Press release from the 59th Cabinet session

The Montenegrin Cabinet held its 59th session, chaired by Prime Minister Milojko Spajić.

The Cabinet adopted the Draft Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of Montenegro, prepared in accordance with the recommendations of the "TAIEX Peer Review" mission regarding Benchmark No. 4 for Chapter 7 - Intellectual Property Law. The amendments aim to ensure clear differentiation between misdemeanors and criminal offenses to align with European standards and avoid double penalties. Serious violations of intellectual property rights will now be criminalized, specifically in cases causing significant damage to rights holders or resulting in unlawful profit exceeding €5,000. Updates address unauthorized use of copyrighted works, patents, designs, trademarks, and trade names, with clarified thresholds for significant financial harm or gain.

The Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Official Statistics and Statistical Systems was adopted. These amendments transfer responsibility for government finance statistics from the Ministry of Finance to the Statistical Office of Montenegro (MONSTAT), in alignment with ESA 2010 methodology and the closure benchmarks for Chapter 18 - Statistics. This ensures consistent, reliable, and comparable statistical reporting on government finances, public debt, and deficits. Additionally, the composition of the Statistical System Council will be redefined to reflect new government structures.

The Cabinet adopted the Draft Amendments to the Spatial-Urban Plan for Podgorica and approved a programme for public consultation. The amendments aim to support significant national and local development projects, such as "Velje Brdo," while ensuring sustainable and socially equitable growth. The plan emphasizes rational land use, preservation of cultural heritage, and protection of natural resources, with a focus on developing well-integrated infrastructure and facilities for public services and tourism.

The Cabinet adopted a technical arrangement between the Ministries of Defence of Montenegro and Albania for Montenegrin Navy personnel to be deployed on Albanian patrol vessels as part of NATO's "Sea Guardian" operation in the Mediterranean. This operation enhances maritime security, counter-terrorism efforts, and capacity building in the region. The arrangement defines the legal framework and operational principles for joint activities and training.

For full press release in Montenegrin, please click here.