Centre for Civic Education (CCE) today submitted an initiative to all parliamentary clubs in the Parliament of Montenegro calling for a reduction in the budget of the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts (CANU), due to the evident disproportion between significant budgetary allocations and the limited, poorly visible, and insufficiently socially relevant results of CANU’s work, as well as the problematic manner of selecting its members, which neglects merit and references.
Through an analysis of the process of electing new CANU members, CCE identified elements of non-transparency and discriminatory practices, particularly regarding gender representation, and there are also indications that certain actions in this electoral process may constitute an abuse of authority and negligent performance of duties.
CCE has also publicly pointed to controversies surrounding the election of associate members in the Department of Arts, where only one candidate – Branislav Mićunović – was proposed, despite two other candidates being in competition – Rifat Alihodžić and Jelena Tomašević – whose references, especially in terms of international recognition, are significantly stronger.
CANU is funded from the State Budget of Montenegro and, as such, has an obligation of full accountability to the citizens who finance its work. The institution’s budget has been steadily increasing: from €1.33 million in 2021 to €2.07 million in 2022, then €2.55 million in 2023, reaching €2.88 million in 2024, or €2.87 million in 2025 – an increase of over 115% in four years.
Additionally, the new CANU building, opened in 2023, cost around €9 million. Nevertheless, the programmes and events held in this space – apart from a few exhibitions – are rarely visible or accessible to the wider public. The impression is that CANU remains closed to a narrow circle of academicians and professionals in the fields of science and the arts, although, as a publicly funded institution, it should be open and accessible to all interested citizens of Montenegro.
According to the CANU Statute, the mission of the institution is to “organize, conduct, develop, encourage and coordinate scientific research and all forms of creative activity, nurture, enhance and promote artistic work,” as well as to “affirm the spiritual and national tradition of Montenegro and, through its activities, contribute to the overall progress of the state.” However, CANU lacks clear and timely responses to key social processes, while its emancipatory and socially corrective role is neglected precisely by those who lead it.
Montenegro is facing numerous social, political, and value-based challenges in which the voice of CANU and its members should carry particular weight, yet CANU’s position is absent. At the same time, part of the programmes and events organized by CANU do not address the key issues of contemporary Montenegrin society, nor are these events adequately communicated to the public. Instead, CANU hosts events such as a two-day scientific conference on “meaning,” whose scope and social relevance remain unclear.
The CCE considers it justified that, in the interest of rationalizing public spending, the budget for CANU for 2026 should be seriously reconsidered and reduced in line with the institution’s achieved results and public impact, especially taking into account the demonstrated irresponsibility in the process of electing new members, which further constrains the institution’s development.
Sara Čabarkapa, Active Citizenship Programme Coordinator