January 6, 2019 - Last year, Tivat Airport finished with a turnover of 1.245.999 passengers, which is 10.3% better than in 2017, which was a record year in the operation of this airport. Executive Director of Tivat Airport, Rade Marić, told “Vijesti” that last year in Tivat, a total of 623,543 passengers arrived, while 622,456 people left it. A total of 6,616 aircraft landed and a total of 13,631 take-off and landing operations were carried out on the airstrip of the aircraft, that is, on the runway along Tivat bay. The number of operations completed in 2018 is 7.3 percent higher than a year earlier.

Tivat Airport has been intensively preparing for the upcoming summer tourist and IATA flying season starting on March 31^st, which will be characterized by an additional increase in the number of airlines that operate with this airport, as well as the opening of several new destinations that will fly from Tivat. The particularity of the upcoming season is that at Tivat airport next to the regular companies that fly in the season, several new national airline companies will appear that will open their lines for Tivat. Thus, from April 13^th, German Lufthansa will fly twice a week to Tivat, on Saturdays from Munich, and on Sundays from Frankfurt. Seasonal flights from London to Tivat have also been announced by the British national airline British Airways.

Text by Sinisa Lukovic, on January 4th 2018, read more at Vijesti

05 January 2019 - Dynamic economic growth is Montenegrin reality in this and the forthcoming years as well. Opening new jobs remain the government’s first economic priority. The Government of Montenegro has been analyzing different scenarios for increasing minimum incomes, vice-president for the economic policy and agriculture minister, Milutin Simović stated.

“Our economy increased by 4.7% in 2017 and 4.8% in the first half of 2018. The growth rate in the 3^rd quarter rose to 5% thus positioning Montenegro in the 3^rd place compared to the region and the European Union (EU). These results confirmed assessments of the relevant international organizations, such as the IMF, World Bank and credit agencies, which claimed that Montenegro had achieved positive results thanks to the government’s efforts in the process of fiscal harmonization. Fiscal consolidation represented a huge challenge to us, as we did not want to give up on development. It was tough but, we did it,” said Simović.

Such results, he added, have been achieved thanks to a wise and responsible state and economic policy, which was led especially after Montenegro restored its independence, and also based on the achievements in the Euro Atlantic and European integrations.

As for maintaining the economic growth, Simović said there would be many challenges but nothing that Government of Montenegro cannot deal with.

According to him, opening new jobs represents the first priority of the government’s economic policy.

“We have been implementing numerous systematic actions to reach this goal. The number of recruited people in Montenegro has been continuously increasing. In 2018, there were over 25,000 employees more than in 2011, and around 11,000 more when compared to 2016. We expect this trend to continue in 2019. New job opportunities are expected in those sectors in which we invested the most – agriculture and construction, and in all those areas directly or indirectly connected with tourism (in hotels and restaurants, trade, transport and manufacturing output)," concluded Simović.

Recently, the Statistical Office of Montenegro published a report on the unemployment rate, which states that the number of unemployed people in Montenegro reduced by 9.901 persons in 2018.

According to the same data, the unemployment rate was reduced from 22,13% that existed earlier to 17,87%.

“At the same time, survey unemployment rate, according to the Statistical Office of Montenegro (MONSTAT), amounted 14,1 % in the III quarter of 2018, whereas in the III quarter of 2017, it amounted 14,8%. A very encouraging fact is that more than a third of newly employed persons are younger than 30,” said the representatives of the Government.

The lowest unemployment rate is in Kolašin (5,93%), and the highest one is in Plužine (61,28%).

Source: Cafe del Montenegro

05 January 2019 - Prime Minister Duško Marković spoke on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of Christmas and said that over one century it is possible to see the consequences that a profound split and conflict have left on the Montenegrin entity. Today it is important to understand the then misconceptions of one and the vision and the sacrifice of others in defense of the threatened rights to the Montenegrin name and uniqueness. The victims of the uprising and the severe suffering of Montenegrin families in the years of terror found peace in the renewal of state independence in 2006.

