The President of Montenegro does not decree the agreement for the Big Beach in Ulcinj

The President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, has returned to the Parliament for reconsideration one of the two agreements that the Government of Montenegro had signed with the United Arab Emirates - the one that paved the way for the lease of the Grand Beach in Ulcinj.

According to that agreement, Montenegro would lease the Grand Beach for 99 years to the Emmar company of Arab businessman Mohamed Alabbar, which would build a mega-tourist complex in Ulcinj.

Alabbar has also participated in regional projects in Croatia, Albania, and in "Belgrade on Water" in Serbia.

However, Milatović, who decreed the Law on the Ratification of the Agreement on Economic Cooperation, did not do the same for the Law on the Ratification of the Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Tourism and Real Estate Development. He returned the latter to the deputies for a new vote.

In order for the agreements signed by Prime Minister Milojko Spajic at the end of March with Emirati officials to enter into force, the Parliament of Montenegro approved the two laws through an accelerated procedure on April 23, at the proposal of the Government.

They were supported by the deputies of the parliamentary majority – Spajić's "Europe Now" movement, the "New Serbian Democracy" party of the Speaker of the Assembly, Andrija Mandić, the Democrats and the Bosniak Party.

Days before the approval, Milatović and part of the non-governmental sector warned that with the approval of the Agreement on Cooperation in Tourism and Real Estate Development, the Constitution and part of the laws of Montenegro are being suspended.

Milatović's return of this law forces the Assembly to vote on it again. If the law is approved again, it will be sent back to Milatović for signature. According to the Constitution, in that case he is obliged to sign it, and the law enters into force.

Milatović's justification for the return

The office of the President of Montenegro said that the reasons for not signing are many open issues in that agreement, for which the public has not received adequate answers from the Government.

The main criticisms are that the agreement does not respect the principle of competition and equal position in the market, that it suspends domestic legislation on public procurement, tenders and state property, that it lacks legal and financial analyses for many obligations that the Government has taken on itself...

"The agreement practically constitutes a unilateral binding act, with a series of obligations for the state of Montenegro, while it does not contain any concrete obligation from the other party that would ensure the protection of the state's interests in this legal relationship," Milatović's reasoning states.

With this approach, as claimed, the Government has placed Montenegro in an unequal position in relation to the other contracting party.

President Milatović finally calls on the deputies to, during the review, take into account all the objections to the agreement from some state institutions, local communities, the non-governmental sector and European officials, in order - as stated - to prevent harmful consequences for state interests.

Milatović informed the UAE Foreign Minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, by phone about the reasons for the return of the agreement.

Ulcinj – the main reason for the agreement?

Although the agreement does not mention the location of the investments, the Government has previously announced that they are related to investments by Arab businessman Mohamed Alabar in Ulcinj's Grand Beach, which has been strongly opposed by local authorities, the opposition, and ecologists.

It is about a 99-year concession for a part of the Grand Beach, with about 20 million square meters, where tourist and residential complexes will be built, Prime Minister Spajic has stated several times.

In early April, he stated in the Assembly that Alabar is ready to invest around 35 billion euros. He later relativized this statement, saying that it is about the potential for attracting such an investment.

The agreement obliges the Government to prepare planning documentation according to the wishes of Arab investors, build infrastructure for the projects, assume expropriation costs, etc.

There is no clear estimate of how much this could cost Montenegro.

The Network for Affirming the Non-Governmental Sector, MANS, which has been fighting corruption for decades, has warned of a high risk of money laundering, as data on the beneficial owners of companies registered in the Emirates is not publicly available.

The government will not be able to verify to whom it has given state property, say MANS.

The non-governmental sector believes that the agreement is contrary to European law in the areas of procurement, competition, and ecology.

These issues are covered by the chapters on the free movement of capital, public procurement, competition and environmental protection, which Montenegro aims to close in negotiations with the European Commission by the end of the year.

The goal of the Government of Montenegro is to close all negotiation chapters by the end of 2026, so that two years later Montenegro can become a member of the EU. /REL