Cabinet Milojko Spajić claims that the Prime Minister's announcement that 3.000 new people will be employed in the public sector during this and next year is a commitment to Brussels, in order to improve the efficiency of the system in preparation for possible EU membership. On the other hand, the interlocutor of "Vijesti" Milena Muk warns that the poor state of public administration is a consequence of the already excessive employment in "general positions", which is why they are professionally vacant, and that it is therefore the Government's obligation to explain to citizens on what basis it should hire more people.
Spajić, the day before yesterday, after a meeting with the Director General for Enlargement at the European Commission (EC) Gert Jan Kopman, announced that "we are securing the European future with serious decisions and efficient administration", and that therefore "our partners' recommendation is that in 2026 we strengthen the human resources operational capacities of the police, inspection, agencies and other public services with 1.750 new employees, and in 2027 with an additional 1.250".
This announcement raises several questions. Among other things, is this a real need or could the new hiring represent abuse ahead of state and local elections, and can three thousand new people in the system guarantee that it will be efficient?
The cabinet of the first person in the government told "Vijesti" yesterday that employment in public administration during 2026 and 2027, i.e. during the pre-election and election years, is not the result of political calculation, and that the fact that 40 percent of the benchmarks in negotiations with the EU are focused on administrative capacities - a clear indicator that new employment is not politically motivated, but rather systemically conditioned by the negotiating framework.
"We understand the public's suspicion, given previous negative experiences, but we emphasize that capacity planning is carried out in direct communication with the EC," they underlined.
On the other hand, analyst Milena Muk told the editorial staff that the fact that a significant number of final benchmarks in the negotiations with Brussels relate to strengthening administrative capacities in various sectors is a consequence of the fact that, despite the "thick" administration, excessive hiring was in positions dealing with general responsibilities, rather than in specific and narrowly specialized jobs.
She believes that the reason for this situation is primarily the result of years of neglect of obligations from EU negotiations and reform documents, which were adopted by the executive branch itself, and that challenges in attracting appropriate personnel are also partly the reason. She also pointed out that the Government has not conducted or published a comprehensive analysis of the missing human resources capacities, stating that it is the executive branch's obligation to present to the public what the assessments and recommendations on new employment are based on.
A decades-old problem
The vast administrative apparatus has been a decades-old state problem with no solution in sight. State and local institutions, as well as businesses, have served and continue to serve parties, both before and after the change of government in the August 30, 2020 elections, as a place to "inflate" their people and secure voter bases.
According to the latest available data published by the Ministry of Finance, the number of employees at the central level of public administration in September last year was 47.584, while in local governments there were 7.257 people. Data from the Statistical Office (Monstat) from November last year show that the total number of employees in the country was 272.163, which means that almost 20,2 percent of employees live "in the state manger", or one in every five.
At the same time, it can be concluded from Monstat data that average salaries financed from the budget, in state administration, healthcare, social security or education, are higher than in sectors that are fully privatized, such as trade, services, transport, construction...
According to data from the European Statistical Agency (Eurostat), the share of employees in public administration in the EU has varied between 15 and 16 percent since 2000, although it should be borne in mind that levels of government differ from country to country, with some countries, such as Germany, having as many as four levels of government (Montenegro has two - central and local).
Cabinet: Analysis conducted
Spajić's cabinet noted that strengthening administrative capacities is also important so that Montenegro would be able to implement the obligations of EU membership.
"So, we are talking about the transformation of public administration - from the administration of a candidate country to the administration of a full member state. This includes increasing the number of employees in certain areas, additional training for existing officials, but also establishing new institutions and mechanisms that are necessary for the implementation of the European legal framework," they stated.
They pointed out that the Government, following the obligations from the final benchmarks, conducted a detailed assessment of all new jobs needed to comply with EU requirements, and that this analysis showed that the greatest needs are in the area of border protection, primarily in strengthening the capacities of the border police, but also in the food safety, phytosanitary and customs sectors, adding that significant employment is also expected in the area of the rule of law, both at the executive level and in judicial institutions.
"Capacity building is necessary in the agricultural sector, but also in the information technology sector. Several hundred new jobs relate to the management of EU funds," they explained.
As an example, they cited the request to increase the number of officers in the border police sector, which currently has around 900 officers.
"... According to the Schengen Action Plan, this number needs to be doubled. So, there is a shortage of over 900 new officials. The obligations from the EU agenda are clear and precise, and for most negotiation chapters, special action plans are being developed to strengthen human resources capacities, which must receive the opinion of the EC, which makes the process well-founded and transparent and significantly narrows the space for abuses," the Prime Minister's Office says.
Muk: Government should be transparent
Milena Muk says that administrative capacities are thinnest where work should be done on strengthening anti-corruption mechanisms, including inspections, strengthening internal controls in the public sector, and managing financial support within the accession process.
"However, this can only be indirectly concluded from an analysis of the situation in individual sectors. The government has not conducted or published a comprehensive analysis of the missing human resources capacities. Even regular human resources planning obligations are not being implemented," she underlined.
An analysis of the staffing capacities of inspections, published by the Institute Alternative in April last year, shows that despite the overstaffing of the public administration, there is a lack of staff in positions responsible for detecting irregularities in both the private and public sectors.
According to data for 44 inspectorates operating in accordance with the Law on Inspection Supervision, Montenegro is short of 149 inspectors, since the systematization provides for 501 inspectors, while only 352 are employed. This data does not include tax, customs and judicial inspectors, who conduct inspections in accordance with their respective laws.
"Out of 44 inspectorates, the current occupancy rate of the planned number is at 70 percent. Only seven of them have fully filled capacities, while there are no inspectors for state property, energy efficiency, cultural heritage, or geological inspectors," the analysis says.
Muk states that, according to information discussed at Government sessions, it can be seen that only four state administration bodies timely submitted draft personnel plans for last year to the Human Resources Administration and the consent of the Ministry of Finance, and that there is still no comprehensive personnel plan for the state administration for this year, which should provide a clear assessment of planned employment and their justification.
She also said that the central personnel records, which should contain an overview of the number of employees in all administrative bodies, are not fully up-to-date, which was also pointed out at Government sessions "with an open review of the financial viability of investing in that information system", the functioning of which depends on the state administration as a whole, but has never been fully achieved.
"Given the weaknesses in data management, as well as the public's distrust in the public sector's employment procedures themselves, the Government has an obligation to make public the basis for assessments and recommendations on new employment. This obligation also arises from the current legal framework," she added.
Muk pointed out that the Government should publish this data for all ministries and services, given that executive branch services, administrative bodies and all ministries were tasked in September last year to submit data on the number of employees, age structure, the number of employees needed to close chapters with the EU, but also for other tasks.
"... In order to ensure transparency and coordination necessary in the conditions of the accelerated dynamics of negotiations with the EU. For now, only fragmentary insight into individual personnel plans can be obtained, which were adopted in certain ministries for last year only in December. They do not give the impression of a strategic approach, nor do they provide a clear analytical basis for the needs of new employment," the interviewee underlined.
Possible "re-command"
Spajić's office said that the pressure on the public administration and the scope of obligations have increased significantly in the past period, especially as negotiations with the EU have intensified. However, they point out that entering the final phase of negotiations and preparations for full membership entail a "qualitatively different level of responsibility."
"An administration that can respond to the obligations of candidate status is not necessarily sufficient for the obligations arising from membership. As a full member, Montenegro will be obliged to fully and directly implement European legislation, manage funds, participate in the work of European institutions and implement complex supervisory and control mechanisms," they noted.
At the same time, they claim that the Government is aware of the fiscal aspect of increasing the number of employees, and that this is why the amendments to the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees introduced mechanisms for the permanent assignment of employees from one department to another, "in order to enable optimization of the system and covering priority positions through horizontal rotation, and not exclusively through new employment."
This regulation stipulates that a civil servant may be temporarily assigned to another state body for a maximum of six months (Article 65), and that a civil servant may be permanently assigned to another state body (Article 65a), with this legal provision (65a) being applied until the end of this year.
Milena Muk says that the Government should inform the public about the use of this institute, with a transparent presentation of all cases in which it has been used.
Spajić's Cabinet: Balance is important, there will be no uncontrolled employment
Prime Minister Spajić said in February last year that the government was aware of the weaknesses of public administration, stating that it had asked the EC to reduce public administration by 20 percent, but that it had not received permission because "Europe is seeking a balance in resolving this problem and harmonization with European regulations."
When asked whether employing 3.000 people means that this balance has been found, the Prime Minister's Office responded that one of the strategic goals that emerged in the field of public administration reform in previous years was the optimization of public administration, and at one time the idea of "linear reduction in the number of employees".
"However, the European Commission did not make recommendations that the number of employees in public administration should be reduced, precisely because joint analyses clearly identified deficits, areas and jobs that are missing in order to fulfill the obligations from the negotiation process and future membership."
They argue that the balance refers to simultaneously strengthening capacities and rational management of public administration.
"This means that recruitment is not carried out linearly and uncontrolled, but targeted in areas where there are clear and documented shortcomings. In parallel, optimization measures, internal reallocation of personnel and improvement of competencies through training are implemented."
They emphasized that in the coming period, they expect support from the EC in the preparation of specialized training courses for public administration, so that officials who will perform the most complex tasks are prepared.
The EC did not respond to questions from "Vijesti" yesterday about whether they were concerned by the announcement of hiring so many people ahead of the elections. The EU Delegation told the newspaper in February last year that Montenegro would have to choose the best model for optimizing public administration.
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