The 11th Cabinet session – 8 July 2022

The Montenegrin Cabinet, at the 11th session held today, chaired by Prime Minister Dritan Abazović adopted the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Certification of Signatures, Manuscripts and Transcripts. The amendments enable electronic certification of documents that is faster and more efficient for legal electronic communication and the flow of documents between legal and natural persons and institutions. The application of this law will have a positive impact on individuals and legal entities, courts, local self-government bodies and notaries.

The Spring analysis of macroeconomic developments and structural reforms 2022 was adopted. The analysis presents the implementation of the economic and development policy in 2021 and the first quarter of 2022. The Ministry of Finance is in charge of continuously monitoring the implementation of the economic policy and, twice a year, informs the Government about it. 

The Cabinet adopted the Decision on amendments to the Decision on the establishment of the Coordinating Body to supervise the implementation of the Decision on granting temporary protection to persons from Ukraine. 

The Decision on the long-term energy balance of Montenegro for the period from 2023 to 2025 was adopted.

The Cabinet adopted the Decision on the Council for the Rights of the Child. The decision stipulates that the Council for the Rights of the Child will be chaired by the Prime Minister, as well as that the Council will include representatives of all relevant ministries that deal with issues affecting children. It is also ensured that experts, representatives of the academic community and practitioners specialising in children's rights participate in the work of the Council, whose role is to provide expert advice and inform the Council about certain aspects of children's rights. The Council established a mechanism to strengthen cooperation with civil society, including non-governmental and children's organisations, in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies, plans and programmes related to the promotion of children's rights and the implementation of the Convention. By adopting this Decision, the implementation of appropriate protection and promotion of children's rights in the field of social and child protection, health care, education and other areas of importance for the protection of children's rights and interests is ensured.

The Decision on the termination of validity of the Decision on the method and criteria for solving the housing needs of officials was also adopted. The Decision was annulled due to the assessment that it carries an increased risk for the emergence of corruption, abuse of powers and conflict of interest that can lead to potential risks of endangering the public interest.

The Cabinet adopted decisions on the formation of the National Council for Culture and the National Commission for UNESCO.

The Strategy for the Protection of Persons with Disabilities from Discrimination and the Promotion of Equality for the Period 2022-2027 was adopted, with the Action Plan for 2022-2023. The Strategy with the Action Plan is based on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The Cabinet adopted the Strategy for Cooperation of State Administration Bodies and Non-Governmental Organisations 2022-2026, with an Action Plan for the period 2022-2023.

The 2021 Action Plan for the implementation of the Strategy for the fight against human trafficking for the period 2019-2024 and the Report on the implementation of the 2021 Action Plan for the implementation of the Strategy for the fight against human trafficking for the period 2019-2024 were adopted. The strategy defines goals, principles and directions in the fight against human trafficking.

The Information on the preparation of the Programme of Economic Reforms for Montenegro for the period 2023-2025 was adopted. PER is a medium-term strategic document that Montenegro is preparing as part of the dialogue on economic management with the European Union. The document consists of three key chapters: the macroeconomic framework, the fiscal framework and the chapter on structural reforms. At the session, Cabinet members were informed about the plan and dynamics of work on the preparation of this document. In this context, the Ministry of Finance is tasked with submitting the Programme of Economic Reforms for Montenegro for the period 2023-2025 to the Cabient for consideration until 31 December 2022 and, after adoption, to submit it to the European Commission. Among other things, it was stated that the term "Europe now" should be replaced by the term "new tax policy".

The Cabinet adopted the Proposal of the harmonised text of the Basic Agreement between Montenegro and the Serbian Orthodox Church.

The Cabinet adopted the Information on the adoption and signing of the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2023-2027 and accepted the text of the UN Cooperation Framework. This document is a medium-term planning document that defines the activities and priorities that the UN implements in cooperation with the Government. UNSDCF is aligned with the Government's Medium-term Work Programme 2022-2024 and with strategic documents from all three thematic pillars (inclusive economic development and environmental sustainability, human capital development, and social cohesion), which implies the coordinated action of all Government departments. The document reflects Montenegro's efforts to meet the goals of the 2030 Agenda within deadline and is compatible with the Government's reform agenda on its path to full EU membership.

The Cabinet adopted the Information "Osjeti Crnu Goru - Feel Montenegro". At the proposal of the Ministry of Economic Development, financial assistance will be granted for the organisation of nine events and festivals that will have multiple benefits for the tourism of Montenegro. For this purpose, the Government approved a total amount of 137,000 euros.

The Information on the need for Montenegro to join the UNCAC Coalition's Transparency Pledge was adopted and consent was given to join this initiative. The UNCAC Coalition is a global network of over 350 civil society organisations from more than 100 countries. The network was founded in 2006, and is dedicated to the promotion of the ratification, implementation and monitoring of the UN Convention against Corruption.

The Cabinet adopted the Information on the Agreement on the content of the Danube Region Programme and the national co-financing for the period 2021-2027 and accepted the text of the Agreement.

The Cabinet adopted an Indicator-based state of the environment report of Montenegro (2017-2020) and the Action Plan for improving the state of the environment with proposed measures based on the Report.

In accordance with the new organisation of the state administration, the Cabinet adopted decisions on the formation of the Council for Electronic Administration and the Council for Information Security.