Representatives of the opposition parties - the Social Democrats, the Croatian Civic Initiative and the Democratic Party of Socialists - assessed at a press conference that the events in the Montenegrin parliament in the last seven days have shown an attempt at manipulation when it comes to the laws on the ANB and internal affairs.
They claim that the statements of the parliamentary majority that these laws are necessary for the closure of negotiating chapter 24 are not true and call for both legal solutions to be withdrawn from the procedure.
DPS representative Jevto Eraković said that last Friday, citizens witnessed an attempt, as he stated, to construct a structure regarding the inclusion of agenda items.
According to him, the European Commission's position shows that amendments to the law were not a condition for closing negotiating chapter 24.
Social Democrat MP Nikola Zirojević said that Interior Minister Danilo Šaranović and Democratic MPs presented untruths during the debate in parliament.
"The Minister of the Interior and the Democratic Party MPs told lies on February 27th in this parliament. They lied that the ANB law was in line with the laws of the European Commission and that they had the green light," said Zirojević.
He stated that this is also confirmed by part of the European Commission report.
The president of the Croatian Civic Initiative, Adrijan Vuksanović, said that the opposition's claims made earlier have in the meantime been confirmed.
He added that the law, if adopted, will end up before the Constitutional Court.
The Parliament adopted the Draft Law on the National Security Agency. 57 MPs voted, 47 in favor, 10 against.
21:00
The Parliament of Montenegro adopted the Draft Law on Internal Affairs. The proposal was adopted with 47 votes in favor and 12 against. 59 MPs voted.
The deputies did not accept any of the five proposed amendments.
The Assembly adopted a provision containing retroactive effect, which was proposed by the Legislative Committee.
20: 28
MP Millan Knežević said that the most honest thing would be for the prosecution to drop the indictment against Dejan Peruničić, who is charged with illegal wiretapping, this evening, when the law on the National Security Agency is adopted. He told Minister without Portfolio Milutin Butorović that by introducing this law he had earned an order from the greatest dictators.
"Everything Peruničić is being tried for will now be regulated in this law. That's why he will be abolished, and we will be able to apologize to him and pay compensation," said Knežević.
He said that when the Law on the National Security Agency is adopted, as it has been since 2025, all citizens of Montenegro will be under permanent surveillance measures without a court decision.
"They will be able to break into your houses, into your double beds, into your toilets, into your water heaters. They will be able to track your movements, base stations, and they will have access to your personal and operational data at any time," said Knežević, adding that he could imagine the spectrum of abuses that will occur in the ANB.
Knežević emphasized that this law introduces the "institute of spies."
"You have a spy associate who will receive a salary for it and have health insurance. Now everyone will spy on everyone for the ANB," he said, telling Butorović that he was collateral damage.
He pointed out that we are becoming a spy state.
20:16
After Minister without Portfolio Milutin Butorović presented the law, Europe Now Movement (PES) MP Dane Marković said that the essence is not just in granting authority to the ANB, but in establishing clear frameworks and control mechanisms.
MP Jevto Eraković (DPS) congratulated PES MP Miodrag Laković for "defending professional honor and integrity."
20:04
After seven hours, the debate on the Law in the Ministry of Interior ended. The MPs will make their statements after the item on the Law on the National Security Agency.
19:58
Minister Danilo Šaranović told the DPS to conduct a vetting in their parliamentary benches.
"I am pleased that the majority of parliament is committed to supporting this law," he said.
He pointed out that the national shame that the security sector has represented for years is finally being put to an end.
"This law is the only therapy for the criminal brood we have found in the police," he concluded.
He said that this law is necessary to close Chapter 24.
"I want to say something to one of my colleagues across the street. We know each other well. If you could find a toothpick for any of us, you would make a sequoia out of it. You are afraid of our maturity to make bold decisions. Rest assured that we will see the job through regardless of the price we have to pay," concluded Šaranović.
19:44
Parliament Speaker Andrija Mandić called on the opposition to reconsider the decision they made to resign from the top positions in all parliamentary bodies.
"I think you showed the face of a very constructive opposition and that it sent a good message about Montenegro as the next EU member. I would like to ask you, as someone who you say cares about national issues, and one of the important national issues is that we all work together on this country's path to the EU," said Mandić.
He called on the opposition to think about it.
"I sat on those opposition benches for a long time. We didn't want to vote for anything that the parliamentary majority proposed. I think we made big mistakes many times. Don't make a mistake that you will regret later," said Mandić.
Nikolić responded that he assumed that Mandić had come down to chair the session to say what he had said.
