Podgorica, (MINA-BUSINESS) – According to the Network for Affirmation of the NGO Sector (MANS), it is unacceptable for Montenegro to enter into a new agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UEA) before all legal dilemmas are clarified and the public is presented with its full impact and obligations the state would assume.

In a press release issued ahead of the announced parliamentary debate and possible adoption of the Bill ratifying the cooperation agreement in the field of energy between the Montenegrin Government and the Government of the UAE, MANS warned that Montenegro is once again being pushed into a model of intergovernmental arrangements concluded without sufficient information, without a real assessment of consequences, and without guarantees that domestic procedures and European rules will be followed.

“Such agreements are typically presented as a ‘development opportunity’, while in practice space is created for key decisions on public resources to be made behind closed doors,” the press release said.

MANS had previously pointed out that the energy agreement with the UAE could allow for special institutional arrangements and deals between the two governments that sideline competitive tenders, concession procedures and public procurement rules, leaving the public without insight into who gains access to the country’s most valuable resources, how, and under what conditions.

“It is particularly concerning that such decisions are being pushed through an urgent procedure, while MPs and the public have no answers to fundamental questions — what the specific projects are and where they would be implemented, what obligations the state assumes regarding land, infrastructure, spatial planning and permits, what the financial risks to the budget are, and whether exceptions are envisaged that would allow investors privileged treatment compared to other market players,” MANS said. 

MANS recalled that this type of “development arrangement” is already being challenged in proceedings before the Constitutional Court concerning earlier laws that ratified similar agreements.