Press release from the 78th Cabinet session

The Montenegrin Cabinet held its 78th session today, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Aleksa Bečić. The Cabinet adopted the Incentive Measures Programme in the Field of Tourism for 2025. The objective of the Programme is to enrich and enhance the quality of the tourism offer and improve marketing activities to attract tourists from new source markets, thus generating higher tourism revenues, extending the tourist season, increasing occupancy rates, boosting spending, and improving employment in the sector.

The Programme includes seven support measures:

Measure I – Support for the organization of events/festivals;

Measure II – Enhancement of rural tourism offer and service quality;

Measure III – Improvement of tourism offer quality and digitalization;

Measure IV – Support for the development of MICE tourism;

Measure V – Support for organizing study visits for tour operators and travel agencies;

Measure VI – Partnerships with tour operators and travel agencies to promote Montenegro as a tourist destination;

Measure VII – Support for the enhancement of organized air arrivals through joint marketing campaigns with tour operators.

Funds for these incentive measures will be allocated through public calls conducted by the Ministry of Tourism and the National Tourism Organization of Montenegro. The total financial resources projected for the Programme amount to €1,430,053.42.

The Ministry of Tourism is tasked with allocating €550,000 from its own funds, while the National Tourism Organization of Montenegro will allocate €470,000, in addition to €410,053.42 dedicated to the support measure for improving organized air arrivals through joint marketing campaigns with tour operators.

The Cabinet adopted the action plans for fulfilling the closing benchmarks in Chapters 23 – Judiciary and Fundamental Rights, and 24 – Justice, Freedom and Security. Based on the recommendations defined by the EU's Common Position, the working groups for chapters 23 and 24 developed a comprehensive overview of all obligations and deadlines necessary for fulfilling the closing benchmarks, which constitutes the essence of these action plans. The drafting process included public consultations with NGOs and the broader public, as well as discussions within the Rule of Law Council. An explanatory meeting was also held with representatives of the European Commission, providing further clarification on the closing benchmarks for these chapters. The implementation of activities outlined in the action plans will fulfill the obligations defined in the EU's Common Position for Chapters 23 and 24. The final deadline for completing these activities is the third quarter of 2026, in line with the Government's plan to complete all European agenda commitments by the end of 2026. The implementation of the action plans will be monitored at meetings of the working groups for chapters 23 and 24, and progress reports will be submitted periodically to both the Government of Montenegro and the European Commission.

The Cabinet adopted the Information on the need to issue consent for the loan arrangement of the Joint Stock Company "Crnogorska plovidba" – Kotor, granting consent for the company to take a loan from Prva Banka AD Podgorica to refinance its overdraft debt. On 11 April 2025, the Cabinet discussed the urgent liquidity issues faced by Crnogorska plovidba and adopted related conclusions. In the meantime, Prva Banka AD Podgorica blocked all of the company's accounts due to an outstanding overdraft debt amounting to approximately €400,000. Given the blocked accounts, Crnogorska plovidba is unable to cover operational expenses (such as crew salaries, insurance premiums, and supplies), leading to an imminent risk of vessel detention at the nearest port, which could result in substantial additional costs and threaten the company's ownership of ships valued at approximately €15–20 million. Crnogorska plovidba urgently needs to unblock its accounts to settle partial crew salaries and prevent vessel detention. To this end, the company applied for a refinancing loan from Prva Banka AD Podgorica, with a repayment period of 36 months and a grace period of three months. As of today, the outstanding debt is €401,528.25, with an additional monthly penalty interest of €8,030.56. Importantly, this loan arrangement will have no implications for the state budget of Montenegro.

The Cabinet adopted the Draft Urban-Technical Conditions for the Development of Technical Documentation for the Reconstruction of the Olympic Pool Facility within the SC "Morača" Complex, located on cadastral plots No. 1275/25 and 1275/2 KO Podgorica I, within the scope of the Spatial-Urban Plan of the Capital City of Podgorica ("Official Gazette of Montenegro – municipal regulations", No. 06/14), pursuant to Article 218a of the Law on Spatial Planning and Construction of Structures ("Official Gazette of Montenegro", Nos. 064/17, 044/18, 063/18, 011/19, 082/20, 086/22, 004/23), following a request by the Ministry of Sports and Youth, and opinions from relevant authorities. The area designated for the reconstruction of the sports facility covers 10,638 m². The Capital City recognizes the need to modernize and expand existing sports capacities to promote competitive, school, university sports, and sports recreation. Planned facilities include: reconstruction of the outdoor water polo pool with stands into an indoor facility; conversion of the hall housing the indoor pool into a multifunctional sports hall; construction of a central tennis court with 2,000 seats, six auxiliary courts, three badminton courts, three padel courts, a children's recreational area built to high ITT standards, a medical center, fitness and spa centers, and other supporting amenities to further promote tennis in Montenegro.

The Cabinet adopted the Draft Urban-Technical Conditions for the Development of Technical Documentation for the Construction of the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Natural History Museum, and the Park of Culture and Arts, on cadastral plot No. 2211/1 KO Podgorica II, within the scope of the Spatial-Urban Plan of the Capital City of Podgorica ("Official Gazette of Montenegro – municipal regulations", No. 06/14), pursuant to Article 218a of the Law on Spatial Planning and Construction of Structures, following a request by the Ministry of Culture and Media and the opinions of competent authorities. The area designated for these developments covers 50,436 m².