"We don't make decisions on our knees, the last straw was the end of the story and we thought carefully before making a decision," said Nikolić.
He believes that nothing is done by chance in the year when the 20th anniversary of Montenegrin independence is celebrated.
He added that the end of the government is approaching and that this is primarily demonstrated by Milan Knežević's departure from it.
"The dropout has begun," said Nikolić.
19:24
DPS MP Andrija Nikolić said that the end of this government is approaching and that all that remains for them is to deal with people who had ties to DPS.
"This latest action, Aco Đukanović is irrelevant, we know who the target is. It turned out that what was requested from the court for permission to enter was not found there," he said.
He said that the current government was formed to divide the spoils.
"Your incompetence is reflected in the security sector. Let's not go any further than the two massacres in Cetinje, there is no responsibility, empathy and compassion," he said.
Nikolić warned that the laws will result in hundreds of dismissed employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and that there will be numerous court cases where those dismissed will appeal and receive verdicts against the state.
"If you move a party army into the police force that will serve you unconditionally, you are preparing a training ground for a showdown with political dissenters. These actions by the security sector in recent days have only one goal, to improve the collapsed rating of the sector run by a party called Democratic Montenegro," he said.
He announced that the opposition will no longer simulate democratic processes in parliament and will not vote for laws that are not in line with the European acquis.
"From the beginning of next week, the people sitting in the benches in front of the DPS will resign from their positions as Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, President of the Anti-Corruption Committee, President of the European Integration Committee, and the Inquiry Committee. Ivolit, good luck. There is no comprehensive electoral reform with the opposition, with this you have hammered the last nail into the coffin of electoral reform. You have packed it there," Nikolić concluded.
19:23
After a 15-minute break, the Assembly session resumed. Parliament Speaker Andrija Mandić said that two more MPs would have the right to speak.
19:00
Europe Now Movement (PES) MP Darko Dragović said that he sees no concern that this law will be abused.
He pointed out that in the past seven days, and especially today, there has been noticeable political anger from the opposition ranks over the proposal of such a legal text.
"Then I can only draw one conclusion - that the DPS is afraid of exactly what they have been doing for 30 years, cleaning the security system of personnel who were not politically loyal to them," said Dragović.
He said that once "95 percent of police employees had to vote for DPS."
"The minimum of political correctness is to trust the coalition partner, that is, to trust Danilo Šaranović and the Ministry of Internal Affairs," he pointed out.
18:20
SD MP Boris Mugoša said that some legal solutions were illiterately written and were against the Constitution.
"A person cannot prove his innocence, someone has to prove his guilt. There are no clear criteria. Let's understand what the right to a fair trial is," says Mugoša.
He warned his colleagues from the majority that they should pay attention to the opinion of diplomacy.
"Don't forget what they wrote to you there... Read carefully the paragraph that says that all employment must be based on merit, and that all dismissals must have justified reasons, and that you must provide full legal remedies to the persons in question. They have told you that what you are doing under the existing law is not in line with EU standards, and they have told you even more not to propose such solutions that are even more at odds with those standards," Mugoša said.
He concluded that MPs are voting today on whether Montenegro is European or a police state.
"Finally, let me tell you, the NSD is enjoying itself. They are just watching you from the sidelines and enjoying how you are getting fried. For you, although it is difficult for me to say this, they are gentlemen," Mugoša concluded.
18:13
Šćepanović reminded that he is not a member of any political party. He said that he would never be in a situation where he would endanger anyone in the media.
"The police will not work for the mafia, I assure you, and no contacts with criminal groups will be allowed," he said.
17:52
MP Aleksandra Vuković Kuč said that security sector leaders should feel ashamed for targeting the opposition and the NGO sector for working for the mafia. She accused them of wanting to establish a reign of fear and that this is a collapse of the rule of law.
"Do you think it's normal to celebrate the deprivation of liberty, the arrests of people for whom we still don't know what they are being charged with... There is no one in the UP who is not party-friendly to these people, so they will be able to sleep peacefully," said Vuković Kuč.
She told Šaranović that the opposition, the non-governmental sector, the media, and those who think differently are not his enemies.
"Do you know when we fell from power? The moment we perceived all those listed as political enemies. I'm telling you from the experience of the Government, this is a bad tactic," she concluded.
17:33
PES MP Jelena Nedović said that the laws on the Ministry of Interior and the National Security Agency will bring some justice for police officers Slavoljub Šćekić and Aleksandar Saša Pejanović.
"Just these two cases show how dark we were," said Nedović.
MP Oskar Huter reacted to the negative connotations that Nedović made about the DPS club.
