The 14th Cabinet session – 28 July 2022

The Montenegrin Cabinet, at the 14th session held today, chaired by Prime Minister Dritan Abazović, adopted the Macroeconomic and Fiscal Policy Guidelines for the period 2022-2025. The main goal of the fiscal policy is the stabilisation of the macroeconomic environment, ensuring the sustainability of public finances and creating conditions for dynamic economic growth. The document projects economic growth at the level of an average of over 6%; continuous reduction of the public finance deficit from an estimated 7.65% in 2022 to 4% of GDP in 2025; investment in capital projects of about 1.3 billion euros in the period 2022-2025, as well as ensuring the sustainability of public debt in the long term.

The Draft Law on Strong Alcoholic Drinks with the Report on the Public Debate was adopted. The proposed legal solution will contribute to achieving a higher level of consumer protection, preventing the illegal production and circulation of alcoholic beverages, thus guaranteeing the origin and quality of the product. The adoption of this law arose from the need to achieve compliance with EU regulations, especially in terms of defining, describing, labeling and geographical indications of alcoholic beverages.

The Cabinet adopted the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Trademarks with the Report on the Public Debate, aimed at harmonising the national legislation with the EU legislation.

The Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Patents with the Report on the Public Debate was adopted. The purpose of adopting the law is to fulfill the obligations arising from the process of Montenegro's accession to the European Union, as well as to improve the system of protection of inventions in Montenegro.

The Cabinet adopted the Draft Law on ratification of the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks, aimed at improving the system of filing applications for trademark registration, as well as improving legal security for applicants and trademark holders. Also, the ratification of the Singapore Treaty is one of the requirements in the process of Montenegro's accession to the European Union.

The Draft law on the processing of air passenger data for the purpose of preventing and detecting criminal acts of terrorism and other serious crimes was adopted. The law is adopted with the aim of preventing and detecting criminal acts of terrorism and other serious criminal acts, and it represents one of the key measures in the chapter 24 from Montenegro's Programme of Accession to the European Unionn. Namely, by adopting this law, air transport carriers are obliged, for the first time in Montenegro, to submit passenger data to the Police Directorate for processing, in order to prevent and detect crimes of terrorism and other serious crimes. Data processing will be carried out by a special organisational unit in the Police Directorate. The draft law also prescribes the exchange of data and processing results (upon request) with competent domestic authorities, authorities responsible for processing data from other countries, and EUROPOL.

The Draft Law on the Government was presented to the Cabinet members. In order to achieve maximum transparency and inclusivity, a public debate will be organised.

The Cabinet adopted the Decision on the formation of the National Council for the Fight against Corruption. The head of the Council will be the Prime Minister, while the Minister without Portfolio responsible for the implementation of policy in the area of the fight against corruption will be appointed as his deputy. The main task of the Council is to prepare a strategy for the fight against corruption with accompanying action plans, in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice.

The Cabinet adopted the Programme for the Development of Agriculture and Rural Areas of Montenegro within the IPARD III - 2021-2027. The goal of the Programme is to prepare Montenegrin farmers for accession to the EU, which will result in improved product quality, increased production volume, greater competitiveness and the achievement of EU food safety standards in the primary and processing sectors.

The Cabinet adopted the Information on the credit arrangement between the European Investment Bank and the Investment and Development Fund of Montenegro for the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises, climate and priority projects VI B (93,806).

The Sixth Periodic Report on the Application of the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages and the Fourth Report of Montenegro on the Implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities were adopted.

The Cabinet gave consent for the use of funds from the Current Budget Reserve for the implementation of the EU cross-border project "Safe Together" of the Ministry of the Interior, in the amount of 391,236.43 euros. The project for risk prevention in the cross-border area focuses on strengthening human and material capacities for responding to natural disasters and other hazards in the cross-border area of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. Through this project, the project partners were granted EU funds in order to strengthen their own capacities and to deal adequately and successfully with the challenges associated with natural disasters and other hazards.