The 5th Cabinet session – 26 May 2022

The Montenegrin Cabinet, at its fifth session held today, chaired by Prime Minister Dritan Abazović, adopted the Decision defining which ministries may have state secretaries. In accordance with the amendment to the Law on Public Administration, which stipulates that ministries may have a maximum of three state secretaries, this Decision opens the possibility that 5 ministries may have one state secretary each, 8 ministries may have two secretaries each, while 5 ministries may have three state secretaries each appointed by the Cabinet at the proposal of the Minister. Accordingly, there can now be a total of 36 state secretaries in the state administration system.

The Decision on temporary visa exemption for citizens of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was adopted. The temporary visa liberalisation for the citizens of Saudi Arabia, as a factor that significantly influences the decision of tourists when choosing a destination, is planned for the period from 1 June to 30 September 2022. In making the decision, the Cabinet took into account the fact that there is interest in launching flights between Riyadh and Tivat, which can significantly contribute to strengthening cooperation between the two countries, a significant increase in revenue and continued recovery of tourism in the post-COVID era.

The Cabinet adopted the 2022 Action Plan for the implementation of the Anti-Fraud Strategy in order to protect the European Unions' financial interests against fraud and other irregularities (2019-2022). The main goal set by the Strategy and Action Plan is to ensure efficient and effective protection of the EU's financial interests through strengthening the AFCOS system in Montenegro. These activities should contribute to achieving the set goals.

The Information on the preparation of the draft law on the Government was adopted. The Deputy Prime Minister for Political System, Internal and Foreign Policy, in cooperation with the Minister of Public Administration, is in charge of making a decision on the formation of a working body by 10 June, which will be in charge of preparing the Draft Law on the Government. The conclusions also define the obligations of the Ministry of Public Administration to submit the Draft Law to the Government by the end of June, and after that to conduct a public debate and prepare a Report on the public debate, as well as to submit the Draft Law to the Government for approval by 15 October 2022.

The Information on the implementation of the special programme (economic citizenship) was adopted. Emphasising its commitment to the European Commission's recommendations on the Citizenship by Investment Programmes in the context of Russia's invasion against Ukraine, the Cabinet adopted a number of conclusions that will provide additional verification for applicants and their families whether they are on the sanctions list or recognised as entities whose funds come from illegal sources. In the spirit of maximum transparency of the procedure and the right of the public to know, and respecting the public interest in people who acquired Montenegrin citizenship as people of special importance for Montenegro's economic interest, the Cabinet instructed the Ministry of the Interior to compile a list names of people who have been granted Montenegrin citizenship on this basis. Among other things, the Ministry of the Interior, in the spirit of application of international restrictive measures, is in charge of initiating the procedure of loss of Montenegrin citizenship by force of law if it is determined that the person who has been granted Montenegrin citizenship is on the list of people to whom international restrictive measures have been imposed. It was emphasised in the discussion that this Programme ends on 31 December this year.

The Cabinet adopted the Decision on the formation and composition of the Commission for the Natural Disaster Damage Assessment, headed by Minister without Portfolio Zoran Miljanić.

The Report on the Implementation of the Law on Public Assembly and Public Events for 2021 was adopted.

The Cabinet adopted the Report on the work of the Appeals Commission from 1 January to 31 December 2021.

The Cabinet adopted the Information on the conclusion of the Technical Agreement between the Ministry of Defence of Montenegro and the competent departments of Slovenia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom regarding the implementation and support to the host country during Exercise "Adriatic Strike 22". The Cabinet approved the text of the Technical Agreement. In order to strengthen and intensify multinational cooperation in the field of aviation, and especially the capabilities of the Joint Terminal Attack Controller, members of the Armed Forces of Montenegro will take part in this exercise in Cerklje in Slovenia.