"Since you speak negatively about DPS, please answer whether you spoke with any DPS minister in 2023 about your mandate from Alternative that you transferred to PES, and with whom?" Huter asked.
Nedović did not respond.
17:30
PES MP Uglješa Urošević said that he stands by Šćepanović's decision to reveal which MPs are connected to criminal structures.
"You have my support in finding out if that is true. Let it be known who the people on that side are," said Urošević.
He said that PES will support the proposed laws and that they consider them necessary to reform the security sector.
17:17
Special caucus MP Ilir Čapuni said that he expects the Minister of Interior to ex officio ensure the proportional representation of Albanians in the police, especially in areas where they live. He also asked that official vehicles in areas where Albanians live be marked in the Albanian language.
He drew attention to the excessive police presence in Ulcinj without any real need.
"Citizens of Ulcinj complain about frequent checks without security needs, constant patrols in areas where there are no police deaths, and a feeling of excessive visibility of force. I would like to remind you that Ulcinj is one of the cities with the lowest crime and violence rates in the country, so we must not create the perception that Ulcinj is a security problem, because that is not true," said Čapuni.
He said he wanted security, but also respect. He was supported by the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Nikola Camaj.
Representatives of the opposition parties - the Social Democrats, the Croatian Civic Initiative and the Democratic Party of Socialists - assessed at a press conference that the events in the Montenegrin parliament in the last seven days have shown an attempt at manipulation when it comes to the laws on the ANB and internal affairs.
They claim that the statements of the parliamentary majority that these laws are necessary for the closure of negotiating chapter 24 are not true and call for both legal solutions to be withdrawn from the procedure.
DPS representative Jevto Eraković said that last Friday, citizens witnessed an attempt, as he stated, to construct a structure regarding the inclusion of agenda items.
According to him, the European Commission's position shows that amendments to the law were not a condition for closing negotiating chapter 24.
Social Democrat MP Nikola Zirojević said that Interior Minister Danilo Šaranović and Democratic MPs presented untruths during the debate in parliament.
"The Minister of the Interior and the Democratic Party MPs told lies on February 27th in this parliament. They lied that the ANB law was in line with the laws of the European Commission and that they had the green light," said Zirojević.
He stated that this is also confirmed by part of the European Commission report.
The president of the Croatian Civic Initiative, Adrijan Vuksanović, said that the opposition's claims made earlier have in the meantime been confirmed.
He added that the law, if adopted, will end up before the Constitutional Court.
16:49
Democratic Montenegro MP Boris Bogdanović said that the proposed law attacks cowards in police uniforms who "crawled" in front of Aleksandar Mijajlović, Zoran Lazović, Ranko Ubović...
"On one side, political opponents of the government and the mafia are against this law. On the other side, the police-smuggling cartel, drug dealers, cigarette smugglers, murderers and their helpers, and supposedly reputable lawyers are against this law," said Bogdanović.
16:46
Social Democrat (SD) MP Nikola Zirojević and Europe Now Movement (PES) MP Uglješa Urošević asked the director of the Police Directorate to identify by name and surname the MPs who, as he claimed, have contacts with criminal structures.
Zirojević requested that the competent prosecutor's office summon the police director to make a statement on the subject.
16:34
Šćepanović said they know who is leaking information from the police.
"We will not allow the police to be a service to the mafia, but to protect each individual citizen," he said.
He said that police officers filed a report against Knežević ex officio because he insulted the police director.
"I will not allow anyone to tarnish the reputation of the police, I will not tolerate insults such as calling the police director a degenerate, a psychopath. I am a man of flesh and blood, we weighed each other, they sided with crime, and I sided with the law," he said.
Knežević responded that he never called him a degenerate or a psychopath, but he did call him a "beech" because he had operational information that that was his nickname.
"And I stand by my words. See you in court. I will also request a psychiatric evaluation for both you and me, so let's see who ends up in Dobrota," concluded Knežević.
16:12
MP Milan Knežević (DNP) ironically told Šćepanović that he would not allow Montenegro to be diverted from the European path.
"If I can carry Andrija Nikolić, then I can carry Lazar Šćepanović on my shoulders," said Knežević.
He asked if Miloš Medenica could address the MPs via video link, adding that he was in excellent condition and more popular than Šćepanović and Mujović.
"Our security sector is such that Miloš Medenica is becoming an underground star. Every time he appears, it's like missiles destroying some platforms in the Middle East. If I were the minister and the chief of police, I would stand up and say that I am withdrawing these laws, because you are suspending the Constitution with them," said Knežević.
