Montenegro's Cabinet Session

Podgorica, Montenegro (7 December 2017) -- At today's 53rd session, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policy and Financial System Milutin Simović, the Government of Montenegro adopted the Draft Law on Amendments to the Budget Law of Montenegro for 2017 which increases both the original revenues and the total planned budget expenditures by EUR 9.5 million, while the planned level of budget deficit remains unchanged.

In relation to the Budget Law of Montenegro for 2017, expenditures of the Current Budget increased by EUR 8.61 million, government funds' expenditures increased by EUR 0.89 million, while the expenditures on financing transactions and the capital budget remained unchanged. In accordance with the Law that was sent to the Parliament for adoption under the shortened procedure, the funds are allocated for: the Ministry of Economy in the amount of EUR 1 million – for subsidies for the production and provision of services related to the subsidisation of “vulnerable customers” of the electrical energy; Current budget reserve in the amount of EUR 490,000.00; the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs in the amount of EUR 7,117,807.03 as follows: EUR 5,200,000.00 for the Civil Aviation Programme; EUR 1,917,807.03 for Railway Transport of Montenegro JSC – Podgorica and Railway Infrastructure of Montenegro; EUR 893,601.47 for Employment Agency of Montenegro.

Explaining the proposal, Finance Minister Darko Radunović said that the efforts of the Government and the Ministry of Finance led to results that we can be proud of, that more money is invested in the state treasury – projections point to about EUR 90 million by the end of the year, while less funds were spent from the state treasury compared to the previous period, which created the opportunity for additional funds to be directed at the end of the year to where they are most needed. Concluding the debate, Deputy Prime Minister Milutin Simović said that the Government allocated only a tenth of the increased revenues by the revision, in order to direct it to the settlement of the already created or received obligations.

In the framework of the implementation of the Public Administration Strategy, the Government adopted the Draft Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, the adoption of which will improve the normative framework for the civil service system in order to fully apply the principle of employment according to the merit and mobility system, both at central and local level.

The Government adopted the Information on the proposal of the Support Package related to the providing services to Montenegro by the NATO Communication and Information Agency (NCIA) in the field of communication and information system for 2017 and accepted the Support Package, which documents the specification of services between the Agency and Montenegro. This ensures the functioning and maintenance of the provided services of the NCI Agency, as well as the issue of the installation of the NATO-protected communication network (NS WAN) in the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Directorate for the Protection of Classified Information.

The Government also adopted the Information on the proposal of the Partnership Agreement for the implementation of the ADRION815 – Coordination Support Unit – Support to the management of the EU Strategy for the Adriatic-Ionian Region (EUSAIR) – Coordination Unit for EUSAIR Support, financed by the Interreg Adrion programme. The total budget for the project amounts to EUR 11,501,171.00, EUR 9,819,733.00 of which applies to EU Member States and EUR 1,681,438.00 applies to IPA countries. On this basis, EUR 428,610.00 was allocated to Montenegro for the period 2016-2022.

In order to improve bilateral relations and cooperation, the Government adopted the Information on the conclusion of the Memorandum of Understanding between the ministries of foreign affairs of Montenegro and the United Mexican States on the establishment of political consultations on issues of mutual interest.

The Government was informed at today’s session about the Work report of the Commission to monitor the actions of the competent authorities in investigating cases of threats and violence against journalists, the killing of journalists and attacks on media assets for the period from 23 May to 23 September 2017, submitted by the Commission.

PUBLIC RELATIONS SERVICE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF MONTENEGRO