MANS has filed today a petition to the Parliamentary Committee for European Integration, by which we asked this working body to urgently provide an extension of the public debate on amendments to the action plans for 23 and 24 negotiating chapters, which the Government of Montenegro started on December 15th, 2014.
In fact, the Government of Montenegro for the process of amending the action plans for 23 and 24 negotiating chapters, two de facto the most important strategic documents in the country, announced a public hearing where requires comments submission within 7 days, including weekends, although it is a material that contains hundreds of reforms to over 700 pages. This shows that the best goal of the Government is not to receive any comments or suggestions that would provide the establishment of the rule of law and the possibility that cases of corruption and organized crime, especially at the highest levels, get judicial epilogue and to be successfully completed, but only and exclusively to feign a public debate and the existence of dialogue about European integration.
As a reminder, action plans for 23 and 24 negotiating chapters contain hundreds of reforms whose implementation should strengthen the work of the executive, judicial and legislative authorities and independent bodies in order to improve results not only in the fight against corruption and organized crime, but also in areas of respect of all human rights, the fight against terrorism, drugs and many others. These documents were adopted by the Government more than a year and a half ago, with also staged a public hearing of a few days, during which the Government has miraculously rejected almost all the proposals from the civil sector and without explanation. However, and such adopted action plans with dubious quality were not successfully implemented by the Government, but their current implementation was extremely problematic, primarily because of the lack of political will to provide any kind of results in the fight against corruption and organized crime.
Therefore, the need arose to amend the action plans for 23 and 24 negotiating chapter, in order to finally create conditions to start with real reforms, particularly in the fight against corruption and organized crime at the highest levels and to start getting in these areas concrete results that are not there for years. However, instead of the Government this time provides a quality dialogue on this occasion, and open space for substantial improvement of action plans, continues with faking a process of consultation, and participation of all subjects in policy-making for the reforms in the 23rd and 24th negotiation chapter is absurd.
At this faked public debate, almost none of the interested parties will not have enough capacity and time to submit any suggestions for improvement in any of the areas, including and the Parliament of Montenegro, Judiciary, professional associations, civil society, media and many others, which will negatively affect the quality of innovative action plans.
Therefore MANS today from the Committee for European Integration requested to urgently reconsider a filed petition, and to adopt conclusions which will oblige the Government to extend the public debate for at least 30 days, and to organize consultations in all the cities in the country. Also, the Committee we requested that by the conclusions oblige the Government that after the public hearing publish a report on all received comments, suggestions and recommendations including the reasons for their adoption or rejection.
We invite the Committee for European Integration to urgently respond on this occasion and to prevent the intention of the Government to continue rendered senseless consultation process regarding the EU integration process and the key priorities of this process – the fight against corruption and organized crime, especially at the highest levels. We want to believe that the majority of delegates in the Committee will have the political will to ensure full participation of all subjects in the process of changing the action plans for 23 and 24 negotiating chapters, including and the Parliament itself, and therefore a significant qualitative improvement of these strategic documents urgently needed needed to us.
