Montenegro's Cabinet Session

Podgorica, Montenegro (28 December 2017) -- At today's 56th session, chaired by Prime Minister Duško Marković, the Government of Montenegro adopted the Information on establishment of a system for the preparation of the Montenegrin version of the aquis communautaire. The Information shows the status and review of the necessary activities to fulfill the task – preparation of the Montenegrin version of the Acquis – that is, the version in the Montenegrin language. The Information indicates that the process of preparing the Montenegrin version of the EU aquis requires the coordination of all departments in order to establish a system of professional, legal and language audit of EU legal acts. The discussion emphasised that the EU aquis has 160,000 pages and is growing on a daily basis, and that Montenegro has already passed a quarter, and that such a demanding task requires a serious consideration of personnel and financial opportunities and needs.

The Government approved the Proposal of the Annual Business Plan for 2018 and the Proposal of the Financial Plan for 2018 of the Investment and Development Fund of Montenegro, which plans to place at least EUR 140 million in support to Montenegrin entrepreneurs. The goals of the Investment and Development Fund will be: creating new jobs; development of entrepreneurship with an emphasis on social entrepreneurship through support to specific target groups (young people, women, technological surpluses, craftsmen, people with disabilities, etc.), support to regional development, opening of new companies, growth and development of existing ones; support to priority sectors of development (agriculture, tourism, wood processing, etc.); support the competitiveness of Montenegrin products in other markets; support for the use of domestic products and resources; non-financial support in the form of education, cooperation with relevant partners in order to create an optimal business environment, providing favorable sources of financing in the international market.

The Government adopted the Draft Law on State Aid Control, as well as the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Protection of Competition, adoption of which is one of conditions for starting accession negotiations in Chapter 8 – Competition. The essence of these two laws is the institutionalisation of the decision-making process on state aid placed in the Agency for the Protection of Competition. The proposed legal solution allows the allocation of state funds from the budget of Montenegro in a manner consistent with the rules applicable in the EU Member States, so that they directly provide financial incentives for businesses.

The Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Electronic Administration, which was adopted at today’s session, creates effective conditions for improving communication with users of public administration services through the e-government portal. One of the key issues of the mentioned law is focusing on the introduction of local self-governments into the data exchange system and the introduction of their obligation to publish electronic services on the e-government portal.

The Government adopted the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on the Protection of the Natural and Cultural and Historical Area of Kotor, which better protects this area from the World Heritage of UNESCO, while the solutions are simultaneously harmonised with the new Law on Spatial Planning and Construction of Facilities.

At today's session, the Government adopted the Development Directions for the period 2018-2021, which is the basic development document of the Government of Montenegro. The strategic goal of Montenegro's development is focused on increasing the quality of life of citizens in the long run. The objectives, priorities and directions established by similar documents for the periods 2013-2016 and 2015-2018 have been confirmed, while smart, revived and inclusive growth are proposed as a leading directions of development, and key measures, projects and necessary resources are proposed in the area of policy, with sources for their implementation.

The Draft Law on Foreigners, which will come into force on the day of Montenegro’s accession to the European Union, regulates the entry, exit, movement, stay and work of foreigners in Montenegro in a quality manner compatible with European legislation.

The Government adopted the Draft Law on Freshwater Fisheries and Aquaculture with the Report from the Public Discussion.

In order to provide conditions for placing on the market exclusively safe products and harmonisation with the European Union, the Government adopted the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on General product Safety.

In order to ensure the implementation of the Law on Food Safety and full harmonisation with the acquis communautaire, the Government adopted the Regulation on requirements for product of plant origin and the Regulation on additives for animal feed and premixtures which can be placed on the market.

The Government also adopted the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Health Insurance.

In order to provide better access to quality and safe medicines and in order to provide the insured with the possibility of choosing medicines that are on the basic list of medicines or a medicine that is a therapeutic parallel and is located on the supplementary list of medicines, the Government adopted a Regulation amending the Regulation on the criteria for putting or removing medicines from the List of Medicines. The Decision on determining the List of Medicines was adopted, as well.

The Government adopted the Proposal of the Action Plan for the implementation of the Strategy for road safety improvement in road traffic for 2018, with the Report on implementation of the measures envisaged by the Action Plan for the implementation of the Strategy for road safety improvement in road traffic for 2017.

The Environmental Monitoring Programme of Montenegro for 2018 was adopted at today’s session. As noted in discussion, the Programme will be implemented in accordance with the guidelines of the European Union in this area, while the monitoring results will serve to define the recommendations and measures to be taken in the upcoming period in order to improve the situation.

The Government adopted the Plan for issuing energy licenses in 2018. Considering the fact that Montenegro is close to achieving the National Goal of 33% of the produced energy from renewable sources, this Plan does not foresee the possibility of issuing new energy licenses in 2018 for the construction of power facilities for the production of electricity, except on the basis of already submitted requests concerning solar plants, reconstruction of existing facilities and making the best use of energy potentials of hydro-technical systems.

The adopted Customs Tariff Regulation for 2018 determines the basic customs rate of 5.14 percent, 0.05 percent less than in 2017. The nomenclature has been changed according to the EU nomenclature.

The Government adopted the Information on the proposal of an Agreement on the implementation of the technical support project between the Region of Puglia in Italy and the Ministry of European Affairs of Montenegro, as well as the proposal of the Agreement on the implementation of the technical support project between the Region of Puglia in Italy and the Ministry of Finance under the Interreg IPA Cross-Border Cooperation Programme for Italy, Albania and Montenegro for the period 2014-2020, with the proposals of agreements. The programme includes funds from the European regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA). The seven-year budget amounts to EUR 92,707,555, including national co-financing, while the total amount of EU grants available to users in this programme is EUR 78,801,422.

The Government presented the fact that Radio and Television of Montenegro has submitted its proposal for Agreement on Broadcasting between RTCG and the Government for the period from 2018 to 2020 in accordance with the Law on National Public Broadcaster Radio and Television of Montenegro and stated that the Media Directorate shall continue activities on its final definition, in accordance with the Law, the rights and obligations of the contracting parties.

In closing the session, Prime Minister Duško Marković summed up the work of the Government over the past year. Recalling that during the year he mainly cultivated a critical approach, the Prime Minister noted that the Government of Montenegro managed to stabilise public finances, initiate capital projects and unblock individual investment restrictions, thereby increasing economic growth, improving the business environment and earning the trust of international financial institutions.

Noting the progress in numerous fields, the Prime Minister recalled that the Government focused on the revenue side of the budget this year, and that it will face a serious job on the expenditure side next year.

Although the unemployment rate is falling, that is, although the number of employees has increased this year, job creation and employment of young people must be the goal for all our policies to be subordinated in 2018, the Prime Minister of Montenegro Duško Marković said, concluding the last Cabinet session in 2017.

PUBLIC RELATIONS SERVICE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF MONTENEGRO