The 55th Cabinet session – 19 January 2022

The Montenegrin Cabinet, at its 55th session held on 19 January 2022, chaired by Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić, adopted the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Explosive Substances with the Report on the Conducted Public Debate. After the competent authorities conducted a detailed analysis, it was concluded that the level of safety when handling explosives must be raised to a higher level. For this reason, changes were made to the existing legal framework, which envisages a ban on the sale and use of explosives - pyrotechnic devices of class F2.

The Decree amending the Decree on the criteria for determining the amount of lifelong monthly payments, scholarship, premiums, sports disability allowance, athlete of the year award and deserving sports worker award was adopted. The Decree is harmonised with the amendments to the Law on Sports.

The Cabinet adopted the Decision on determining priority areas of public interest and the amount of funds for financing projects and programmes of non-governmental organisations in 2022. For this purpose, the Decision determined the amount of 0.3% of the current annual budget, i.e. 3,030.000.00 euros. For the financing of projects and programmes of non-governmental organisations in the field of protection of persons with disabilities, the amount of 0.1% of the current annual budget, i.e. 1,010,000.00 euros, has been allocated.

In order to fulfill the obligations undertaken on the basis of reducing pollution and environmental protection, as well as investing in renewable energy sources, the Cabinet adopted the Draft Decision on granting a direct long-term loan to the borrower Montenegrin Electric Enterprise (EPCG). The Board of Directors of the Investment and Development Fund has adopted the Draft Decision for the purpose of financing the project "Solari 3000+" and "Solari 500+" for legal entities (small production plants and public institutions) which includes mediation in financing, procurement and commissioning of photovoltaic systems in households and business entities in Montenegro. The decision of the Investment and Development Fund approves a loan in the amount of 30 million to EPCG, for a repayment period of 96 months and 24-month grace period, with an interest rate of 1.6 percent per annum.

The Cabinet gave its consent to the Proposed Work Plan and the Proposed Financial Plan of "Monte put" Podgorica for 2022 and the Report on the Implementation of the Financial Plan for 2021. The work plan of the company in 2022 envisages the Bar-Boljare motorway traffic management, which includes the management of the incident detection system, fire-fighting equipment, ventilation, video surveillance, variable traffic signs and other equipment, as well as traffic monitoring. The work plan for 2022 is financially sustainable, so that the planned revenues enable reliable and regular financing of programme obligations.

The Information on the construction and signing of the Agreement on the Regulation of Mutual Rights and Obligations for the Functioning of the National Reference Phytosanitary Laboratory was adopted and the text of the Agreement was accepted. In order for Montenegro to meet the benchmarks for closing the negotiations in Chapter 12, it is obliged to ensure the functioning of the National Reference Phytosanitary Laboratory. The construction, equipping and accreditation of the National Reference Phytosanitary Laboratory will be financed from the Second Project of Institutional Development and Strengthening of Agriculture of Montenegro (MIDAS 2), in the amount of 1.3 million euros.

The Cabinet adopted the Decision on the formation and composition of the Commission for the Assessment of Damage from Natural Disasters, headed by Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Aleksandar Stijović. The task of the Commission is, based on the report of the municipal commissions for damage assessment on the territory of Montenegro and individual requests, to determine the appropriate compensation for the damage and to undertake other activities in order to reduce the impacts of natural disasters.