He emphasized that they have introduced a commission that the Ministry of Interior will form.
"And where police officers will spy on each other, and you will exclude people from work based on that operational data. Well, neither OZNA nor UDBA did that. What you are doing is creating a party militia," he added.
He pointed out that Šaranović and Šćepanović are trying to retroactively prevent the 100 suspended officials from proving that they were right.
"Conditions will be created for you to be held accountable like Veselin Veljović and Slavko Stojanović. Conditions will be created for you to be prosecuted," he said.
Knežević said that a request for misdemeanor proceedings was filed against him because he called the director of the UP the nickname "Bukva".
"Mr. Šćepanović doesn't even allow his nickname to be mentioned, the police react immediately. My nickname is Pipun. I should report it every time someone calls me Pipun on social media, and because I called you a beech, the way your friends in the police call you, behind closed doors, because they can't say it out loud, you decided to file a complaint against me. So, Mr. Šćepanović, where are you going in Russia?" he said.
He told him that he was abusing his position as police director.
"If vetting were carried out, you wouldn't be the first to be in the police. You threaten me... Mr. Šćepanović, I have to tell you something because you are an authorized representative of the Government. It's better to be a Pipun than a Bukva," concluded Knežević.
16:05
The leader of the GP Ura, Dritan Abazović, accused the government of not telling the truth.
"Until now, we had a general feeling that you were incompetent, and now we have received confirmation that you are not telling the truth, which is worse... It was said here earlier that without this law we would jeopardize the European path, and later we realized that this was not true. I have not seen a government that works against itself and shoots itself in the foot any more - just something, some actions happen, and you go down the drain again," he pointed out.
Abazović warned that with this law he wants to create a new Goli Otok.
"You can't leave people out of work with the commissions that the minister is creating... You want to judge someone based on operational data... We will end up in a situation where people frame each other out of vanity, spy on each other. I can't believe that in 2026 you are coming here with such solutions," said Abazović.
Independent MP Dragan Bojović said that behind the legal changes stands a common sense assumption - that a police officer should be beyond suspicion.
"The European Commission did not say that this law should not be adopted, but that the law should be harmonized before adoption or by the end of the accession process," he added.
15:30
Živković replied to Šćepanović that the police cannot judge who is guilty, but that that is the job of the courts.
"If we want to abolish the court and you say that we don't need the court for these cases, then let's say that we don't need the court as the third instance of government. The presumption of innocence is respected until someone is proven guilty. If you tell me that it's okay to remove someone from their job before it's determined in the relevant court proceedings, then we don't need the courts, abolish them and let the director of the Police Department determine it," he said.
He also noted that the commission is formed by the Minister of Police Administration, and that the court exists to determine someone's guilt, and that the burden of proof lies with the prosecution.
15:14
PES MP Miodrag Laković said that he would not support the Law on Internal Affairs in this form.
According to him, contrary to the thesis that the service is doing its best, we have the thesis that the service is compromised and that there are many dirty personnel.
"When representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs come to us and talk about the results of their work, they say that the results are fantastic... I understand the director of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he is an operative, but I see a certain paradox - with a service that is so polluted that such results are achieved," Laković emphasized.
He said that one must think about the aspect of human rights, constitutionality, respect for the presumption of innocence...
"That's why I believe this legal solution is not acceptable," said Laković.
14:48
Šaranović responded that he had many counterarguments, but that it was important to him to protect the professional integrity of his associates.
"You said that we are turning an emancipated state into a police state. Every one of my personnel appointments in the department was on point. The directors of the directorates are professionals, and I do not have a single person with a Democratic Party membership card in any of those positions," said Šaranović.
14:42
Živković says the path they took is wrong, and states that it is always possible to see whether someone is unworthy of police service.
"We have lawyers and retroactivity is prohibited by the Constitution of the country, let them say so. You expect to get through whatever suits you and justify it with the story of EU integration," Živković states.
He says that it is not true that this legal solution is important for Chapter 24 and that this has been proven.
"The hand that was extended not only to you but to the joint effort for the European path has been withdrawn, only if this is adopted today. It is over if you intend to destroy the democratic system of Montenegro, and then we will organize ourselves differently," said Živković.
He asked whether the head of the Special Police Department, Predrag Šuković, was the head of the Crime Prevention Sector when the police were led by the late Božo Vuksanović in 2012.
Then the minister said to him from the bench: "They didn't criminalize everything."
He asked Minister Šaranović where he got the correspondence and data from the investigations.
"Who delivers this to you?" he asked.
He also asked why a larger space was not opened at the Police Academy so that personnel could be trained in that way.
