Podgorica, (MINA) - Minister of Defense Dragan Krapovic, ahead of the scheduled session of the Security and Defense Committee, at which the Information on the situation in the Army of Montenegro should be discussed, informed the Committee that he was only available to attend the session on two dates during May.

This was stated by Committee chair Nikola Zirojevic, responding to Krapovic’s allegations that the way in which the session of this parliamentary body was scheduled violated the practice of checking the minister’s availability and agreeing on a date that would allow all participants to attend.

“This way of scheduling the Committee session violates the good and reasonable practice that, in communication between the competent committee and the line ministry, the minister’s availability is checked in advance and a time is agreed upon that enables the responsible presence of all relevant participants, Committee members, representatives of the Government, the Ministry of Defense and the Army of Montenegro”, Krapovic pointed out.

Zirojevic said that it is indicative that “good practice” is referred to by the department and the minister who, ahead of scheduling the session, informed the Committee of the dates when they are available by proposing only two dates for the entire May.

He reminded Krapovic that, under the Constitution of Montenegro, in the hierarchy of national institutions, the Parliament is above the Government and that this Parliament had elected him, not the other way around.