The adoption of the Agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would also lead to the Government taking over the powers of Parliament and, without the consent of MPs, handing over state property to investors for leases longer than 30 years.
This was told to "Vijesti" by the director of the Network for the Affirmation of the Non-Governmental Sector (MANS). Vanja Ćalović Marković, saying that this eliminates another control mechanism and opens the door to possible corruption.
On the other hand, the executive branch claims that parliamentarians will have the final say in the case of a potential investment from the UAE, which, they say, guarantees that they are the control mechanism in that case.
Article 3 of the Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Tourism and Real Estate Development states that the Government will "undertake all necessary measures and activities to secure the land necessary for the implementation of projects (development area), by the entities when and if permitted by relevant Montenegrin laws - without the need to conduct public procurement, public tender or other procedures prescribed by national legislation governing the area of state property".
In practice, MANS estimates, this would mean that the executive branch could tie the hands of the Parliament and suspend the procedure stipulated in the Law on State Property - that MPs decide whether state land is leased for a period longer than three decades.
Ćalović Marković warns that, according to the letter of the Constitution, the moment MPs support agreements with the UAE, these documents will have primacy over domestic regulations.
"We call on the Parliament to refuse to adopt the Agreement with the Emirates and to oblige the Government to harmonize this document with Montenegrin laws. Adopting such a document would give the executive branch enormous discretionary powers to dispose of state property. In this way, the elementary control mechanisms of the Parliament would be abolished, and an extremely large space for corruption would be opened," said Ćalović Marković.
Prime Minister Milojko Spajic On March 28, in Dubai, he signed agreements on economic cooperation and cooperation in tourism and real estate development with the UAE, which he sent to the parliamentary procedure in the form of a bill. Previously, he presented the Arab billionaire's intention to the leaders of Ulcinj and local parties there. Mohamed Alabara to allegedly invest 35 billion euros in the construction of a tourist complex in that municipality and to lease the entire Ulcinj Velika Plaza for 99 years. Some in the public and the non-governmental sector claim that the agreements are contrary to state interests in several areas and that they jeopardize Montenegro's path towards the European Union (EU).
CONCLUSION POWERLESS BEFORE AN INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT
Head of the parliamentary group of the ruling Europe Now Movement (PES) Vasilije Carapić claims that the Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Tourism and Real Estate concluded between the governments of Montenegro and the UAE will be ratified in parliament, as well as all contracts arising from Article 3 of the agreement, which, he says, is a legal and constitutional imperative.
This procedure, he states, is not ruled out, nor can it be, and this, he adds, was confirmed by the Government's conclusion of March 28th.
"Which tasks the General Secretariat of the Government with submitting all contracts concluded on the basis of the Agreement with the UAE relating to the disposal of state property to the Parliament for ratification. Any contract concluded by the Government can only enter into force once it has been previously confirmed by the Parliament, which means that the MPs have the final say on each investment," claims Čarapić.
He says that PES will support only those development projects that are in line with domestic legislation, environmental protection standards, and for which there is consent from the local community.
"And we are convinced that the Government will not deviate from these standards in the future, which Prime Minister Spajić himself has emphasized several times," added the PES MP.
Vanja Ćalović Marković, however, warns that by adopting the conclusion, the Government is trying to conceal the real consequences of the agreement and to mislead the public and the Parliament.
"Because once adopted, the Agreement will have stronger legal force than this conclusion," she notes.
The interviewee states that if the Agreement is ratified by the parliament as an international treaty, it will become, in accordance with the Constitution, legally superior to domestic legislation and will have greater legal force than the Government's conclusion. According to her, this means that the executive branch's conclusion becomes legally irrelevant and cannot be implemented.
"This is because the Agreement abolishes the authority of the Parliament to decide on state property and gives the Government 'blank authority' to sign contracts with the UAE, including the transfer of state property, without further parliamentary oversight," she warned.