"What you planned to create a 'party police' is not going to work out that way. You will have to wait for that regardless of whether these laws are adopted today or not," said Živković.
14:28
Danijel Živković (DPS) states that the European path of the country should be mapped out by the authorities.
"The implementation of legal solutions is about having more responsible and better institutions and having the same level of standards as other EU members. Today, we need the authorities to deal with those who disagree with us, through revenge out of hatred," Živković is categorical.
Institutions, he says, are legalizing revenge out of hatred, and according to Živković, this is now in effect.
He says that today DPS is being questioned about whether they are for the EU, and that they have opened all chapters, and that they have extended a hand to the opposition, but that from today on that will no longer be the case.
"We believe it is fair to enter the system of countries that inherit European values," said Živković.
14:23
Branka Marković (PES) kaže da smo godinama slušali priču o jakim institucijama, a da su sada u pritvoru ti policajci koji su trebali da se bore protiv kriminala, te da su završili radeći za kriminalne klanove. „I sada kada država pokušava da uvede red, oni koji su taj sistem stvorili imaju problema sa tim zakonom. Naravno da im smeta“, rekla je Marković. Policijska značka, kako kaže, neće biti štit za kriminal. „Ovo ne smeta poštenim policajcima, samo onima koji su štitili kriminalne klanove a radili u policiji“, rekla je Marković.
14:17
Šaranović says that they want to block the European path and that they will not allow it.
He said that there is nothing to the claims that this is about introducing a "police state".
"Only these people around me who are sitting here now have 56 years of work experience in the police. And you know what happened before, they came from the main board of the DPS and SD and they were all leaders and directors from the first day. The majority of members of that management until 2020 are now in prison or have been given some kind of supervision measure," said Šaranović.
14:07
Speaking about the draft Law on Internal Affairs, the relevant Minister Danilo Šaranović said that the EU delegation confirmed that everything they said was exactly so.
"For months, both laws were harmonized with the EC and amendments were proposed to those two laws, and on that basis I based my position that what is proposed is actually the product of months of work with EC directorates."
Everything that is an integral part of the law is not problematized.
"They said everything that we on the committee said, that all that remained was to harmonize those parts of the law in force when DPS was in power and to harmonize it with some directives that are now in force," he said.
He says that harsh accusations were made against him, that he lied or deceived someone.
"I was right about everything because there is no fulfillment of the final benchmarks without amendments to this Law on Internal Affairs. The EC says that by the end of this year alone we have to employ 446 UP officers, not taking into account that so many will retire. We have to enable the resolution of the personnel deficit," said Šaranović.
13:58
Miloš Konatar (URA) said that first of all, we need to talk about pensioners, that when we talk about all other laws, we need to talk about that.
Only 20 MPs supported it, while 37 abstained.
"Let the citizens watch and judge everyone when it comes to priorities. This is also a blue flag, because bureaucratic flags are useless when there is no support for a law that means life to a large number of people - 132,000 pensioners, these are the people who built this country," said Konatar.
13:55
Mandić said that they have formed a legislative department in the Parliament.
"We need to have a body that can react immediately," he said.
This department will ensure that materials that are not in compliance are further processed.
13:50
Mandić proposed that the agenda be amended and pointed out that the Government had informed them that all laws proposed by the Government today had been harmonized with the European Commission.
Social Democrat MP Boris Mugoša says that he managed to read many laws and that the agenda should not be amended under any circumstances for several reasons.
"If we allow this, we no longer need to function. Today we are receiving a law that says 'with the aim of communicating with colleagues from other EU member states', it is legally nebulous for us to adopt something like that. Colleagues to cooperate, that is stipulated by law, is there such a thing anywhere," said Mugoša.
He says we must protect integrity and that one member cannot change three members.
Mandić said that all of these laws were marked with a blue flag, 21 of them.
"We will have a debate in the committees because we have to express our opinion on the laws by March 15th, and I accept that there are sometimes shortcomings, probably due to speed and work," said Mandić.
13:48
Dražen Živković (DPS) said that his colleague from that party, a doctor and orthopedist, Nermin Abdić, was threatened at his workplace as a doctor because he spoke about corruption in the healthcare system.
"This narrative in previous years has encouraged some to dare to threaten a doctor because he spoke about potential corruption in healthcare. That is an alarm," said Živković, adding that Abdić reported it to the Police Directorate, that he was persecuted for his words, and that this was unacceptable.
The President of the Assembly, Andrija Mandić, said that no one should behave like that and that it should not happen that individuals radicalize people and that the state must be efficient, establish the facts and ensure that justice is served.
