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The 52nd Cabinet session – 23 December 2021

Published on: Dec 23, 2021 10:45 PM Author: Public Relations Service of the Government of Montenegro

The Montenegrin Cabinet, at its 52nd session held on 23 December 2021, chaired by Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić, adopted the Information on the implementation of the Bar-Boljare motorway project. The information contains percentage of completion.

The Cabinet adopted the Draft law on security measures during exploration and production of hydrocarbons in the offshore Montenegro. The law regulates this area by more clearly defining the powers of state bodies, as well as the duties of concessionaires when conducting exploration and production of hydrocarbons. The proposed solution enables greater and better state control over the hydrocarbon exploration and production operations by concessionaires, and thus greater security of operations. It also prescribes a minimum requirement for the prevention of major accidents during exploration and production operations, as well as for limiting the consequences of accidents. The adoption of this Law fulfills the obligation assumed in the process of negotiations with the EU.

The Cabinet adopted the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Certification of Signatures, Manuscripts and Transcripts. Amendments to the Law were made due to the need to harmonise it with the Law on Electronic Document.

The Draft law on amendments to the Law on coffee tax was adopted.

The Cabinet adopted the Decree on the Customs Tariff for 2022, which harmonises the level of customs rates with the obligations undertaken within the World Trade Organisation and other international agreements concluded by Montenegro. The main changes in the Customs Tariff for 2022 relate to the reduction of customs rates and changes in the nomenclature. The decree covers all changes related to customs rates set by free trade agreements or other international agreements related to the exchange of goods (WTO, SAA, EFTA , Russia, Ukraine, CEFTA and Turkey), which provided a codified solution that will facilitate business for businessmen engaged in foreign trade.

The Decision on the annual plan of official statistics for 2022 was adopted. The plan envisages the realisation of 205 statistical surveys divided into four domains: demography and social statistics (59), economic statistics (81), sectoral statistics (57) and environment and multi-domain statistics (8). Out of the total number of planned statistical surveys, 159 (or 78%) will be realised by the Statistical Office, while 46 (or 22%) of planned activities will be realised by other producers of official statistics. The implementation of the Annual Plan will enable the comprehensiveness of statistical surveys of official statistics, harmonisation and adjustment with EU methodologies and standards, monitoring and measuring data and information on economic, demographic and social phenomena, as well as phenomena in the field of work and environment in Montenegro, as well as the coherence and comparability of official statistics results at the national and international levels.

The Information on Montenegro's cooperation with European countries was adopted. The Information covers the foreign policy activities of key foreign policy makers at the state level - the President of Montenegro, the President of the Parliament, the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. In addition, the Information lists bilateral visits of line ministers. Bearing in mind that Montenegro is both a geographical and cultural part of Europe, and that EU integration is a key foreign policy priority and strategic commitment of the Government, continuous bilateral support of EU member states to our integration process, both in political and technical and expert domains, with a special focus on knowledge transfer in the most demanding negotiation chapters, was assessed as extremely important. Improving bilateral relations with European countries in all areas and intensifying political dialogue at the highest levels are key to Montenegro's further foreign policy affirmation and achievement of foreign policy priorities - accession to the European Union, commitment to NATO membership and strengthening regional cooperation.

The Cabinet adopted the Information on the request of Eni Montenegro BV, the Netherlands and Novatek Montenegro BV, the Netherlands for extensions of the first exploration period of the Hydrocarbon Concession Agreement for Units 4118-4; 4118-5; 4118-9; 4118-10. The Information states that the operational and geological difficulties encountered during the drilling process, which are beyond the reasonable and predictable control of the concessionaire, have caused operational delays of more than four months. Having in mind the above, the requests of the concessionaire for the extension of the first research period were assessed as justified and they can be accepted as problems that arose during the research, which could not have been foreseen, avoided or eliminated. In this regard, the Cabinet approved the extension of the first research period and the research phase of the Agreement for a period of six months.

The Strategy for Digital Transformation of Montenegro 2022-2026 with the Action Plan for 2022-2023 was adopted. The strategy represents a development framework that defines the preconditions and initiatives needed for rapid adaptation to the increasingly complex digital environment, and agile and proactive development of digital Montenegro. The digital transformation strategy applies to all parts of Montenegrin society - state administration, local government and the wider public sector, the economy, academia, the scientific community, NGOs and civil society. Challenges in the digital transformation of Montenegro are addressed through two strategic goals that reflect the digital reality and continue to be channeled within the seven operational goals through priority areas or groups of activities in order to achieve the desired progress. The first strategic goal focuses on improving the capacity for digital transformation, and the second on strengthening the digital awareness of Montenegrin society and digital competitiveness of the ICT sector.

