Action for Social Justice (ASP) is not overly optimistic that the executive power, after the decision of the Constitutional Court to cancel the regulation on wind farms, will hurry to protect the interests of consumers, the representatives of that non-governmental organization (NGO) announced.
– In a country where legal and institutional chaos is experiencing a culmination, citizens and their interests are always at the bottom of the priorities and ASP does not share excessive optimism that, after the decision of the Constitutional Court, the holders of executive power will hurry to protect the interests of consumers – it is stated in the announcement.
The ASP reminded that the Constitutional Court, acting on their initiative, canceled the decree on VE, which was the legal basis for the former government of the Democratic Party of Socialists to adopt methodologies for subsidies to electricity producers from VE Krnovo and Možur.
– Bearing in mind that the regulation was the legal basis for the methodology of determining the preferential price for electricity producers from VE Krnovo and Možur, who have the right to subsidies for 12 years according to the contracts, it is unclear what the government will do in the specific situation and in relation to subsidies – they said.
They reminded that the case of VE Možura has been in the spotlight of the domestic and European public for several years due to suspicions of corruption and the murder of an investigative journalist in Malta, who discovered a corrupt scheme.
The ASP added that the investigation in Montenegro is not moving forward much, while during that time consumers are paying subsidies.
– The United Nations Convention against Corruption provides a legal basis for member states to review legal and contractual relations when it comes to corrupt practices – ASP said.
They recalled that, according to earlier ASP data, from 2017 to the end of last year, electricity producers from VE Krnovo and Možur were paid about EUR 52 million, based on methodologies based on the unconstitutional regulation on wind farms, and at the expense of consumers. subsidy.
– The regulation on wind power plants was adopted in 2009, and later the government of that time determined the methodologies for the purchase price from VE, whose owners were contractually guaranteed a price of EUR 96 per megawatt, which was three times more than the then market price – announced from ASP.
They recalled that at the end of July, the Constitutional Court passed a decision revoking the decree, which ceases to be valid on the day of its publication in the Official Gazette.
ASP said that the Constitutional Court then had a quorum for decision-making, and it decided in the composition of – Budimir Šćepanović, as president, and judges Milorad Gogić, Miodrag Iličković and Desanka Lopičić.
– In the meantime, Iličković retired and the country is currently without a Constitutional Court – ASP stated.
In its decision, the Constitutional Court stated that it valued the decree in relation to the current Law on Energy, that there was a change in several normative circumstances related to the issues that are the subject of the regulation, that it was not harmonized with the law within the required period, and it was established that it is not in accordance with the Constitution and the law and that the conditions for its abolition have been met, reports eKapija.