"On this day, a hundred years ago, a Christmas uprising took place. A rebellion started against the suppression of the Montenegrin name and the Montenegrin state. The defense of dignity and the right to self-belonging of the Montenegrin people started. These bright ideals, embedded in the foundation of the national and state entity of Montenegro, were defended by the insurgents under the slogan 'For Justice, honour and freedom of Montenegro'," Prime Minister Duško Marković said at Zetski dom at Cetinje.

The prime minister urged historians to explore one century ago, saying that the truth is needed in present-day Montenegro to overcome the divisions.

"Let historians summarise the facts about the tragic fate of our country at the end of the First World War. Let them explore the facts about the illegitimate Podgorica Assembly and the Christmas uprising, as a direct answer to its fatal decisions. Let them objectively see the causes and consequences of the events that led the Montenegrins to turn weapons on one another. This truth is necessary for modern Montenegro, today perhaps more than ever before. Not to deepen the division among us by celebrating the tragedy of a historical event, but precisely to bury those divisions on the foundations of the historical truth, once and for all," the Prime Minister noted.

Prime Minister Marković said that from a distance of one century, we see the consequences that such a deep split and conflict has left in the Montenegrin entity.

"I believe that today we need to understand the delusion of ones in difficult and troubled times, just like the vision and the sacrifice of others in defending the threatened right to a Montenegrin name and uniqueness. Not to equalise their historical role in the tragic Montenegrin history, because they placed themselves where they were taken by their misconceptions and their ideals, but to free present-day Montenegro of the darkness of these divisions. Deeply bowing to the heroic sacrifice of Christmas insurgents as well as the severe suffering of Montenegrin families in the years of terror that followed - today we can rightly say that those victims and these sufferings were granted their well-deserved serenity in the renewal of the Montenegrin name and the Montenegrin state on May 21, 2006" Prime Minister Marković emphasised.

The Prime Minister stated that modern Montenegro needs memory and respect of the glorious ancestors and their work, that without this foundation and the roadmap there would be no present-day Montenegro, its name would have disappeared.

"I am convinced, however, that the Montenegrin name cannot be preserved today only by remembering the glorious and tragic past. For its defence, for its permanent place on the map of the modern world, it takes much more than - let me say - "punching in the heroic chest". To survive, the Montenegrin national name and identity must face the temptations imposed by the civilised world today. And to succeed in this, we all need to have enough wisdom, sufficient vision and sufficient understanding for the others, so that we do not fall behind in this contemporary challenge," Prime Minister Duško Marković said.

"After the renewal of independence, we aimed our state path at European and Euro-Atlantic integration, we had in mind such Montenegro: capable of being, in a democratic and economic sense, an equal part of the community of the most developed countries and peoples," Prime Minister said.

"Today there is no longer any dilemma if we are going to succeed - some of these goals have already been achieved, and some are within hands reach. Never in our history, our country has had such a position and such a place in the international community. Also, Montenegro has never had the most dynamic economy in the Balkans, with the highest living standard in the region, with economic growth rates among the highest in Europe in recent years. And nobody brought those results out of somewhere to Montenegro. We did it ourselves: our dedicated administration, and our hard-working citizens. Therefore, I would like to see more respect, as well as from ourselves, to present day Montenegro and its perspective. And less distrust in our abilities and our institutions. Less unfounded concerns about our state dignity, and much less excitement for the peripheral deniers of all Montenegrin, or those who are fighting for their own, appropriating our century-old identity," the Prime Minister noted.

Prime Minister Duško Marković concluded a speech at the Solemn Academy on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the Christmas uprising by the assurance that independent, self-aware and brave Montenegro is the safest defence of the Montenegrin name and the state identity.

"In this way, we will best keep the memory of the famous ancestors and their sacrifices, from all Montenegrin battles and rebellions lifted - for freedom. Today, on the anniversary of the Christmas uprising, which sparks flashed here at the throne of Cetinje, I would like to say that the heroism of the insurgents obliges us to continue building Montenegro according to the level of modern civilization and democratic values by which is adorned. Today, I see in that the meaning of the message of the Christmas uprising: For justice, honour and freedom of Montenegro. Let it be eternal glory and thanks to Christmas insurgents!" Prime Minister Duško Marković concluded.

