is why we are rightly seeking clarifications that the Montenegrin public is also seeking. And as for adhering to the agenda on the realization of the set goals of the Government, our party has made a strong contribution by voting for every legal proposal that has accelerated our European path and will continue to do so in the future, regardless of whether or not we will be part of this Government," said the DNP.
They state that their agenda was known to Prime Minister Spajić during the reconstruction of the Government, and that they did not deviate from it even by a millimeter, and it concerns their already known ideological goals (Serbian language, dual citizenship, tricolor as the national flag) and economic goals related to the start and completion of work on the second section of the highway, the reconstruction of the Belgrade-Bar railway, transparent privatizations, and increases in average wages and pensions.
"If someone has a contentious agenda, they can launch an initiative to reconstruct the Government and replace the DNP with some other suitable parties from the current opposition. DNP representatives in the Government do their job responsibly, serving the interests of the citizens of Montenegro, and the work of the Ministry of Transport is perhaps best demonstrated by the fact that it is among the best departments when it comes to the implementation of the Government Work Program in the first quarter of 2025. What should be clear to everyone is that the DNP will not subordinate any state interest to any state function, nor will we accept anyone re-educating us ideologically and programmatically," said the DNP.
Bonus video:
