The amendment by independent MP Jevrosima Pejović to the Bill on Ratifying the Agreement with the United Arab Emirates, which relates to cooperation in tourism and real estate development, did not pass the Legislative Committee.
Seven MPs abstained from voting.
The session was initially paused due to a lack of quorum, following the exit of one of the deputies.
At the beginning of the debate, Pejović said that she hopes that Parliament Speaker Andrija Mandić will show the breadth from the beginning of his term, and that he will not make an undemocratic move and initiate a vote on the agreement while MPs are at a session of the Legislative Committee.
She explained that declaring these projects to be in the public interest would circumvent legislation, meaning that tomorrow we could end up in a situation where construction is taking place next to a national park, thereby jeopardizing its UNESCO status.
"We could end up in a situation where an investor can get the documentation for a hotel in ten days, and then he needs my land for a parking lot, so it would be in the state's interest to cede it to him," said Pejović.
There was a commotion in the Committee after Europe Now Movement (PES) MP Darko Dragović said that this was not true. Pejović said that the state has the right to take property if it is declared in the public interest.
"Dear citizens, they want to put a hotel or apartment in Ulcinj on the same level as the road," she explained.
Break without quorum
After a commotion, in which MP Duško Stijepović (Democrats) said that the honor, reputation and children of MPs were not being mentioned, but that Pejović should present his arguments. Committee Chairman Dragan Bojović invited Pejović to finish.
"You wouldn't even beat me in men's methods," she told Stijepović.
Stijepović emphasized that the previous time he chaired the session for eight hours, and now he is hearing claims that something is allegedly being discussed behind closed doors.
He added that people close to Pejović are being called out to spit on them, and "God forbid, what would happen if someone from his party were called out because they were going to vote this way or that way" and "what would happen if he also recruited his party's supporters to write commentaries".
Pejović stated that she was shocked that Stijepović was threatening her.
"I understand you had a tough day. It's hard to look at yourself in the morning," she said, after which Stijepović left the room and denied a quorum.
Pejović then said that this was dangerous, and that PES bot profiles insulted MANS director Vanja Ćalović Marković, and that she was in PESU and knew how it worked.
The session then continued, with Bojović saying that all interested board members would receive the three minutes they are entitled to according to the rules of procedure.
Pejović pointed out that Stijepović's departure from the committee should be a warning, and that there should be zero tolerance for such reactions. She added that everyone is temperamental on big issues, but women are a minority in parliament and she does not expect anyone to threaten her in a public place.
"We are all aware of the dangers posed by the fact that everything related to this project can be called a state interest," said Pejović.
"This is just the beginning of the fight"
MP Filip Adžić (URA) pointed out that many of the decisions that would have been harmful were not made because of civic activists and non-governmental organizations.
"This is just the beginning of the fight that will be successfully completed, because you gave in at the first step by announcing that there will be no construction in municipalities where the local government is not for it. You have messages from people from Sveti Stefan, Buljarica, Jaz... And this time it has been shown that when citizens have pure interests, there is no Alabar, Spajić, Mandić, parliamentary majority that can do anything to the detriment of Montenegro," Adžić pointed out.
Albanian Alliance MP Ilir Čapuni said that this was devastating for him, considering that he comes from a minority group.
"On all the Twitter accounts of the ruling majority MPs, everyone is linking Alabara and the 35 billion investment and Ulcinj," he said, adding that he had invoked Article 29 of the Law on Minority Peoples, which is being interpreted by the Minister of Public Works Majda Adžović and the Speaker of the Parliament Andrija Mandić, who are not competent.
"Tonight we have jeopardized Montenegro's European path, this is not how we get to Europe. I already think we have gone down a deep road when it comes to European integration," he pointed out.
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