The 61st Cabinet session – 3 March 2022

The Montenegrin Cabinet, at its 61st session held on 3 March 2022, chaired by Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić, adopted the Draft Law on Credit Guarantee Fund with the Report from the public debate.

The Platform for Economic Recovery of Montenegro 2022 - 2026 with the Report from the Public Debate was adopted. The need for this comprehensive document stemmed from the Government's assessment that the current situation and accumulated problems in the economy, with accompanying overall economic anomalies, cannot be solved without deeper and radical changes, in order to achieve tangible economic results and ensure accelerated development of Montenegro. The platform is the basis for preparing activities that will be implemented in the future through strategic documents. The document contains a large amount of related data that testify to the difficult pre-existing situation, as well as specific activities and measures that have been carefully prepared with all key actors of Montenegrin society.

Within the Platform for Economic Recovery, six operational goals for its implementation have been defined: Development of the Montenegrin economy 2022 - 2026; Stabilisation of socio-demographic challenges, strengthening human resources; Better implementation of infrastructure projects; Macroeconomic stability, strong and sustainable public finances; Innovation, digitalisation and the green economy and Good governance, effective coordination and monitoring of strategic documents and projects. In order to monitor the implementation of operational objectives, 19 priorities have been defined, and 41 indicators within them. In addition, 243 measures have been defined to implement the principles of economic recovery. The financial plan for the implementation of the Platform amounts to 4.35 billion euros (for a four-year period).

The Cabinet adopted the Information on sending humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The discussion emphasised that Montenegro, expressing solidarity with the Ukrainian people, remains united with its allies in full support of Ukraine in order to preserve its internationally recognised borders. Considering the provision of assistance and support a necessary expression of humanity and compassion with the friendly Ukrainian people, the Cabinet decided to provide assistance in the amount of EUR 50,000.00. Also, a material relief assistance has been provided.

The Information on the credit arrangement between the Council of Europe Development Bank and the Investment and Development Fund was adopted - Programme Loan - Financing of Municipal Infrastructure in Montenegro in Recovery from COVID-19 and approval was given to the text of the Draft Framework Loan Agreement in the amount of EUR 30,000,000.00. The purpose of this loan is to improve living conditions in urban and rural areas by financing the construction, rehabilitation and modernisation of utilities, road network infrastructure, etc. In the field of environmental protection, the loan will finance projects aimed at reducing and treating solid and liquid waste, reducing air pollution, implementing energy saving measures and improving energy efficiency. Also, the goal of this credit line is to improve living conditions and reduce territorial inequality in Montenegro by financing priority investments in local infrastructure in underdeveloped municipalities.

In order to recover economically and revive the tourism economy in the post-pandemic period, the Cabinet has made decisions on temporary exemption from obtaining visas for citizens of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Kazakhstan. Having in mind the constant growth of interest of tourists from these countries to visit Montenegro, these decisions abolish visas for their citizens during the tourist season from 1 April to 31 October 2022.

The Cabinet adopted the Information on the model of providing funds for the needs of more efficient functioning of the teams in charge of preparing and conducting negotiations on Montenegro's accession to the European Union.

The Environmental Monitoring Programme of Montenegro for 2022 was adopted. The programme covers six areas, namely: air quality, allergenic pollen suspended in the air, the state of the coastal sea ecosystem of Montenegro, the content of hazardous and harmful substances in the soil, radioactivity in the environment and noise. Financial resources from the budget of Montenegro in the amount of EUR 459,737.00 have been provided for the implementation of the Monitoring Programme. It was emphasised that the implementation of the environmental monitoring programme is one of the basic tasks in this area, because the monitoring results are the basis for assessing the overall state of the environment in Montenegro, recommendations in protection policy planning and annual report on the state of the environment. The results of environmental monitoring will serve to define recommendations and measures to be implemented in the coming period in order to improve the situation. Also, environmental monitoring is an important factor in environmental policy planning, as well as an indicator of the need to incorporate environmental principles into development and strategic documents of other sectoral policies such as industry, agriculture, energy, etc.

The Cabinet adopted water management plans for the Adriatic and Danube basins, which have been prepared to ensure efficient river basin management in the country, taking into account current practice, availability of data and resources. The documents were prepared in accordance with the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive and national legislation in the field of water management and nature protection, which establishes a legal framework to protect and improve the status of all waters and protected areas, including water-dependent ecosystems, and prevents the deterioration of their status and ensures long-term sustainable use of water resources.

The Information on the need to establish an inter-ministerial working group for the analysis and approval of national responses to activated measures was adopted. The Information states that Montenegro, as a member of NATO, is obliged to establish a crisis management system that will be compatible with the NATO crisis response system, which is defined by the NATO Crisis Response System Manual. An inter-ministerial working group will be formed at the national level and will deal with the analysis of activated NATO measures and approval of national responses to activated measures, which will fulfill the obligation in the NATO crisis management and reporting system on this issue.

The Cabinet adopted a Decision amending the Decision on taking temporary measures due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Information on Integrating a Palliative Care Service into the Health System of Montenegro was also adopted.

The Cabinet gave its consent for financing the construction, reconstruction, adaptation and equipping of sports facilities according to the specification of the Directorate for Sports and Youth. It is planned to finance 12 projects, in the total amount of 317,663.48 euros.