Press release from 31st Cabinet session

The Montenegrin Cabinet, at the 31st session held on 8 July 2021, chaired by Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić, adopted the Decree on the conditions, manner and dynamics of implementation of agricultural policy measures for 2021 - Agrobudget. The entry into force of this regulation creates a legal possibility for the publication of public calls which will enable farmers to exercise the right to support of EUR 44,824,447.94, of which EUR 27,162,447.94 from national funds, EUR 9,321,000.00 from donations and EUR 8,341,000.00 from credit funds. The new Agrobudget increased all direct payments for the livestock sector and plant production from 5 to 10 percent, which represents a total increase of 2 million euros for direct payments in agriculture.

In accordance with the Law of Rights of Restitution and Compensation for Confiscated Property, the Cabinet adopted the Decree on determining the payment of compensation to former owners of confiscated property in cash for 2021. The Budget Law for this year planned EUR 2.5 million for compensation, so, in accordance with that, the Decree determined the dynamics and manner of payment of the annual installment to former owners in cash for 2021, determined by the final decisions of the commissions submitted to the Fund until December 31 last year. Payment of compensation is calculated according to the value corresponding to three percent of the remaining unpaid amount of compensation.

The Cabinet adopted the Twenty-ninth quarterly report on the overall activities within the process of Montenegro's integration into the European Union for the period January - March 2021. The Report covers the most important events in the accession process of Montenegro, which relate to the political dialogue between Montenegro and the European Union, negotiations on Montenegro's accession to the EU, informing the public about the EU accession process, activities of the Committee on European Integration, harmonisation of Montenegrin legislation with the acquis communautaire and the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance - IPA. The Report will be forwarded to the members of the Committee on European Integration, with the aim of regularly and comprehensively providing information about the negotiation process and exchanging opinions on current topics and challenges of the negotiation process.

The Second Annex to the European Commission's Report on Montenegro 2021 was also adopted. In accordance with the established practice, Montenegro informs the European Commission twice a year on the activities it implements within the pre-accession process. This document informs the European Commission on the state of play of political and economic criteria, i.e. on the progress in fulfilling obligations for 33 negotiating chapters, for the period 1 January – 15 June 2021. The annex represents a significant starting point for Report for Montenegro in which the achieved results are stated and recommendations for further work are given.

The Cabinet adopted the Decision on establishing a national checklist for dual-use goods. The decision harmonises the National checklist of dual-use goods with EU regulations relating to the establishment of a regime for the control of exports, transfers, brokering and transit of dual-use goods in the EU. Also, the implementation of this document fulfills the obligations arising from Montenegro's membership in the UN, as well as numerous international resolutions, recommendations and other documents in terms of preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the fight against terrorism.

The 2020 Report on the implementation of the Public Administration Optimisation Plan 2018–2020 was adopted, with a review of the implementation of the entire document. The Public Administration Reform Strategy 2016-2020 and the Public Administration Optimisation Plan 2018-2020 envisage a reduction in the number of employees at the central level by 5 percent, and at the local level by 10 percent by the end of 2020, compared to the initial value defined in December 2017. The Report states that this goal has not been met, and instead of the planned reduction, there has been an increase in the number of employees by 8 percent. The data show that during the implementation of the Plan there was an increase in the number of employees by 3,134 at the central level, or by 1,061 at the local level, which makes a total increase of 4,195 employees at the public administration level in the period from July 2018 to December 2020. The discussion assessed that the cumbersome and dysfunctional administration represents a great burden for state and local budgets, and the efficiency of work is not at a satisfactory level. The focus of this Government's work is, as it was emphasised, thorough and systematic regulation of all issues of importance for the functioning of the executive power and holders of the highest positions in order to prevent potential abuse, sanction illegal actions, and thus protect the public interest and increase public confidence. One of the first measures that the Government will take to improve this situation in public administration is the adoption of the Law on Government, which is planned for the end of the current year. The purpose of enacting this law is to create an appropriate legal system that enables more effective institutional coordination, more efficient public spending and increased accountability of public administration.

The Cabinet adopted the 2021 Action Plan for the implementation of the Strategy for the protection of persons with disabilities from discrimination and the promotion of equality for the period 2017-2021, with a Report on the implementation of the Action Plan for 2019 and 2020. The Action Plan for the current year is a continuation of activities on the implementation of measures that contribute to the implementation of the Strategy and aim to reduce discrimination against persons with disabilities in various areas of life, to conduct a large number of trainings for various target groups on respect for human rights and non-discrimination, as well as to raise new awareness of respect for human rights and mechanisms for the protection of persons with disabilities, respecting the principle of equality and non-discrimination.

The 2021 Action Plan for the implementation of the Strategy for combating trafficking in human beings for the period 2019–2024, and the Report on the implementation of the 2020 Action Plan for the implementation of the Strategy for combating trafficking in human beings for the period 2019–2024 were adopted. The implementation of the planned activities will contribute, among other things, to strengthening the multidisciplinary approach to the fight against human trafficking, in detecting and prosecuting these crimes, as well as in protecting victims and implementing harmonised policies to combat this phenomenon. It will also facilitate the identification of potential victims and victims of trafficking by strengthening the professional capacity of law enforcement officials, as well as providing greater information to the general public, especially vulnerable populations, and strengthening their ability to resist potential challenges. The projected funds for the implementation of activities amount to EUR 185,600.00, of which it is planned to allocate EUR 79,100.00 from the Budget of Montenegro, while the funds in the amount of EUR 106,500.00 are provided from donations.

The Cabinet adopted the Information on the activities on the implementation of the project - Implementation and award of the concession contract for the exploration and production of solid mineral raw materials. Concession fee for the exploitation of mineral resources is a fee that consists of a permanent (fixed) and a variable part of the fee. The permanent part of the concession fee for 2021 is EUR 3,066,682.59, while the variable part of the concession fee for 2020 is EUR 683,187.01. The total concession fee for the last three years is: EUR 3,166,140.08 in 2018, EUR 3,598,567.32 in 2019 and EUR 3,335,582.09 in 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when many activities were endangered, mining and geological exploration did not record the cessation of production, except in individual cases caused by other business factors. On the contrary, there was an increase in production of mostly all mineral raw materials compared to the 2019. However, the lower amount of the concession fee for 2020 compared to 2019 by about 7% is a consequence of the fall in prices of metallic mineral raw materials, i.e. bauxite by about 10% and lead-zinc ore by about 15%.


The Information on the organisation of the summer music festival Sea Dance in Budva (Buljarica beach, 26-29 August 2021) was adopted. The Ministry of Economic Development estimated that, by holding this Festival, the total contribution to the economy will be around 3.15 million euros.

The Cabinet adopted the Proposal for giving consent for the credit indebtedness of "Putevi" LLC Podgorica with Crnogorska komercijalna banka Podgorica in the amount of EUR 2,050,000.00 for the purchase of the plant for the production of asphalt asphalt mixing plant.