January 6, 2019 - The 50th anniversary of the Mimosa Festival will open with the pop music star of the region Zdravko Čolić on 1 February. Traditionally, a day later, there will be the Feast of Mimosa, Fish, and Wine on the Herceg Novi Riviera and the first costume ball.

Mimosa Festival Caravan Moves from Vienna 

mne.today

 

The Mimosa Festival announced the Mimosa Caravan this year, which will visit the cities of Western Europe, Austria, and Slovenia, after three decades. Vice President of the Municipality of Herceg Novi, Miloš Konjević announced that Mimosa caravan would visit the capital city of Austria, Vienna, where the City Music, the Majorettes and the Masquerade will present the manifestation on 10 January. On the same day, the Mimosa Festival will be presented at the Tourism Fair in Vienna at the National Tourism Organization of Montenegro stand.

 

The caravan will be in Vrbas and Novi Sad on 11 January, and on 12 January in Zrenjanin and Belgrade. On the second turn, the Caravan will travel to Višegrad and Zlatibor on 17 January, and then visit Bijeljina and Banja Luka on 18 January. Following will be guest appearances in Slovenia, Ljubljana, Novo Mesto, and Kranj. Also, 50th Mimosa Festival Caravan will Montenegrin towns and neighboring Trebinje.

 

The aim of organizing Mimosa Caravan beyond the borders of our region is that Mimosa Festival got the function it had when it founded - to intrigue visitors, bring them to Herceg Novi during the winter and announce the summer season, explained the municipality manager, Dragan Šimrak. As he said, in the last ten years, Mimosa has "lost its function and now needs to get it back."

January 6, 2019 - The shelter for the protection of abandoned and lost dogs in Kavač is designed to accommodate up to a hundred and fifty dogs, and the number of animals located in this area is often a hundred more than expected, so the capacity expansion is necessary," said Sanja Marovic, a referent in the Kotor’s Utility Company announcing this investment activity.

January 5, 2019 - Prcanj is the old naval center of Boka Bay once known as a postal center of the Republic of Venice, whose sailors were responsible for the transfer of mail from Istanbul, via Boka Bay, to Venice. It was a place of considerable privilege, ultimately the status of an autonomous maritime settlement. All this has contributed to the economic development of the area, as evidenced by today's gorgeous architecture of houses, palaces, churches, and chapels that descend along the coast in the length of 4 km. Among the valuable objects of cultural heritage, stands the parish church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, one of the most beautiful and most impressive sacral objects in Montenegro. Due to the remarkable cultural landscape, and also the peace of Boka Bay, Prcanj is a favorite summer resort for guests enjoying the embrace of ages, which are traced here ever since Roman times.

Glavati Bay, photo by Antonela Stjepcevic

 

It was in the Middle Ages within the Kotor district. The land belongs to either the Catholic Church or the Kotor noble families. Kotor's noblemen in Prcanj raise their summer houses, and farmers from Prcanj or the surrounding villages worked on their properties. The settlement here, as in other parts of Boka, is not located directly along the coast, but at a distance of 100 to 200 meters. In Prcanj, this was a besieged hive, made up of small groupings of houses, which were pedestrian roads connected with the property on the coast. Today, you can discover these old roads as hiking paths in the company of local mountain hikers from Kotor's Vjeverica Club. Or by yourself, with the help of a map that is available at info points of the Tourist Organization of Kotor. On the same paths, the people of Prcanj went to the shore in the Middle Ages, where there were few groups of houses related to navigation and trade at the time, such as gates, small shipyards, and "mandraći." Although they do not enjoy the deserved protection, some of these "mandraći," built with dry stone without binder, resist the teeth of time to this day.

photo by Aleksandra Kapetanovic, expeditio.org

 

While under the rule of the Venetian Republic, Prcanj gained fame in a rather unusual way. By the end of the sixteenth century, the administration noticed that sailors from here were able to sail to Venice in less time than the government ships. As a result, it was then decided to give Prcanj the responsibility for the permanent postal service of the Republic. Prcanj's status ensured a decree of 1625 that praises the inhabitants of the port for their conscientious and capable handling of the state mail. The order was of tremendous significance for the town, making Prcanj officially a naval town. The economic rise of the site also contributed to the families of merchants, shipowners, and seafarers. After gradually buying property along the coast, they built representative palaces and houses, which at the beginning of the 19th century were over 140.

photo by Zoran Nikolić

 

During the Napoleon rule of the Boka Bay, Prcanj lost its significance in maritime affairs. After the Congress of Vienna, Boka became part of a province called the Kingdom of Dalmatia, what initiated a revival of the Pecan's maritime economy which lasted until the end of the 19th century.

