Council for improvement of business environment approves conclusions regarding Foreign Investors Council’s recommendations

Podgorica, Montenegro (26 November 21014) – At today’s session, the Council for improvement of business environment, regulatory and structural reforms approved the conclusions reached by relevant institutions regarding the Foreign Investors Council’s recommendations on investment climate in the country (so-called "White Paper"). The Foreign Investors Council’s report was presented by Szabolcs Horvath, member of the council's bord of directors, who undelined the good cooperation established with the Council for improvement of business environment and the Ministry of Finance in eliminating regulatory barriers to business.

The Council also adopted the information on the implementation of conclusionsof the government’s thematic session concerning structural reforms in the fields of education, health care and labour market, adding that most of the conclusions had been realised, while that the realisation of the remaining ones is underway.

One of the topics at the meeting’s agenda was the second phase of the unification of inspection services. In that respect, the Council concluded that the amendments to the Law on Inspection Supervision has to enable, as an exception, that the inspection over the collection of public revenues and monitoring of delivery of financial statements are performed by the state administration bodies as prescribed by the law.

The Council also adopted the analysis of the situation of organisations with public authority, which had identified certain issues within these organisations, and suggested the most convenient solutions for improvements in this area. The Council noted that, based on the document’s findings, there is a need to prepare the legal framework which will define position of organisations exercising public authority in Montenegro.

Today's meeting reviewed the Union of Employers’ proposals for improving the business environment with regard to the preparation of amendments to the Law on Gender Equality and Law on Prohibition of Discrimination of Persons with Disabilities. It has also addressed the Union of Employers’ assessment that the amount, method of calculation and payment of membership fees to tourism organisations, as well as establishment and payment of the price of water, purification and wastewater management in the municipality of Budva is a barrier to business and initiated activities in order to resolve the issue.

Council for improvement of business environment, regulatory and structural reforms approved today the information on relevant ministries’obligations when it comes to the Action Plan "Guillotine of Regulations" for the third quarter of 2014. Furthermore, the Council members were informed about the activities and the implementation of the second pillar of the regulatory reform through the report "Analysis of Regulatory Impact in Montenegro" prepared by the OECD/SIGMA. On behalf of the OECD, the report was presented by the consultant Klas Klaas, who praised the efforts of Montenegro towards implementing the process, emphasising the country is the only one in the Western Balkan which carries out the procedure of preparation of regulatory impact assessment in a systematic and efficient manner.

Council also discussed the initiative of the Community of Municipalities on establishing a sustainable system of construction land management and financing of local governments, as a prerequisite for creating a favourable business environment, and got acquainted with the findings from the report "Global Competitiveness Index" prepared by the World Economic Forum, as well as the 2015 World Bank's Doing Business report.