Podgorica, (MINA) – There is a serious lack of trust between the government and the NGO sector, it was agreed at the meeting of Prime Minister Dusko Markovic with the civil sector representatives.
Markovic said that the civil sector is an essential partner on the EU path.
“We need political partnership with the civil sector on the crucial strategic issues of the state”, said Markovic at the round table discussion “Cooperation between the Government and the NGOs in the EU Accession Process”, organized by the government’s Secretariat General.
He announced initiating the meetings with the NGO sector once in every two months which would discuss the topics of wider significance for the Montenegrin society.
Markovic identified that the problem in the work of the working groups, besides frequent absence of the civil sector representatives, is in the lack of commitment among the representatives of the national administration, and thus suggested that minutes from the meetings should be in the future made available to the public.
CRNVO executive director Ana Novakovic reminded that the first consultations between the Prime Minister and NGO sector representatives were held in January 2017 and that they have been waited since then for the next meeting.
According to her, cooperation between the NGO sector and the government has grown into a political criteria for the EU membership, and added that this cooperation is labelled with the existence of form without substance.
She remarked that the NGO sector’s lack of trust in the government’s true intentions for cooperation have been proved justified, and that the government should only apply the laws so that they are equal to all.
Justice minister Zoran Pazin said that the NGOs in Montenegro have significant knowledge and capacities to deal with certain social issues.
“We are aware that one of the civil society’s roles is to criticize the authorities and there is nothing wrong with that. But the role of the civil society does not stop at criticizing the government, not the situation in Montenegro is such that there are only the issues that divide the Montenegrin society”, said Pazin.
CDT executive director Dragan Koprivica believes that NGOs and the government should take a step forward and reconsider their behavior.
Jovana Marovic of Politikon Network said that the NGO sector also plays in the team Montenegro, but “the government does not see that”.
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