The voice of the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro must be given greater consideration at the central government level, and the organization should be more actively involved in the drafting of legislation, was the joint message conveyed during a meeting between leaders of Montenegrin local self-governments and the European Parliament's Rapporteur for Montenegro Marjanom Šarecom, which was held today in Podgorica.
Šarec emphasized that, as a former mayor, he is very familiar with the challenges faced by local government leaders, noting that a greater degree of municipal involvement in the drafting of legislation would help reduce tensions and facilitate the implementation of legal acts.
“Municipalities are the ones responsible for implementing all decisions within their territories. There are still many unresolved issues, but the main message and the key request of the municipal presidents is that the Union of Municipalities should be more involved in the drafting of legislation. I got the impression that it is not important to them which political party anyone belongs to; what matters is having the resources needed to solve citizens’ problems. That is the essence of it all. Citizens are not concerned with which party or political structure is in power; they want someone they can talk to and who can address their problems,” Šarec said.
During the meeting, which lasted more than two hours, local government leaders spoke in detail about the challenges they face, placing particular emphasis on the impracticality of the Law on Business Organizations and the Law on Spatial Planning. They also highlighted inadequate provisions in the Law on Forests, the Law on the Coastal Zone, and the Law on National Parks, which deprive municipalities of most of their authority over parts of their territories, as well as contentious provisions in the Law on Salaries of Public Sector Employees, the Law on Social and Child Protection, and other legislation.
They also raised a number of objections to the Draft Law on Local Self-Government, the umbrella legislation governing this area, which, in their view, contains several unconstitutional provisions and, among other things, significantly undermines the role and authority of municipal presidents.
The President of the Board of Directors of the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro and Mayor of Žabljak Radoš Žugić thanked Šarec for recognizing the importance of the role of local self-government, particularly in the context of EU integration, and expressed the expectation that there would be more such constructive meetings in the period ahead.
“In a friendly and highly open atmosphere, we were able, at least to some extent, to familiarize Mr. Šarec with the challenges we face. Among the issues we particularly highlighted were spatial planning (including the shortage of qualified spatial planners, for whom the law prescribes specific professional requirements) and fiscal decentralization. We all share the view that decentralization, in its final form, must begin with fiscal decentralization, as some local self-governments are not in a position to cope with the challenges and obligations imposed on them through certain legislative solutions unless adequate financial resources are provided for their implementation,” Žugić said.
In addition to Žugić, the meeting was attended by the Mayor of the Capital City of Podgorica, Prof. Dr. Saša Mujović; the Mayor of Plav, Nihad Canović; the Mayor of Zeta, Nebojša Asanović; the Mayor of Gusinje, Sanel Balić; the Mayor of Berane, Đole Lutovac; the Mayor of Budva, Nikola Jovanović; the Mayor of Herceg Novi, Stevan Katić; the Mayor of Rožaje, Rahman Husović; the Mayor of Pljevlja, Dr. Dario Vraneš; and the Secretary General of the Union of Municipalities, Mišela Manojlović.
