Press release from the 17th Cabinet session

The Montenegrin Cabinet held its 17^th session, chaired by Prime Minister Milojko Spajić.

The Cabinet adopted a decision to establish the National Council for Combating Corruption. The Council consists of a president, deputy president, and 21 members, with the president beign the Deputy Prime Minister for Political System, Judiciary, and Anti-Corruption, and their deputy being the Minister of Justice. The Council's tasks include:

• preparing a strategy for combating corruption with accompanying action plans in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice and monitoring its implementation;
• organising, synchronising, and monitoring the priorities, dynamics, and deadlines for the implementation of activities involving state bodies, bodies of state administration, bodies of local self-government, bodies of local administration, and other relevant institutions, and evaluating the achieved results in achieving the goals of the strategy;
• submitting reports to the Government on the implemented activities with an assessment of the situation and analysis related to the prevention and combating of corruption, along with proposals for further measures for more successful implementation of the strategy, at least twice a year;
• proposing to the Government the adoption of other measures and activities of importance for combating corruption when necessary in certain areas; and
• providing recommendations to the Government for improving the regulatory framework for corruption prevention.

The Government will appoint the president, deputy president, members, and secretary of the Council by a separate decision.

The Cabinet adopted a decision to establish the Coordination body for the protection and enhancement of public interest in the field of organising games of chance, headed by Deputy Prime Minister for Political System, Judiciary, and Anti-Corruption Momo Koprivica. Regarding the regulation of organising games of chance and the implementation of public policies in this area, multiple institutions are involved. In addition to improving coordination among relevant authorities, the establishment of the Coordination body is expected to contribute to enhancing legal security, protecting children and youth from economic and other exploitation. By forming this body, defining tasks and responsibilities, the capacities of the executive branch will be strengthened in terms of protecting and promoting public interest in the field of games of chance, identifying risks and challenges in this area, addressing them, and improving the overall environment in this field.

The Cabinet adopted a decision to establish the Operational team for combating domestic violence and violence against women. The aim of the Operational team is to contribute to the implementation of the Law on Protection against Domestic Violence and more effective protection of victims of violence. The focus is on specific cases of domestic violence that are more complex in structure and require strong interdepartmental cooperation among relevant institutions, primarily concerning the analysis of operational procedures of all involved parties. The formation of the Operational team will have an impact on society as a whole, but primarily on victims of domestic violence in terms of empowering them to report violence and restoring trust in institutions. Additionally, this team will review overall practices and, through the analysis of representative cases and relevant reports, information, and opinions, work on determining further guidelines and initiatives for meaningful changes in terms of public policies and institutional practices in the prevention and protection from all forms of family violence and violence against women, including cases of arranged child marriages, with a special, primary focus on the actions and work of the Police Directorate.

The Cabinet adopted an Information on the establishment of a public register of state-owned enterprises. By establishing a public register, a business environment will be created that, through strengthening the application of legal norms, the powers and responsibilities of the Government and relevant bodies, and through daily cooperation with state-owned enterprises, will transparently assess the existing shortcomings in the operation of these economic entities in order to find optimal solutions to overcome problems and recognise their potential. It is estimated that the implementation of the public register will improve the management of state-owned enterprises in order to establish mechanisms for sustainable and efficient management of these companies through stricter control of their operations and the introduction of adequate corporate governance, contributing to the protection of national and general interest, i.e., the prosperity of our economy and the lives of all citizens. The public register of state-owned companies will include information related to an overview of registration data and founding acts, general information about the company, business data, legal status, and ownership structure of the company, as well as an overview of the financial performance of each state-owned enterprise with key indicators of liquidity, profitability, and solvency.

