(Podgorica, 29 July 2011) – MANS today submitted an initiative to the Supreme State Prosecutor, Ms. Ranka Čarapić, calling on her to begin a review of agreements and contracts dealing with the undersea energy cable project that were concluded between Italy and Montenegro. MANS also called on her to undertake all measures in her jurisdiction to secure the most extensive protection of the public interest in this case.
In order to secure this project, for which negotiations had already begun several years ago, the Ministry of the Economy signed with the Montenegrin Power Transmission System (Prenos) and the Italian company Terna, a share-purchase agreement by registering newly issued shares through a capital increase. This agreement provided for the purchase of Prenos shares by Italy’s Terna, by means of pre-arranged offers, on the basis of which Terna was able to secure 22% ownership over Montenegro’s power transmission network.
There are an additional two agreements tied to this contract, including the Strategic and Shareholders’ Agreement and the Project Coordination Agreement, that were signed by the Ministry of the Economy, Terna and the Prenos in January 2011. These two additional agreements further define the rights and obligations of the contracting parties regarding the conditions for building the projected undersea energy cable between Italy and Montenegro.
MANS launched the current initiative on the basis of well founded suspicions that the Ministry of Economy – in the process of negotiating and concluding agreements with the Italian partners and Prenos – failed to uphold the public interest. The result is a situation in which Montenegro has now signed arrangements that are predominantly to the advantage of Terna.
In the initiative that we filed with the Supreme State Prosecutor today, we noted that the existing contract and agreements fail to clearly spell-out the economic benefits of this deal for Montenegro or rationale behind setting aside a significant portion of our territory for devastation (particularly given that many of the affected areas have already been set aside, at least on paper, as protected natural areas by the state itself).
We also acquainted the Supreme State Prosecutor with the fact that the Government of Montenegro has, already in advance, guaranteed that the existing contracts and agreements will not be challenged by any state bodies in the country. In this way the Government of Montenegro has assigned to itself powers that do not in fact belong to it. It is precisely this provision that makes the contract ‘protectionist,’ with the clear intention of protecting only the interests of one party in this deal. Judging from the contents of the available agreements the interests of the party being protected are unlikely to be those of Montenegro’s citizens.
Relaxing the requirement of respecting Montenegro’s laws in the case of ‘strategic partners’ isn’t something that was patented with this agreement. In fact, it’s a practice that was already evident during the privatization of the Podgorica Aluminum Combine (KAP).
Furthermore, the contract also stipulates that the: “investments of Terna into the new interconnection network and the investments of Prenos in the associated network infrastructure are being undertaken with the aim of implementing the Strategic Partnerships, the completion of a new interconnection system, at least one additional network infrastructure and the transformation of Montenegro’s transmission network into a platform for the linking the electric energy systems of Italy with those of South Eastern Europe.”
This quote from the contract reveals the basic motives for the realization of this project, illustrating that Montenegro is supposed to become a base for the transfer of electrical energy towards Italy. Thus the idea of installing an undersea cable and the construction of a transmission line from Plevlja to the coast is not sustainable (unless an additional transmission line is built to another neighboring state).
MANS thus calls on the Supreme State Prosecutor to without delay begin investigating these deals, especially since the government has already adopted planning documents that will allow for the realization of these plans according to the instructions of the Italian partner.
