Government of Montenegro holds first sitting open to public, sums up 2013 and announces 2014 activities

Cetinje, Montenegro (19 December 2013) – The Government of Montenegro held a public session for the first time earlier today in Cetinje, the old royal capital, where the Prime Minister and Deputies presented most important achievements in 2013 and announced top activities in 2014.

The Cabinet sitting was broadcast live on national TV and radio and the session ended after the ministers answered all questions posed by media representatives, who sat in alongside local government top officials, heads of the Central Bank and the union of commercial banks, representatives of business associations, and trade unions.

Prime Minister Đukanović, who launched the session and announced that it will usher in a practice of regular annual open Cabinet sittings, looked back on the first year of his Government and presented most notable achievements in the areas of consolidation of public finance and creating preconditions for quicker economic growth, which were the top Government priorities. He also mentioned development activities in the areas of child and social care, education, health-care, human rights and freedoms, EU and NATO membership, and neighbourly and regional cooperation.

After the Prime Minister’s address, the Deputy Prime Ministers presented the Government priorities for 2014, noting in particular the strategic goals (such as economic development, improved quality of life, democracy development, EU and NATO integration, and external cooperation).

In discussing his Government’s activities, he noted in particular the reduction of budgetary deficit (by 4.6% compared to 2012) and the need for foreign loans, and underlined that the Government undertook a number of hard and unpopular measures which in the end proved as good solutions. He noted these measures were undertaken with due consideration of their social impact and the effects they were expected to produce on the business environment in the country. Mr Đukanović stressed the importance of activities aimed at combating grey economy, which boosted the collection of public revenue for EUR 110 million and made a beneficial impact on business in general (Doing Business upgraded Montenegro’s standing by 70 spots and the World Bank ranks it seven places higher).

The Prime Minister recalled the initial activities for the launch of great development projects, in various areas:

Energy
- underwater energy cable
- oil and gas examinations
- Trans-Adriatic Pipeline
- Block II of the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant (220-300 MW), and
- small hydro-power plants.

Infrastructure
- Bar-Boljare motorway
- Eight transport infrastructure projects (app. EUR 35 million)
- Port Milena Bridge in Ulcinj (app. EUR 14 million)
- Revitalised maritime fleet
- Railway Bar-Belgrade-Budapest

Tourism
- Revenue of EUR 711 million, and over 1.5 million tourists
- Lovćen-Cetinje cable car
- Kumbor (app. EUR 500 million)
- Luštica Bay
- Porto Montenegro (EUR 70 million worth of new investment)
- Queen’s Beach (app. EUR 200 million)
- Blue Horizon
- Maljevik (app. EUR 220 million)
- Golf complex in Tivat (app. EUR 200 million)

Industry
- Development projects in Nikšić steel mill
- Final phase of aluminium industry restructuring
- Incentives to industry development in less developed municipalities

Agriculture
- 1.000 new jobs
- 390 new contracts with producers worth EUR 9 million
- EUR 8.5 million worth of grants
- Milk production growth of 11%
- More vineyards (25 hectares) and orchards (100 hectares)

Prime Minister Đukanović underlined that the 2013 results are very good, which was confirmed by yesterday’s opening of EU accession negotiation chapters 23 and 24, alongside three more chapters.