The Information on the conclusion of a Grant Agreement between the Region of Puglia, Department for Economic Development, and the Ministry of Culture and Media of Montenegro for project SA – CREATIVITY No. SA – 0200237 was adopted, and the text of the Agreement was accepted. In 2020, the Ministry of Culture and Media started preparing an application for strategic projects within the Interreg IPA Cross-Border Cooperation Programme South Adriatic 2021 – 2027, which represents a continuation of the Interreg IPA CBC Italy – Albania – Montenegro 2014 – 2020. As the Managing Authority of the South Adriatic programme has determined five priorities for the implementation of strategic programmes for the financial perspective 2021-2027, the project SA CREATIVITY was approved, with the Ministry of Culture and Media of Montenegro as the lead partner, and project partners being the National Tourism Organisation of Montenegro, the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Albania, the Region of Puglia, and the Region of Molise from Italy. As emphasised in the discussion, within the project activities, the Ministry of Culture and Media will implement the project of reconstruction and revitalisation of the Španjola Fortress, which implies the reconstruction of the facility within the existing dimensions - the cultural asset of the Španjola Fortress, and the establishment of an international creative centre. The goal of implementing this activity is primarily to protect the cultural asset from further deterioration by putting it into a new, sustainable modern function.

The Cabinet adopted the Basis for negotiations and conclusion of the Agreement between the Government of Montenegro and the Government of the French Republic on cooperation in the field of defence and accepted the text of the Agreement. The Agreement is concluded with the aim of enhancing cooperation in the field of defence between the two states, defining the principles according to which such cooperation will be conducted. Additionally, it defines the areas of cooperation, activities through which cooperation will be implemented, and the responsibilities of the sending party whose personnel stay on the territory of the receiving party during activities envisaged by this Agreement.

The Report on the implementation of the Action plan for the implementation of the Defence Strategy of Montenegro 2023 – 2025 for the year 2023 was adopted. The document states that the degree of implementation of measures from the Action Plan in the reporting period amounts to approximately 72%, partially implemented 6%, while about 22% of measures the competent authorities have failed to implement. After the adoption of the Final Report on its implementation in January 2023, the Government of Montenegro adopted a new Action plan for the implementation of the Defence Strategy of Montenegro covering the period 2023-2026. In this regard, the Interdepartmental working group for monitoring the implementation of the Action plan 2023-2026 continued to fulfill its task, and in order to achieve strategic and operational goals qualitatively and comprehensively, it confirmed the necessity of synergistic action of competent authorities in fulfilling defined results, especially those requiring interdepartmental cooperation of competent authorities in their implementation.

The Cabinet adopted the Report on the work of the Coordination body for monitoring the implementation of the Declaration of Western Balkans partners on Roma integration within the EU enlargement process for the year 2023.

The Cabinet adopted the Information on project proposals prepared for submission within the 30th call for technical support for project documentation preparation and the 10th call for co-financing investments for the implementation of infrastructure projects through the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF). In line with the basic principles of the WBIF functioning, the WBIF Operational Board decided in December 2023 to announce the 30th call for technical support in project documentation preparation and the 10th call for co-financing investments for the implementation of infrastructure projects. The submission of project proposals through these calls pertains to new or existing projects in the areas of sustainable transport, clean energy, digital future, environmental protection and climate change, and human resource development.

The Cabinet adopted the Decision on amendments to the Decision on the establishment of the Commission for monitoring the implementation of the Medium-Term work programme of the Government 2024-2027 and the annual work programmes of the Government. These amendments define new tasks for the Commission, including the inclusion of a representative from the Office for Sustainable Development within the Secretariat General of the Government, aiming to achieve greater alignment of sectoral strategic documents from the thematic part of the Programme with the National Sustainable Development Strategy. The new tasks of the Commission also entail more efficient data collection on the use of donor funds in ministries, based on the data provided by the Commission members, to better understand the financial aspects of implementing the Medium-Term work programmw of the Government 2024-2027 and the annual work programmes of the Government, as well as to implement reform activities contributing to the implementation of its priorities and objectives. Furthermore, the amendment to the Decision reflects the necessity for Commission members to use the Information System for Monitoring and Reporting on the implementation of the Medium-Term work programme (ISMR).