Montenegro's Cabinet Session

Podgorica, Montenegro (24 May 2018) -- At today's 78th session, chaired by Prime Minister Duško Marković, the Government of Montenegro appointed former Director General of the General Directorate for EU and Regional Policy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Aleksandar Drljević to the function Chief Negotiator for Montenegro's Accession to the European Union. Former Secretary of the Ministry of European Affairs Miodrag Radović was appointed as Deputy Chief Negotiator for the Chapter on the Acquis Communautaire. Former General Director for European Funds at the Ministry of European Affairs Ivana Glišević Đurović was appointed as Deputy Chief Negotiator – National IPA Coordinator.

At today's session, the Government adopted the Report on realisation of the Government's conclusions for the fourth quarter of 2017. Analysis of the reporting data showed that a great trend in fulfillment of the Government's conclusions continued in the fourth quarter of 2017. During this period, a total of 537 conclusions were adopted, out of which 378 were realised, 28 were not realised, while 131 conclusions did not come to realisation. It was concluded at the session that the achieved results should be an incentive for even greater efficiency and responsibility in the realisation of the tasks.

The Government adopted the Information on the need for a Programme of training and employment of young people with acquired higher education in informal business affairs – "Stop the Grey Economy". Based on the experience of the previous implementation of this project, which involved 245 participants, the Government decided to continue the implementation of the Programme this year, thus contributing to solving the unemployment problem for another 180 unemployed persons from the Employment Agency’s register, as well as the suppression of the grey economy. As before, the Programme is intended for unemployed persons with acquired higher education, aged up to 30 years, with a working experience of at least 9 months through vocational training. The Programme will enable the engagement of 180 persons from the unemployment register, for a period of six months.

The Report on the work of the Investment and Development Fund of Montenegro for 2017, with financial statements and the Independent Auditor’s Report for 2017 was adopted at today’s session. When presenting the Report, it was pointed out that the realisation plan for 2018 amounted to EUR 120 million. Thanks to the constant focus on creating and applying a financing model, which aims to support and improve the Montenegrin economy, the IDF allocated a total of EUR 175.6 million in 2017 for the financing of 439 projects/ contracts, which is EUR 55.6 million more than planned. Compared to 2016, growth of approved funds of 37% is achieved 2017. The primary objective of the IDF is opening new jobs through continuous support and encouraging the accelerated development of Montenegro; acceleration of the growth of micro, small and medium-sized businesses; opening new companies; balanced regional development; competitiveness and liquidity of economic entities; production and export-oriented services; production that reduces import dependence; financing of infrastructure projects; as well as encouraging the financing of other projects of local, regional and national importance.

The Government adopted the Package of Italian and Montenegrin joint standing operation procedures for Italian Air Force SAR operations within Montenegro air space in support of NATO air policing operations, previously adopting the Information on Package Proposal.

The Technical Agreement between the Government of Montenegro and the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) for the protection of the airspace of Montenegro, adopted by the Government at the session held on 17 May 2018, is a prerequisite for the conclusion of bilateral agreements with Italy and Greece, which will carry out a mission to protect the Montenegrin airspace.

The Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on the amount of penalty interest rate was adopted at today's session. In order to comply the applicable Law on the amount of penalty interest rate with Directive 2017/7/EU on combating late payment in commercial transactions, this Law suggests that the statutory penalty interest rate should be established at the level of the base rate (the rate set by the European Central Bank for the main refinancing operations) increased by eight percentage points, rather than seven, as previously prescribed.

In the framework of harmonisation with the regulations of the European Union, the Government also adopted a Regulation amending the Regulation on special hygiene requirements for products of animal origin.

The Addendum to the Report on the presentation of the human rights situation in Montenegro under the mechanisms of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the Human Rights Council was adopted at today's session. This document contains the positions of Montenegro in relation to the recommendations of the UPR 3rd cycle, and is a result of the joint work of Government institutions, representatives of the judiciary and the Prosecutor's Office, the Institution of the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms, and non-governmental organisations. During an interactive discussion, held on 22 January 2018 in Geneva, Montenegro received a total of 169 recommendations. On this occasion, in the framework of the adopted Draft Report of the Working Group, Montenegro accepted 151 recommendations, 144 of which were accepted as recommendations that are in the process of implementation or are already implemented. Montenegro rejected 3 recommendation, while 15 recommendations were left for further consideration. When it comes to recommendations left for further consideration, in relation to which Montenegro is obliged to submit its position no later than at the plenary session of the Human Rights Council in June 2018, eight recommendations were accepted, while seven recommendations were rejected. The next phase of the UPR process implies the adoption of a final report on the human rights situation in Montenegro, at the plenary session of the Human Rights Council, scheduled for 29 June this year.

The Government adopted the Information on the formalisation of Montenegro's membership in the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI). It is a voluntary, multi-stakeholder initiative made up of nearly 100 members, that seeks to improve the transparency of aid, development, and humanitarian resources in order to increase their effectiveness in tackling poverty. IATI brings together donor and recipient countries, civil society organisations, and other experts in aid information who are committed to working together to increase the transparency and openness of aid. On this occasion, the Government instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to conduct activities related to the formalisation of Montenegro's membership.

The Information on implementation of the Memorandum of understanding between the Government of Montenegro and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2017, and the distribution of funds for the implementation of projects in 2018 was adopted.

PUBLIC RELATIONS SERVICE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF MONTENEGRO