The 63rd Cabinet session – 17 March 2022

The Montenegrin Cabinet, at its 63rd session held on 17 March 2022, chaired by Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić, adopted the Interim Economic Measures of the Government of Montenegro in response to the crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. Bearing in mind that at the moment it is quite certain that the negative impacts of the crisis on our open economy will be multiple, from the spillover effect of global price growth as a result of high import dependence, on the one hand, to reduced investment due to greater uncertainty, on the other. The Cabinet has adopted additional measures to support the economy and citizens estimated at up to 50 million euros, depending on the duration of the crisis. The package envisions eight measures, including the abolition of VAT on flour and oil, a reduction in fuel excise taxes to 40 per cent instead of 20 per cent as originally proposed, and an additional five million to support agriculture.

Also, the Plan of Intervention Procurement in Case of Severe Market Disruption for 2022 was adopted, which allows the Cabinet, in case of problems in market supply, to decide to activate the Plan and procure products affected by supply chain issues. The aim of adopting the Plan is to create the necessary preconditions for ensuring the continuity of supply of the Montenegrin market with basic agri-food products, personal hygiene products, medicines and medical devices and petroleum products necessary to meet the basic needs of the population in case of serious market disruption.

In this context, the Cabinet adopted the Draft Law on Interim Measures to Limit the Prices of Products of Special Importance for Human Life and Health, the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Value Added Tax, and the Draft Amendments to the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Excises.

The Cabinet adopted the Tourism Development Strategy of Montenegro 2022-2025 with the Action Plan for 2022. This umbrella strategic document and map of the development path of tourism aims to make our country a globally recognised tourist destination by 2025. An important segment of the document is the situation analysis of trends in tourism in Montenegro from 2009 to 2019, which will help adequate decision-making based on qualitative and quantitative parameters. The main strategic goal is to affirm Montenegro as a globally recognised tourist destination. The crucial segment of the document is the Action Plan with 16 accompanying measures and 76 activities to achieve the set goals in 2022, which requires spending of 27 million euros, mostly from the Capital and current budget, but also from donor funds. The funds needed for the implementation of planned activities for the period 2022-2025 amount to over 32 million euros.

The Decision establishing the National Checklist of Dual-Use Goods was also adopted. The decision refers to the harmonisation of the National Checklist with the relevant regulations of the European Union in this area.