Press release from 32nd Cabinet session

The Montenegrin Cabinet, at its 32nd session held on 15 July 2021, chaired by Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić, adopted the Information on enhanced supervision of companies' operations by inspection bodies.

Pursuant to the Law on Non-Governmental Organisations, the Cabinet adopted the Decision on determining priority areas of public interest and the amount of funds for financing projects and programmes of non-governmental organisations in 2021. The Decision identifies priority areas of public interest in which, at the proposal of the ministries, projects and programmes of non-governmental organisations will be financed from the Budget of Montenegro this year.

In accordance with the Conclusion of the Assembly calling on the Government to respect and fulfill all recommendations of the State Audit Institution given in the Audit Report on the Draft Law on the Final Account of the Budget of Montenegro for 2019, the Cabinet adopted an Action Plan to implement the recommendations of the State Audit Institution. Budget users are instructed to coordinate activities for the implementation of the Action Plan and the Ministry of Finance and Social Welfare, and after the end of the quarter to submit reports for all spending units over which they supervise, while the Ministry is in charge of quarterly reporting to the Government.

The Cabinet adopted the Information on the Financial Agreement between the European Commission, Montenegro and Kosovo for 2020, within the IPA II Cross-border Cooperation Programme Montenegro - Kosovo 2014-2020 and accepted the text of the Financial Agreement. It was emphasised that cross-border cooperation aims to promote good neighbourly relations and socio-economic development through the implementation of joint initiatives at the local and regional level. The signing of the Financial Agreement will enable the implementation of activities aimed at improving the standards and quality of life of people in the area, through the valorisation of their tourist potentials, environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive economic development of the region, while respecting its common cultural and natural heritage. Also, the signing of the Financial Agreement is a condition for the continuation of the implementation of the Cross-border Cooperation Programme Montenegro - Kosovo 2014-2020. The total estimated costs for 2020 amount to EUR 1,270,588.00, and the maximum Union contribution is set at EUR 1,080,000.00. Project co-financing is provided by grant beneficiaries, in the amount of at least 15% of the total eligible costs at the project level.

The Information on the Financial Agreement between the European Commission, Montenegro and Albania for 2020 was adopted, within the IPA II Cross-border Cooperation Programme Montenegro - Albania 2014-2020 and the text of the Financial Agreement was adopted with estimated total costs for 2020 of EUR 1,800,000.00, and the maximum Union contribution is set at EUR 1,530,000.00.

The Cabinet adopted the Information on the implementation of the initiative "Road Map to combat corruption and illegal financial flows", under the auspices of the Berlin process and with the expert assistance of UNODC and RAI. This document, adopted at the Regional Forum held from 21 to 23 June 2021 in Ohrid, should result in tangible improvements in the implementation of existing national measures to combat corruption and illicit funding and international standards and recommendations, including those from the European Commission's annual reports on EU enlargement, for the period from 2021 to 2024. The roadmap identifies the priorities for joint action by the Western Balkan countries in the following areas:

1 - Prevention and fight against corruption in public procurement, including public procurement in extraordinary circumstances;

2 - Further strengthen the system for reporting conflicts of interest and property;

3 - Improving the criminal justice response to corruption and economic crime through the creation of a regional network of specialized prosecutors, police and financial intelligence services in the Western Balkans.

The 2021-2022 Action Plan for the implementation of the Minority Policy Strategy 2019-2023 was adopted. The action plan contains strategic goals, defined specific activities, result indicators, competent institutions, envisaged deadlines for the implementation of activities, as well as the financial structure for the implementation of the strategic document. It was emphasised that the expressed budget needs are in some cases less than real due to budget constraints, so the intention is to overcome these constraints through donor activities.

The Cabinet adopted the Information on the use of funds from the current budget reserve to finance the participation of the Montenegrin delegation in the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Montenegro will participate in the Olympic Games in Tokyo, which will be held from 23 July to 8 August 2021. The Ministry of Finance and Social Welfare is in charge of transferring the amount of EUR 228,000.00 to the account of the Montenegrin Olympic Committee, to finance the participation of the Montenegrin delegation in the Olympic Games.

The Cabinet adopted the Programme for the control of the dog population in Montenegro, which was made in accordance with the guidelines of the World Organisation for Animal Health – OIE. The operational goal of the Programme is to establish a sustainable system for the control of the dog population in Montenegro in order to improve the health and well-being of owner dogs and stray dogs, and ultimately, the protection of animal and human health. Based on this Programme, it is recommended that all local governments, in accordance with a certain deadline, adopt their plans for the control of the dog population, adapted to local conditions.