Transparent and inclusive – the shared position of the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro (UOM) and the Minister of Public Administration Maraša Dukaja on the principles of cooperation between local and central authorities, as highlighted at the session of the Management Board of the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro, attended by Minister Dukaj, on the occasion of the Union’s Position on the Draft Law on Local Self-Government.
“We approached the drafting of the Law on Local Self-Government very carefully, systematically and responsibly. First and foremost, an Analysis of the Functioning of the Local Self-Government System in Montenegro was prepared, which identified the key challenges of the existing local self-government system and provided concrete recommendations for its improvement, the most important being the introduction of a polytypic system of local self-government,” Minister Dukaj said in his introductory remarks.
Minister Dukaj pointed out that, in addition to the analytical documents of the Government of Montenegro, the European Commission’s 2024 Report noted that decentralization in Montenegro is limited and, in fact, at the lowest level among all countries not only in the EU, but also in the region.
“One of the key objectives is to carefully and gradually advance the decentralization of the local self-government system. This entails introducing a new type of local self-government unit – a city – which, in terms of population size and financial capacity, would be able to provide services and exercise responsibilities in the areas of preschool education, primary health care, as well as social and child protection,” Dukaj noted.
“Today’s discussion is aimed at fostering joint dialogue and participation in the preparation of a Law that will meet the needs of municipalities and make the local self-government system more efficient and effective,” Dukaj said.
President of the Management Board of the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro Radoš Žugić he emphasized the importance of the Union of Municipalities, as the umbrella organization representing municipalities, in advocating for their common interests. “Decentralization is mentioned most frequently, and we, as local self-government units, must be aware of what it entails and what we specifically gain from this process,” Žugić emphasized. According to him, amendments to a number of laws are needed in order to complete the entire process. In this regard, he also announced a round table organized by the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro, scheduled for 4 March, which will focus on electoral legislation, particularly holding elections on a single day and the direct election of mayors. Žugić pointed out that the Municipality of Žabljak has excellent communication with the 44th Government of Montenegro, which, in his view, is very important, as municipalities are the first point of contact for citizens.
The Secretary General of the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro (UOMM) Mišela Manojlović highlighted that the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro has excellent cooperation with the Ministry of Public Administration, which was particularly evident during the drafting of this legislative text.
“Certain solutions will guarantee a genuine partnership between central and local authorities. For example, where central government authorities violate the rights of municipalities or fail to act upon an initiative submitted by municipalities, the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro or the municipality concerned will notify the Ministry and the Government of Montenegro, and the Government will adopt a conclusion requiring that the violation be remedied, while a representative of the municipality will have the right to attend the Government session at which the matter is discussed,” Manojlović emphasized. In addition, as she pointed out, a particularly important provision is that the evaluator responsible for assessing the exercise of municipal competences will be required to state in the report the reasons for any failure to exercise those competences, rather than merely noting that they have not been exercised.
“All these solutions would contribute to resolving the challenges faced by municipalities more quickly,” Manojlović emphasized.
The Management Board unanimously adopted the Position on the Draft Law on Local Self-Government. It also voted for the President of the Assembly of the Capital City of Podgorica Jelena Borovinić Bojović to be a member of the Montenegrin Delegation to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, with the President of the Municipal Assembly of Berane elected as her substitute Vida Ivanović, for the remainder of the Delegation’s term of office.
The session of the Management Board of the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro, held within the framework of the project “Municipalities for the EU – Strengthening Local Communities in Montenegro’s European Integration Process” as a consultative meeting with decision-makers on the Draft Law on Local Self-Government, was also attended by representatives of the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro, Orlando Fusco, Programme Manager at the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro, and Krešimir Ivančić, an expert on EU funds and policies, who discussed with municipal representatives the opportunities and possibilities available to local governments in the EU integration process.
