The Committee on Human Rights and Freedoms of the Parliament of Montenegro will hold a control hearing on September 24 on the responsibility of the Personal Data Protection Agency (PDPA) and its passivity in acting on the recommendations of the European Union (EU).
On this occasion, as announced on the Parliament's website, the President of the Council of the Agency for Personal Data Protection and Free Access to Information will be heard before the Committee. Željko Rutović and members of the Agency Council Zoran Vujicic i Tatjana Topalovic.
At its 24th meeting, held on July 23, 2025, the Committee on Human Rights and Freedoms unanimously adopted a Decision to hold this control hearing.
It is stated that previously, at the session held on July 17, 2025, the Committee considered the Request for a Control Hearing submitted by the deputies of the Europe Now Movement (PES). Tonci Janovic, Jelenka Andric i Armen Šehović, Jovan Vučurović (NSD).
The explanation of the request for a control hearing stated that the Agency for Personal Data Protection and Free Access to Information continuously displays a worrying level of institutional passivity.
"No specific measures have been taken regarding suspicions of abuse of voter lists, nor have abuses of the right to access information been addressed. At the same time, there is a lack of proactive education of citizens and implementation of the recommendations of the European Commission," the request states.
It is recalled that the Parliament of Montenegro has not adopted a single report in the four years of the Agency's work, which is more than enough reason for a control hearing of the members of the Council.
"Given the Agency's increasing jurisdiction in light of new laws, it is necessary to determine its responsibility for past failures and verify whether it possesses the capacities and independence necessary to protect the fundamental rights of citizens," the request states.
The European Commission's 2024 Report on Montenegro states that the Law on Personal Data Protection needs to be aligned with the EU acquis. Montenegro has not yet ratified the 2018 Council of Europe Protocol amending the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data (CETS 223).
"The human and financial capacities, as well as the IT expertise of the Agency for the Protection of Personal Data and Free Access to Information, do not correspond to the Agency's legal obligations. A new director of the Agency was appointed in January 2024," the European Commission's report on Montenegro for 2024 stated.
The announcement of the Committee session reminds that the Committee on Human Rights and Freedoms has repeatedly considered the Reports on the State of Personal Data Protection and Access to Information for the period 2021 to 2024, but none of the reports received the required majority of the Committee members. The Parliament of Montenegro has also not accepted these reports, including those for 2023 and 2024, and often returns them to the Committee for reconsideration. The aforementioned reports, despite the considerations and proposals, remained unaccepted and the Parliament did not adopt them.
The Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro was invited to participate in the session. Siniša Bjeković, Minister of the Interior Danilo Šaranović, Minister of Public Administration Marash Dukaj, representatives of the Delegation of the European Union and the United Nations system in Montenegro and NGOs dealing with human rights and freedoms issues and monitoring the work of the Committee.
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