GOVERNMENT: POWER IN THE HANDS OF THE ASSEMBLY
The Government told "Vijesti" that "everything regarding the Agreement with the UAE" was done in accordance with the laws of Montenegro and fully harmonized with EU legislation.
Although the issue of the list did not concern public procurement, but rather the leasing of land and the role of the Parliament in this, the Government announced that the Law on Public Procurement (Article 13, paragraph 1, item 2) states that this regulation does not apply "to the procurement of goods, services or works carried out in accordance with procedures established in a manner different from this Law, on the basis of legal instruments establishing international legal obligations, such as international agreements between Montenegro and one or more EU Member States or third countries, for procurements that the contracting parties will jointly implement or use".
They say that these procurements represent an exemption from the application of the Public Procurement Law, and that, accordingly, they reiterate once again that the aforementioned Agreement is in line with "the national regulatory framework governing public procurement policy."
"With the note that the relevant provision of the Public Procurement Law is taken from the Public Procurement Directive No. 2014/24/EU. The Government has an obligation arising from the provision of Article 13, paragraph 5 of the Law to, if, in the implementation of the Agreement, the subject of certain activities causes the need for the implementation of procurements, notify the European Commission that the contract referred to in paragraph 1, point 2 of this same article of the Law has been concluded. For information, Montenegro has already fulfilled this obligation," they claim.
"Vijesti's" inquiry did not refer to the issue of land sales, but the Government said that Montenegro, "as the Prime Minister has stated repeatedly," will not conclude an arrangement with a potential investor that involves the sale of state property, or in this case, land.
"So, precisely and clearly - there will be no sale of state land. Namely, the model advocated by the Government for concluding this deal will be a joint investment with the investor, according to which the state would have the status of a co-investor in the project, whereby the state's investment would consist of land that remains in state ownership. Regardless of which model of investment implementation the state decides on, it would be clearly specified in a special contract concluded by the Government and the investor, which would be sent to the Parliament for approval," the executive branch claims.
They say that this is precisely how "any doubts regarding a potential investment" are removed.
"Because the Parliament will be the one that will have the final say, so the power is in the hands of the MPs, which guarantees that they are the control mechanism for the aforementioned contract, regardless of the investment participation model that the Government chooses," the Government stated.
MANS: Seizure of property without procedures and judicial protection
MANS also announced yesterday that the Agreement with the UAE provides for the seizure of property from citizens of Montenegro for the implementation of selected projects, without implementing the legally prescribed procedure and without the possibility of judicial protection.
"The agreement stipulates that the selected projects will automatically be declared public interest, thus activating the constitutional clause on the limitation of property rights," they warned.
Article 1 of the Agreement, as they stated, explicitly stipulates that projects are considered “strategic and represent projects of public interest”.
Additionally, Article 3 of the Agreement stipulates that the Montenegrin Government will qualify such projects as investments "of key importance for the national economy and of strategic and public interest for Montenegro".
"The Constitution of Montenegro, in Article 58, paragraph 2, explicitly stipulates that no one may be deprived of or restricted in the right to property, unless the public interest so requires, with fair compensation. Article 10, paragraph 2 of the Law on Property and Legal Relations stipulates that the public interest must be determined by law, or on the basis of law. Additionally, Article 24, paragraph 1 of the Constitution clearly states that guaranteed human rights and freedoms may be restricted only by law, and to the extent necessary to achieve the purpose of such restriction in an open and free democratic society," said MANS.
No information on whether the land will be leased long-term or sold
The agreement between the governments of Montenegro and the UAE on cooperation in the field of tourism and real estate development does not contain information on whether the executive branch has committed to providing land for long-term lease or for sale to the entities.
This is stated in the opinion of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK) on the Draft Law on the ratification of the agreement between the governments of Montenegro and the UAE.
During the investigation, the Agency also noted that the particularly contentious point of the Agreement is the obligation of the Government to provide the land necessary for the implementation of the project, excluding the application of public procurement, tenders or procedures prescribed by national legislation regulating the area of state property.
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