Press release from 42nd Cabinet session

The Montenegrin Cabinet, at its 42nd session held on 7 October 2021, chaired by Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić, adopted the Draft Law on Accounting with the Report on the conducted public debate. This law regulates the classification of legal entities registered to perform economic activities and parts of foreign companies, conditions and manner of keeping business books, accounting organisation, preparation, submission and publication of financial reports, conditions and manner of valuation of assets and other issues of importance for accounting. The main reason for the adoption of the proposed Law is the harmonisation of existing regulations with the relevant EU directives.

The Decision on amending the Statute of the Limited Liability Company for Transport of Passengers and Goods in Air Transport "ToMontenegro" was adopted. The only goal of this legal act is to fulfill the legal obligation to register and record the capital increase of the company "ToMontenegro" with the Central Register of Business Entities, which is regulated by the Government Decision of 1 July 2021 when the payment of three million euros was approved. The company's capital amounts to 26 million euros.

The Cabinet adopted information on the Financial Agreement between the European Commission, the Republic of Serbia and Montenegro for 2020 within the IPA II Serbia-Montenegro Cross-Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020, as well as on the Financial Agreement between the European Commission, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro for 2020 within the IPA II Cross-border Cooperation Programme Bosnia and Herzegovina - Montenegro 2014-2020. The Cabinet accepted the proposed agreements, estimating that their signing will enable the implementation of activities aimed at improving the standards and quality of life of people in the programme areas, through valorisation of tourist potentials, ecologically sustainable and socially inclusive economic development of the region, respecting its common cultural and natural heritage. The estimated costs of these programmes for 2020 amount to EUR 1,270,588.00 each, while the maximum Union contribution is set at EUR 1,080,000.00 each. Co-financing of thematic priorities is provided by grant beneficiaries, in the amount of at least 15% of the total costs at the project level.

The Strategy for the Development of Women's Entrepreneurship of Montenegro 2021-2024 was adopted, with an Action Plan for the implementation of the Strategy for the period 2021-2022 and the Report from the public debate. The promotion of women's entrepreneurship is one of the development priorities of Montenegro, which is focused not only on women entrepreneurs, but much more on the creators of relevant policies and society as a whole. By changing the awareness of the importance and role of women's entrepreneurship, potentials and needs, with positive discrimination, it is possible to expect to gather all the necessary resources that will provide the necessary changes and place women's entrepreneurship at the centre of economic development. The implementation of the Strategy aims to influence: economic empowerment of women, strengthening the competitiveness of women's entrepreneurship and effective public policy that promotes and supports women's entrepreneurship. The Strategy defines the framework, strategic goals and measures to support the development of women's entrepreneurship in the coming period.

The Cabinet adopted the 2021-2022 Action Plan for the implementation of the Strategy for the Development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Montenegro 2018-2022. Given the importance of the MSME sector for the Montenegrin economy, more precisely the characteristics of the policy in terms of its horizontal, multidimensional and multisectoral nature, coordination of SME policy implementation in Montenegro, monitoring and evaluation, are high on the list of priorities in creating a favourable business environment and providing support to MSMEs according to their needs. This Action Plan defines three strategic goals, namely: strengthening the policy of micro, small and medium enterprises and improving the environment for the development of MSMEs and entrepreneurship, strengthening the competitiveness of MSMEs, as well as promoting MSMEs and entrepreneurship, business networking and easier access to new markets. These strategic goals are elaborated through 9 operational goals, 36 measures and 99 activities.

The Strategy of Early and Preschool Education in Montenegro 2021–2025 with the Action Plan 2021–2025 was adopted. This document sets the following strategic goal - providing equal opportunities for the early development of all children in Montenegro through strengthening the availability, quality and fairness of preschool education.

The Cabinet adopted the Information on activities on the implementation of development projects to improve the tourist infrastructure for the period January - June 2021. The Information provides, in the first place, an overview of activities on the construction of ski centres in the area of Bjelasica and Komovi, Durmitor and Hajla, but also natural attractions such as Đalovića cave, with the current status and stages of implementation, which include construction of new cable cars, ski slopes, artificial snow systems, base stations, access roads and supporting infrastructure, as well as the necessary measures for their implementation. It was stated that work continued on all construction sites in the north of Montenegro, in accordance with the planned activities. This is supported by the data that the Public Works Administration in the reporting period realised investments in these projects in the north of the country in the amount of over 3.29 million euros.

The Information on the Acceptance of the Joint Declaration on the Free Flow of Data in the Western Balkans Region was adopted. It was emphasised that, aware of the challenges of digital transformation in the economies of the Western Balkans and the importance of regional cooperation, as well as recognising the need to harmonise the ambitions of digitalisation of the Western Balkans with the vision and ambitions of the European Union, the countries of this Region have agreed on a Joint Declaration on the Free Flow of Data in the Region. The purpose of this document is to continue the joint action and initiative to improve regional cooperation and support digital integration through exchanging information in an open, interoperable, secure and reliable manner.

The Cabinet adopted the Information on providing funds from the Current Budget Reserve for the needs of the Police Directorate, in order to pay rewards to officers of the Police Directorate on the occasion of successfully implemented activities related to the religious rite of enthronement of the Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral in Cetinje. On that occasion, the Ministry of Finance and Social Welfare is in charge of providing the amount up to 500,000.00 euros net, or up to 900,000.00 euros gross.

The Information on the activities for the implementation of the "Special Investment Programme of Special Importance for the Economic Interest of Montenegro" for the second quarter of 2021 was also adopted.

The Cabinet adopted the 2021-2022 Action Plan for the implementation of the Industrial Policy of Montenegro 2019-2023, which is an important mechanism for monitoring the implementation of Industrial Policy in terms of meeting the criteria for temporary closure of the Chapter 20. The Action Plan is based on the recommendations of the Report on the implementation of Industrial Policy for the period 2019-2020, in order to respond to the challenges relevant to the development of the industry in the conditions of recovery after the coronavirus pandemic. The Action plan contains 63 activities with result indicators, for whose implementation a financial framework of EUR 450,838,056.83 is envisaged, i.e. EUR 235,244,763.13 in 2021 and EUR 215,593,293.70 in 2022. The planned activities have a development character and are aimed, above all, at improving the competitiveness of industry and cooperation between the economy and science, support the development of green, climate-neutral economy, as well as the development of circular industry and digital transformation of enterprises.