The members of the board of directors of the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro, composed of the mayors and presidents of Montenegrin municipalities, unanimously adopted the text of the amendments to the draft law on local self-government at today's meeting.
A total of 45 amendments, which will be submitted to Montenegrin members of parliament, concern numerous provisions in the proposed legislative act that are contrary to the Constitution of Montenegro and the European Charter of Local Self-Government, particularly in areas of importance for closing Chapters 23 and 24 in negotiations with the European Union. These provisions relate, among other things, to the right to local self-government, the right to autonomy, including fiscal autonomy, as well as the freedom to determine the administrative structure.
The meeting of the board of directors was attended by the minister of social welfare, family care and demography Damir Gutić, who presented the solutions contained in the new Law on Amendments to the Law on Social and Child Protection. However, the heads of local self-governments assessed that Article 154 of that law—which obliges municipalities to finance services transferred to them that form part of the state's original competences—is not in accordance with the Constitution. They therefore unanimously adopted a proposal to submit an initiative to the Constitutional Court for a review of its constitutionality.
At the meeting, the proposed initiatives for the review of the constitutionality of the Law on Forests and the Law on Audiovisual Media Services were also unanimously adopted, and it was decided to submit an initiative for amendments to the Law on Property Tax.
The Report on the Financial Operations of the Union of Municipalities for 2025, together with the Supervisory Board's Report on the Control of the Union's Financial Operations for 2025, also received unanimous support at the meeting, along with a number of decisions ensuring the regular operation and functioning of the association.
The new Rulebook simplifying the procedure for the allocation of the Union of Municipalities' funds for the implementation of development projects of interest to local self-government units also received the green light, as did the Methodology for Monitoring the Implementation of Regulations at the Local Level in Specific Administrative Areas and Mapping Corruption Risks at the Local Level, as well as the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Recommendations from the Analysis of Corruption Risks at the Level of Local Self-Governments.
