The 34th Cabinet session – 22 December 2022

The Montenegrin Cabinet, at today's 34th session chaired by Prime Minister Dritan Abazović, adopted the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Tobacco.

The Cabinet adopted the Decree on the maximum permitted amounts of coccidiostats and histomonostats in food, which ensures the implementation of the Law on Food Safety and harmonisation with the EU legal acquis.

The Decision on the annual plan of official statistics for 2023 was adopted.

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 2023.

The 2021 Report on the implementation of public tenders and approved projects in accordance with the Law on Non-Governmental Organisations was adopted.

The Strategy for the Improvement of Safety and Health at Work 2022 - 2027 with an Action Plan for 2023 was adopted.

The Cabinet adopted the Employment Action Plan for 2023.

The Cabinet adopted the Action Plan for establishing interoperability between selected information systems and databases that play a role in the management of the labor market in Montenegro. The action plan contains a process and technical analysis of services and assumptions for connecting systems through the Unified Information System for Electronic Data Interchange, which was developed at the Ministry of Public Administration, and which aims to enable a simpler and automated exchange of data between institutions. Improved business processes and increased efficiency of institutions would ensure that "no one is left out" or that no one is left behind in the processes, especially in a context where unpredictable circumstances, such as the impact of the pandemic, could create new vulnerabilities.

The Environmental Monitoring Programme of Montenegro for 2023 was adopted.

The Cabinet adopted the National Circular Transition Strategy until 2030, with an Action Plan for 2023 and 2024. The circular economy is a global economic concept based on sustainable production and consumption, which integrates the five pillars of sustainability: customer value, environmental impact, quality workforce, responsible governance and strong communities. The strategy identified four priority sectors - agriculture, forestry, construction and tourism, as well as horizontal topics that represent a kind of prerequisite for circular transformation in key sectors - technological development and innovation; energy efficiency; green public procurement; education, i.e. promotion of the circular economy concept; waste management and a proposal for improving the coordination system for the implementation of the Strategy itself, that is, the concept of circular economy. The total planned funds for the implementation of activities for the period 2023-2024 amount to 86,792,650 euros. The total budget funds provided for the implementation of activities for the period 2023-2024 amount to 5,603,650 euros. The amount of 80,400,000 euros (AFD, EIB, CEB) will be available through the Investment and Development Fund, while the amount of 789,000 euros will be provided by donors, IPA funds, etc.

The Cabinet adopted the Report on Montenegro's Presidency of the US-Adriatic Charter (A5) during 2022. The Report states that the promotion of the Euro-Atlantic perspective of the strategically important region of the Western Balkans was one of the priorities of the Montenegrin presidency of A5, which took place in challenging political and security conditions in Europe and the region. During all activities, Montenegro was clear in its condemnation of the Russian war and aggression against Ukraine, as well as respect for Ukrainian sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. Promoting an open door policy for all aspirant countries, both within NATO and within the Charter, with the aim of strengthening regional trust and mutual support of neighbouring countries, was another priority of the Montenegrin A5 presidency.

The Information on the results of the negotiations with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) for the conclusion of the credit arrangement for the Western Balkans Trade and Transport Facilitation Project - Phase 2 was accepted and the Loan Agreement was accepted.

The Cabinet adopted the Information on the intention of the Government of Montenegro to purchase part of the remaining offered shares of the Port of Bar owned by the minority shareholders.

The Report on the final negotiations on the conclusion of the International Agreement between the European Union and Montenegro on Montenegro's participation in the Digital Europe Programme for the period 2021-2027 was adopted, and the text of the Agreement was accepted. The agreement defines the basic principles of cooperation, the parts of the programme that can be accessed, as well as the amount of the annual membership fee for participation.

Full press release in Montenegrin is available here.