The Cabinet adopted the Information on the Establishment of the Information Systems Audit Department, with a review of the activities so far. Bearing in mind that the Department within the Ministry of Public Administration, Digital Society and Media was formed in early 2021 for the first time as an independent organisational unit whose scope of work is the audit of information systems in public administration, most activities in the current year were focused on its regulatory and procedural establishment. The Information states that the strategic goals of the Department in the next three years will focus, among other things, on making recommendations for improving the risk management process of information systems, as well as promoting the status and function of their internal audit as a tool for good governance.The Information on the launch of the Digital Academy - a platform for the education of civil servants and other relevant actors in Montenegro was adopted. The Information states that, in order to create an efficient, professional, responsible and citizen-oriented public administration, it is necessary to create a systematic and continuous process of professional training and development of officials in the field of digital and complementary skills and enable their continuous development. The Academy also aims to include and educate students, marginalized groups and the elderly, with the aim of overcoming the digital divide and with the intention that every citizen in Montenegro gets the opportunity to acquire skills for the 21st century, despite social, material, demographic and other obstacles they encounter. Funds in the amount of 290,000 euros are planned for the realisation of these goals.

The Cabinet adopted the Information on the launch of the Montenegro Digital projectThe Information states that the Ministry of Public Administration, Digital Society and Media will launch the Montenegro Digital project, in order to implement digital transformation at the level of the entire Government, modernise public administration, strengthen internal capacities, optimise IT costs and enable sustainable and purposeful development of digital services and best user experience. This project, among other things, seeks to define digital standards and standardise technology at the level of the entire Government, provide modular procurement and optimise spending in the field of procurement of IT equipment, software solutions, licenses and implementation of digital solutions, create an open digital market and ensure the development of policy processes and platforms according to the needs of citizens. Funds in the amount of EUR 490,000 have been allocated for this purpose.

The Information on measures for youth: Support programme for youth employment in 2022 was adopted.

The Financial Assessment of the Action Plan for Meeting the Final Benchmarks in Chapter 27 - Environment and Climate Change was adopted. In order to implement the planned activities in the Action Plan for meeting the final criteria in Chapter 27 in the period 2021-2025 – the amount of 482,996,838 euros is needed. The structure of funding sources is as follows: state budget 45%; investments of public companies 5%, primarily in projects in the field of municipal wastewater management; investments from pre-accession support funds - IPA 15%, where funds from the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, whose structure is still unknown, should certainly be added; investments from other donors such as UNDP, GEF, World Bank and others 4%; 31% of corporate investments. Observed from the aspect of the structure of investments by sub-areas, the largest investments were estimated in the area of water quality 35%, followed by in the area of climate change 18.1%.

The Cabinet adopted the Proposal for the candidacy of the project "Construction of an apple plantation in Vrulja, municipality of Pljevlja" on the List of development projects in the field of agriculture. Based on the previously conducted procedure, it was stated that the planned investment, in the amount of more than three million euros, will develop a self-sustainable and profitable project, and that all conditions provided by the Public Invitation, Decision and Rulebook are met.

The Information on the implementation of the Programme of socio-economic empowerment of youth through efficient youth services was adopted.

At the proposal of the Ministry of Capital Investments, the Cabinet adopted the Information on the project of construction of small hydropower plants on the Crnja watercourse and accepted the Ministry's proposal to terminate the Concession Agreement for the construction of SHPP "Crnja", SHPP "Ljubaštica" and SHPP "Crni Potok". Also, based on the proposal of the Ministry, the Cabinet adopted a conclusion instructing the Ministry of Capital Investments to initiate the procedure of terminating the concession agreement for the SHPP "Skrbuša.

Among other things, at today's session, the Cabinet adopted an extremely important Decision regarding the improvement of the institutional framework for sustainable development, which clearly confirms the Government's commitment to implementing the idea of an ecological state in practice. This Decision fulfills the strategic goal related to the implementation of the reform of the institutional organisation of the sustainable development management system, which was set by the adoption of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development until 2030, in July 2016. By adopting the Decree on Amendments to the Decree on the Organisation and Manner of Work of the State Administration and the Decree on Amendments to the Decree on the Secretariat General of the Government of Montenegro, the current Department for Sustainable Development in the Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism will be transformed into the Office for Sustainable Development within the Secretariat General of the Government. The adoption of the Decision on the formation of the National Council for Sustainable Development, an advisory body to the Government, established the institutional framework for sustainable development that enables faster and more complete implementation of public policies and development projects based on the principles of sustainable development. In this way, Montenegro shows a proactive role and further reaffirms its commitment to the implementation of the United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development until 2030 and joins the countries that have given their expert national councils for sustainable development a critical role in implementing and achieving 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

The Cabinet reiterated the conclusions regarding the Information on the situation regarding the contractual relations between Montenegrin Electric Enterprise and UNIPROM (KAP), which was presented by PM Zdravko Krivokapić:

  • The Cabinet adopted the Oral Information of the Ministry of Capital Investments to continue negotiations between EPCG and Uniprom, which should agree on the best solution to reduce Uniprom's production (which is the practice of other similar plants in Europe) in order to maintain the technological process and define the energy price, which is defined as the minimum until June 2022.
  • In order to be socially responsible, which is the practice of other private companies in Montenegro, the owner should provide paid leave to all workers who are not involved in the production process.
  • The Cabinet calls on the relevant institutions to reconsider the privatisation of KAP and the conversion of state property.

All responsibility regarding the described situation lies with the owners of UNIPROM (KAP).

52. sjednica Vlade Crne Gore


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