Podgorica, (MINA) - The proposed law banning public assemblies directly affects the fundamental rights of citizens and distances Montenegro from its EU membership path, the office of the President Jakov Milatovic assessed.

According to the press release from Milatovic’s office, the government, instead of protecting freedom of expression and the right to protest, as the basic pillars of every European democracy, is proposing a law that declares every civil protest a threat in advance.

“Such a measure has no basis in either European practice or European values”, the president’s office said in a press release.

According to them, the proposed law does not protect either traffic or citizens.

“Its sole purpose is to discourage any form of civil protest and silence the public. That is why it is introducing fines up to EUR 100,000, higher than those for many criminal offences”, Milatovic’s office said.

They added that if Montenegro wants to join the EU by 2028, it must demonstrate this ambition through laws that protect citizens, not the government.

The president’s office voiced expectation that this law will withdrawn and that drafting a new proposal will begin in open dialogue with citizens, in line with the opinion of the Venice Commission and the principles of European practice.