Head of state Jakov Milatović has completely undermined his authority after the elections in Podgorica, and by criticizing the government's agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), he is trying to regain the position of a "more significant" political actor, according to "Vijesti" sources.
Nikoleta Đukanović, an assistant professor at the University of Donja Gorica (UDG), said that Milatović lost his position as a significant political actor due to the lack of principles he showed in relation to developments in Montenegro from the formation of the government in Podgorica onwards.
She claims that this does not mean the end of cooperation with his former party, the Europe Now Movement (PES), nor a return to the criticism phase, but rather that he is trying to regain his position as a "more significant" political actor due to the balance of power on the political scene and the electoral processes that will follow.
Đukanović stated that the president's silence regarding the January mass crime in Cetinje, student protests, "the satanization of students by Democrats", while at the same time commenting on natural disasters in the United States of America (USA), damaged his reputation and position as a head of state who critically analyzed events in the country.
Milka Tadić Mijović, director of the Center for Investigative Reporting in Montenegro (CIN-CG), said that no one takes Milatović seriously anymore, "because he plays sometimes with PES, sometimes against PES, and most of all against himself."
"And it's a shame, it could have been a corrective for a government that, with this agreement with the UAE, is showing that it is even hungrier than those who destroyed our country until August 2020. I don't know if this will be the end of the renewed love between PES and Milatović, but it's too late for the president...", the interviewee assessed, answering the question - whether Milatović's criticism of the Agreement with the UAE is the end of the truce with his former party and Prime Minister Milojko Spajić or a return to the phase of constant criticism of the work of the Prime Minister and the executive branch.
After a lull of several months, Milatović began criticizing the prime minister again, after Spajić signed agreements on economic and cooperation in tourism and real estate development with the UAE in Dubai on March 28. Previously, Spajić presented to the leaders of Ulcinj and local parties the intention of Arab billionaire Mohamed Alabar to allegedly invest 35 billion in the construction of a tourist complex in that municipality and to lease the entire Velika Plaža for 99 years. This provoked criticism from part of the public and the non-governmental sector.
Milatović criticized the agreements, questioning their legality and compliance with the EU acquis, and yesterday he said that it was perhaps no coincidence that Spajić, after returning from a trip to Dubai, signed an agreement with representatives of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) that resulted in their return to the Parliament.
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He said that he expects the EU to clearly determine the compliance of that document with the EU acquis.
Spajić: Only Milatović knows how to negotiate with DPS
Yesterday, after the Government session, Spajić said that in recent days, many accusations and doubts have been heard from Milatović regarding the agreement with the UAE.
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“I feel sorry for President Jakov Milatović. The only one who knows how to negotiate with DPS is him,” he said, alluding to the fact that the Movement for Podgorica, close to Milatović, negotiated the formation of a government in the capital with DPS. However, in the end, they formed the government with PES, Democrats and the coalition “For the Future of Podgorica”.
After that, Milatović did not criticize either Spajić or PES, but he did criticize the parliamentary majority, namely the Constitutional Committee, which concluded at the end of last year that former Constitutional Court judge Dragana Đuranović had met the conditions for retirement under the Pension and Disability Insurance Law (PIO).
"He advocated the return of judge Dragana Đuranović, like the DPS," Spajić said yesterday.
Milatović's cabinet did not respond to "Vijesti's" questions about whether the criticism of the government regarding the agreement with the UAE means the end of the president's truce with former party colleagues, reached after the elections in Podgorica, or whether it is a current disagreement on one issue, as well as on what grounds it believes the agreement is unconstitutional.
Milatović said three days ago that the question of criminal liability of everyone in the state administration who approved the agreements should be raised, which, as he said, entail the repeal of some important Montenegrin laws and are fundamentally contrary to the Constitution of Montenegro.
PES MP Miodrag Laković responded on the Iks network that "everyone has the right to question any law, but we should refrain from making qualifications that do not belong to us by function."
The government adopted the signed documents with the UAE on April 3 and sent them to the Parliament for adoption in the form of a law.
At the Assembly collegium on Thursday, it was agreed that a new session would be scheduled for April 17th, at which decisions could be made on agreements with the UAE.
Gorčević claims that the documents are in line with the obligations and the SAA
Minister of European Affairs Maida Gorčević announced on Thursday that the agreements are fully aligned with the Constitution and the obligations arising from the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union (EU).
"The legal analyses that preceded the signing of the agreements clearly indicate that these agreements do not contain discriminatory provisions, are in line with the principles of transparency and competition and the legally prescribed public procurement procedures, which are already aligned with Directive 2014/24/EU. Their implementation will be within the framework of domestic legislation that is in line with the EU acquis and is subject to supervision by both domestic and European institutions," she claims.
She also stated that each specific project that would result from these agreements would go through the regular procedure, without the possibility of exemption from the legal rules and obligations that Montenegro has as a candidate for EU membership.
She added that "sensationalistic narratives, without legal basis, contribute neither to informing the public nor to strengthening institutions."
"If there is indeed a basis for doubting the legality of signed agreements, the rule of law offers clear mechanisms - criminal charges and institutional action. Everything else is useless political theater," said Gorčević.
Spajić and Milatović were ministers in the government of Zdravko Krivokapić formed after the 2020 elections, when the three-decade rule of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) was overthrown. After the fall of Krivokapić's government in June 2022, the two founded PES, based on the Europe Now economic program that they promoted as ministers. Their political split occurred in February last year, although for months before that they had had different opinions on important issues, primarily on the ways of participating in the presidential elections, which Milatović won, then in the parliamentary elections, as well as on the formation of the government after the 2023 elections.
On February 24, 2024, Milatović resigned from all party positions, dissatisfied with the "method of work and values" of PES, of which he was vice president.
A period of open disagreement followed, Milatović criticized and returned for re-adoption several government laws, dealt with the platform for EU accession, met with mining sector workers, assessed which laws should be the Assembly's priorities, suggested to the prime minister-designate whom to invite to the government, interpreted the Census Law, and presented a spatial plan in the presidential building...
In their statements, Milatović and Spajić exchanged criticisms - the president criticizing the work of the Government, and the prime minister the work of the Defense Council and the appointment of ambassadors.
After the elections in Podgorica, a truce followed, and in a New Year's interview with "Vijesti", Milatović did not rule out the option of returning to PES, but he said that it was not his "primary" choice, nor that he had discussed it with the Prime Minister.
Pižurica vs. Milatović, Injac vs. Pižurica
Milatović's statement about the representation of women in politics was also met with reactions from officials of his former party.
Milatović said on Wednesday, as part of the "ESG Adria Summit 2025", that there are 25 municipalities in Montenegro, and none of them has a woman as mayor or municipal president.
"Out of 81 members of parliament, only 20 are women, or about a quarter. Out of 32 members of the government, only five are women, or 15 percent," he said.
He said that this is why he launched the initiative to open the political system "from a system of closed electoral lists, where everything is decided within political parties, to opening electoral lists."
PES MP Miloš Pižurica said that Milatović was "rightly" concerned, but that the head of state "initiated the dismissal of the only one she had, the first female mayor in the history of Podgorica (Olivera Injac)."
"Not every concern is sincere, nor is every message principled," Pižurica wrote on the Iks website.
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At the end of July last year, the mandate of the Capital City Assembly was shortened, and councilors from the Movement for Podgorica, close to Milatović, also voted for it.
Injac responded that Milatović did not initiate her dismissal, but that it occurred in July last year due to the shortening of the mandate of the Capital City Assembly, for which 31 opposition councilors voted, and that there was no vote on the dismissal of the mayor.
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