Montenegro's Cabinet session

Podgorica, Montenegro (10 June 2016) – At yesterday's session, the Montenegrin Cabinet, approved the Draft Law on Budget Final Account for 2015. The total budget revenues for 2015 amounted to EUR 2167.34 million, while total expenditure amounted to EUR 2159.69 million. State debt of Montenegro on 31 December 2015 totaled EUR 2276.65 million or 63.33% of GDP.

Speaking on the Draft Annual Budget Account, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policy and Financial System dr Vujica Lazović said that the problem of Montenegro is that it spends more than it earns, and that ensuring the dynamic growth requires to create more. The discussion emphasised that the primary objective of the Government's fiscal policy is to reduce current spending and increase investment in infrastructure, in order to finance public debt from economic growth with a view to establishing its downward trend. By increasing budget revenues through efforts to fight the gray economy and strengthening fiscal discipline, the Government tried to reduce the public finance deficit at the same time using mechanisms for cutting down consumption. Tax exemptions and support for capital and development projects strengthened the development component of the fiscal policy in order to take into account the need to finance projects that ensure long-term economic growth.

In the context of harmonisation with the Law on Salaries of Employees in the Public Sector, the Cabinet approved the Draft Amendments to the Audit of EU Funds Law and the Law on Ombudsman.

The Draft law on Amendments to the Law on Ombudsman of Montenegro regulates the salaries of the secretary-general, chief adviser and advisers of the Ombudsman, respecting the principle of uniformity of salaries in the public sector. When deciding on the draft law, Interior Minister Goran Danilović excluded his opinion.

When discussing the proposed regulation on compensation of costs for employees in the public sector, the Minister of the Interior said that the proposed solution implying that traveling more than 30 km from the workplace is the limit for reimbursement might be problematic, since, in his words, the Parliament determined a 50-km distance. In that regard, the Government task the proponent to once again examine the proposed solution.

Yesterday's session also adopted the Information on possible solutions to the outstanding issues in the field of energy in the context of the Berlin Process and the conclusions adopted by the competent institutions responsible to take steps for the establishment of a power exchange in Montenegro. Discussing this item of the agenda, ministers of the Interior and labour and social Welfare requested additional explanations on the estimates contained in the material regarding the advantages and disadvantages of forming the Montenegrin power exchange or joining one of the existing power exchange in the region. The Minister of the Interior expressed reservations about some of the estimates contained in the material. Deputy Prime Minister Vujica Lazović said that the energy policy of Montenegro defined strategic directions of which one is for Montenegro to become a regional energy hub for which one of the conditions is to have its own power exchange. Minister Goran Danilović excluded his opinion in relation to this item of the agenda.

As part of the discussion on personnel issues, the Cabinet agreed with the proposal of opposition ministers who requested the appointment of new Assistant Director of the Directorate of Public Works, which is position that belongs to the opposition under Agreement on creation of conditions for free and fair elections and the Law on the Implementation of the Agreement on creation of conditions for free and fair elections. The Government unanimously adopted the proposals for the engagement of the opposition in the centres for social work and management bodies of companies at the local level, as well as local government body in charge of finance in the municipalities of Berane and Rožaje, thus continuing the implementation of the Agreement on creation of conditions for free and fair elections. By the same token, Deputy Prime Minister Dusko Markovic invited all show the highest possible degree of tolerance in the initial phase of the work of the Government of Electoral Trust, stating that any compulsion in the political evaluations and qualifications may harm the joint project and compromise it in the eyes of the forces that from a political standpoint want this the project to fail.