Press release from 14th Cabinet session

At the 14th session held on 11 March 2021, chaired by Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić, the Montenegrin Cabinet adopted the Decree on the Customs Tariff for 2021. The Decree harmonizes the rate of customs duty with the commitments made within the World Trade Organization and other international agreements concluded by Montenegro, and the basic changes for 2021 refer to the reduction of duty rates and changes in the nomenclature. Annex I of the Protocol on the Accession of Montenegro to the WTO for a number of products from the Customs Tariff (mostly agricultural products) determines the so-called "ceiling-binding", which is the duty rate that Montenegro must apply by a certain date to imports of these products. It is prescribed that the reduction of duty rates will be implemented annually in equal phases, starting from the day of Montenegro's accession to the WTO, so that the basic duty rate for 2021 is 5.49 percent.

Given that by the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU, Montenegro has undertaken the obligation to harmonize its national nomenclature with the Combined Nomenclature of the European Union, which changes every year, which is one of the basic preconditions for proper foreign trade with EU member states, the Decree incorporates amendments given by the EU for 2021. Furthermore, the Decree covers all changes related to duty rates set by free trade agreements or other international agreements related to the exchange of goods (WTO, SAA, EFTA, Russia, Ukraine, CEFTA and Turkey), which provided a unified solution that will facilitate business to businesspeople engaged in foreign trade.

The Decree amending the Decree on food hygiene was adopted, which ensures the implementation of the new Law on Food Safety and further harmonization with the Community acquis in this area.

The Government adopted a Decision amending the Decision on the formation of a commission for risk assessment of civil aviation safety, which was necessary due to personnel changes in state administration bodies. The National Civil Aviation Security Programme stipulates that the risk assessment for airports in Montenegro should be performed by the Commission formed by the Government on the proposal of the National Civil Aviation Security Committee, which consists of one representative each from the Civil Aviation Agency, Police Directorate and National Security Agency.

The Analysis of the efficiency of the Directorate for Inspection Affairs was adopted. The document contains a comparison of centralized and decentralized model of inspection organization, each of which, as assessed, has its advantages and weaknesses, but preference is given to a decentralized model that allows more efficient attribution of inspection responsibilities, i.e. the head of the inspection body, and also more transparent attribution of the political responsibility of the line minister. On that occasion, the Ministry of Public Administration, Digital Society and Media is in charge of preparing amendments to the Law on Inspection Supervision.

The Cabinet adopted the Information on the implementation of the Concession Agreement for the exploitation of non-metallic mineral products of architectural and construction (decorative) stone from the deposit "Brankov krš" Old Royal Capital of Cetinje number 01-3336 / 1 of 10 November 2010 and accepted Annex 2 of the Agreement on concession. The Information states that the Concessionaire Cobra LLC Budva submitted a request for extension of the Concession Agreement, because the Spatial and Urban Plan of the Old Royal Capital of Cetinje was not completed, and therefore the Concessionaire could not get urban and technical requirements. As the term of the concession does not include the period for which the impossibility to enter the exploitation phase lasted because of the non-existence of preconditions for issuing urban and technical requirements, it was concluded that the concession period from the Agreement is extended and expires on 10 November 2025.

The Information on the Shareholder Agreement on voting between the Government of Montenegro and Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale S.p.A was adopted, accepting the text of the Agreement which extends the same voting provisions, except those that expired in accordance with the Strategic and Shareholder Agreement, for the next five years.

The Cabinet adopted the Information on the need to appoint a national coordinator for the suppression of violent extremism. The document states that the Government of Montenegro, by participating in important regional, European and global initiatives, and by acting in accordance with accepted standards and priorities, confirms its commitment to contribute to preserving peace and stability in Montenegro, the region and beyond. At this moment, it is necessary to start drafting the Report on the implementation of the Action Plan for 2020 as well as the Action Plan for 2021 based on the Strategy for Prevention and Suppression of Radicalisation and Violent Extremism for the period 2020-2024. These obligations are also part of Montenegro's European agenda, so the upcoming meeting of the Subcommittee on Justice, Freedom and Security envisages reporting on the topic of effective prevention and fight against violent extremism as one of the special points.

Bearing in mind that the Bureau for Operational Coordination has not yet been appointed by the Government of Montenegro, and no legal preconditions have been met for the appointment of a national coordinator for combating violent extremism whose primary task is to monitor all these activities and enable their implementation, it was proposed to temporarily appoint a national coordinator for the suppression of violent extremism until the formal election after the establishment of the Bureau for Operational Coordination, in accordance with the law.

The Cabinet adopted the Report on the work of the Office of the Representative of Montenegro before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg for 2020. The Report states, among other things, that 218 petitions against Montenegro were submitted to the European Court last year. In addition to presenting activities that are directly related to the basic responsibility of the Office of the Representative, the Report also contains information on all activities undertaken by this Office in order to affirm the protection of human rights and implementation of Convention standards in the national legal system. It was especially emphasised that the European Commission gave positive assessments of the work of the Office and noted a commendable level of cooperation with the European Court, pointing out that none of the cases was under special supervision of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

The Report also contains recommendations for preventive elimination of weaknesses within the legal system that could be the reason for new petitions against Montenegro before the European Court, which are directed in accordance with the analysis of cases in the work of the Office of Representatives, as well as findings and positions of the European Commission set out in a report published in October.

The Cabinet adopted the Information on the conclusion of the Protocol of Intent for Cooperation between the Centre for Integrity of Norway and the Ministry of Defence of Montenegro and accepted the text of the Protocol. Norway provides continuous support to Montenegro in the field of defence sector reform. One of the fields of cooperation is support in building and strengthening integrity. The Norwegian Ministry of Defence has designated the Centre for Integrity in the Defence Sector (CIDS) as the entity to implement a project to support the Montenegrin Ministry of Defence, which is part of a wider project in the Western Balkans, funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The support project covers a five-year period from the date of signing the Protocol. The Protocol, as part of the project, is expected to result in comprehensive and more effective mechanisms to improve integrity and reduce the risk of corruption in the Ministry of Defence, as well as to raise awareness of integrity and professional ethics.

The Information on the implementation of the conclusions from the 6^th Cabinet session of 14 January 2021, related to the handling of 10,500 tons of wheat, which was procured by the former Ministry of Economy, and was placed in the silos of the Port of Bar, was adopted. The Information states that the Ministry of Economic Development, in accordance with the adopted conclusions, asked the local self-governments whether there was a market disturbance in their territories and whether suppliers need emergency delivery of flour and edible oil. Of all the municipalities, only Tivat, Cetinje and Rožaje expressed the need to be supplied with flour under the conditions prescribed by the plan for the current year. In that way, the conditions were created to start the second phase, that is, the procedure of contracting transport and storage in silos. After the inspection, the Administration for Food Safety confirmed that the wheat is of good quality and that it is safe for further distribution. Implementation of the conclusion by which the Ministry of Economic Development is in charge of submitting the necessary documentation to the Prosecutor's Office for further action in order to determine whether there was illegal financial income on any basis, i.e. whether there was damage due to negligence or negligent work will be completed during March, after completing the documentation and legal explanation.

So far, invoices for November - EUR 47,250.00 and EUR 48,825.00 for December and the same amount for January, as well as invoices for fumigation for December in the amount of EUR 3,155.74, have been received for the costs of storing 10,500 tons of wheat.

The Information on the procurement of vehicles for the needs of the Police Directorate was also adopted.

Furthermore, the Cabinet adopted the Rulebook on the internal organization and systematization of the Ministry of Public Administration, Digital Society and Media.