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Competitiveness Council reviews and adopts Report on implementation of Economic Reform Programme for first six months of 2019
Published on: Oct 16, 2019 • 11:47 PM Author: PR Service
The Competitiveness Council, at today's second part of the 8th session, chaired by the President of the Council, Prime Minister Duško Marković, reviewed and adopted the Report on the Implementation of the 2019-2021 Economic Reform Programme for Montenegro (for the first six months of 2019).
According to preliminary data from the Statistical Office of Montenegro, the real growth rate of the Montenegrin economy in the first quarter of 2019 was 3.0 percent, and in the meantime, the growth data of 3.2 percent in the second quarter was published.
The discussion particularly emphasised the fact that private consumption recorded a real growth of 5.1 percent and made the largest positive contribution to real GDP growth of 4.5 percent. Such high growth in household consumption is, to a large extent, determined by extremely strong labour market trends, i.e. by a much larger number of employees, as well as by high growth rates in the retail, tourism and construction sectors.
In addition to strengthening macroeconomic stability, the economic growth achieved in the first six months of this year was also influenced by improving the competitiveness of the economy, which, in combination with fiscal consolidation, was aided by the implementation of the priority reform measures contained in the 2019 Economic Reform Programme.
The Report indicates, among other things, that strong economic growth has influenced the growth of employment in the country, as well as the decrease in unemployment. Thus, the average number of employees in the first six months was 201,131 persons, or 8.9 percent more than in the same period last year. The downward trend in unemployment continued, and the unemployment rate according to the labour force survey for the first quarter of 2019 was 15.0 percent, down 1.1 compared to the first quarter of 2018.
Concluding the discussion on this agenda item, PM Marković said: "We have a reason, watching and discussing Economic Reform Programme for the first six months of 2019, to be satisfied: a growth rate of 3 - 3.2 percent from a high starting position in 2019 compared to 2018 where we had 5.1 is a really great result," adding that this is the highest growth rate in the region.
The Council reviewed the Employers Federation proposal to delay the application of the Law on fiscalisation in sale of goods and services. Discussion emphasised the common commitment that the implementation of the Law must be implemented flawlessly. It was concluded that representatives of employers' associations should be involved in the preparation of the by-laws, and that absolute transparency of the public procurement process must be ensured in order to arrive at high-quality solution for the implementation of the Law.
The Council discussed the Initiative of Crnogorski Telekom to review Article 36 of the Law on Cinematography relating to the financing of the Film Fund, as well as the Ministry of Culture's statement regarding the initiative of operators providing Internet access to abolish the cinematography financing fee referred to in Art. 36 of the Law on Cinematography. It was concluded that the competent ministries, on the basis of a detailed analysis of this issue, in the continuation of the dialogue with the operators, attempt to reach mutually acceptable solutions.
At the proposal of the Community of Municipalities, the Council reviewed the Initiative to establish an adequate legal framework for financing the maintenance of shared utility infrastructure. The discussion underlined the joint commitment, as well as responsibility, of all entities to further improve the business environment and remove barriers to business development, while creating systemic solutions that will not jeopardize the performance of local governments.
The Council reviewed the Information on the positioning of Montenegro in the report "Economic Freedoms of the World 2019" by the Fraser Institute, the Information on the credit rating of Montenegro by the rating agencies Standard & Poor's and Moody's, as well as the Information on the positioning of Montenegro in the Report on Global Competitiveness 2019 by the World Economic Forum.
PUBLIC RELATIONS SERVICE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF MONTENEGRO
PHOTO AND VIDEO: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmHJvFTH
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