Milatović: Citizens should directly elect municipal mayors

The President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, took part in marking the 54th anniversary of the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro, from where he sent the message that strong, responsible and functional local self-governments must play an important role in the final phase of Montenegro’s European path, as RTCG reports.

“Citizens feel the state most directly precisely at the local level, through the quality of services, infrastructure, environmental protection, job opportunities and the conditions in which they raise their families,” Milatović said. According to him, the full democratization of local self-governments will happen only when citizens elect municipal mayors directly, while he expressed regret that many at the state level have not understood this. “Municipalities must not be hostages of state authorities,” he added.

The President praised the new Law on Local Self-Government, saying it creates an important framework for deepening decentralization, accountability, functionality and the quality of public services at the local level. He also stressed the importance of European funds and the need for local self-governments to have the capacities to turn the available funds into concrete development projects. As RTCG reports, Milatović also welcomed the arrangement under which every local self-government unit should have a European integration service, which would deal with preparing and managing projects financed from European Union funds.

Milatović also addressed the announced “Euro” model, saying it is good that the focus of public debate has returned to raising wages and citizens’ living standards, but that economic reforms must be transparent, responsible and sustainable — also for municipalities. He warned that changes to wages and the tax system may affect local budgets differently, since municipalities’ fiscal capacities are not the same, so a precise analysis of the effects of every reform for each local self-government is required and, if necessary, protection mechanisms for local budgets.

The President called for the continuation of dialogue between the Government, the Union of Municipalities, local leaderships, employers and employees, and recalled that during this year he has begun visits to Montenegrin municipalities to talk directly with citizens, businesses and representatives of local communities. “The Europe of 2028 must be felt in every one of our towns and villages — in better roads and public services, a cleaner environment, new investments, modern schools and kindergartens, and more opportunities for young people to stay, work and create where they were born,” Milatović said.