Prcanj of Today

photo by Miroslav Marusic, Boka News

 

The most impressive feat of architecture in Prcanj is the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, which represents the synthesis of the religious, cultural and economic history of the place. Venetian architect Bernardino Maccaruzzi designed the church project in 1789 when it was built the supportive wall in classical style. The church facade is baroque with Corinthian and Doric columns and displays a collection of paintings and sculptures worthy of its size, including works by Piazzetta, Tiepolo, Balestra, Meštrović and numerous other artists.

05 January 2019 - The book "Illustrated Lexicon of Herceg Novi", whose promotion was held in Igalo a week ago, represents a unique presentation of the symbols of the city under the Mount Orjen.

According to the words of the author, Vladimir Roganović, the Illustrated Lexicon of Herceg Novi was created to remind its readers of all the reasons that exist to love the city of Herceg Novi. Roganović explained that through the stories within the book, the readers could unravel many secrets that exist within the city. The selection and creation of 75 stories are the results of a long journey of discovering the bare soul of the city of Herceg Novi. The publisher of the book is the Tourist Organisation of Herceg Novi.

The creation of the Illustrated Lexicon is the result of the uniqueness of the city. “It’s thanks to Herceg Novi and its peculiarity that I was able to make such a book, so the city can thank no one but itself,” the author explained. He highlighted that he only explored the pages that the city itself was writing for years, and interpreted and composed it all within one Lexicon.

“The book represents a collection of stories. I was motivated by the strong desire that local readers, and the ones who come from all over the world, see and feel the beauty of our city. We all know that Herceg Novi, Bay of Kotor and Montenegro are not regions, nor people that one can meet elsewhere. These are not common places, so the journey within the Lexicon had to be unusual as well,” explains Roganović.

The Lexicon contains a glossary of lesser-known words and expressions, name registry as well as a register of geographical names and city toponyms. Photographs within the Lexicon are works by several authors, including Jefto Bjelica and the famous Dragan Bosnić. According to the author, the book also contains scientific facts, artistic truths, and fiction, lyricism and prose.

The words and photographs in the lexicon are sorted by alphabet so that they form a structure, created to represent a form of a picture book.

05 January 2019 - Within the Programme of temporary facilities for the area of the coastal zone of the municipality of Budva for 2019-2023, they have decided to carry out the grouping and organizing of temporary buildings and facilities. At locations in the vicinity of hotels with 4 and 5 stars, there will not be temporary structures which, by their appearance or function, could compromise the representativeness and comfort of such high category of accommodation.

Due to the loaded traffic of contact zones with a large number of seasonal temporary facilities in local jurisdiction, the Ministry of Tourism has limited the placement of new temporary facilities in the areas of the coastal zone.

"A large number of set up objects can be characterized as inappropriate due to the lack of functionality for the performance of catering, trade, etc., as well as because they very often interfere with normal pedestrian traffic, visions towards the sea and do not fit into the environment. One of the negative sides of these objects is precisely the poor level of their design and integration into the environment, and as such, they are very negative in urban terms," it is stated in the Programme of temporary facilities for the area of the coastal zone.

In addition, the Ministry of Tourism stated in the document that it was forbidden to place any kind of a mobilier or a caffe-bar with a grill on the part towards the upper and lower promenades, which means that all of the street shops with fast food on the promenade that ruined this part of Budva will no longer exist.

The Public Enterprise for Coastal Zone of Montenegro and Ministry of Tourism did not provide the opportunity for users of temporary facilities to submit remarks because, unlike Municipality of Budva, they did not organize a public debate on this topic.

04 January 2019 - The organizers of Herceg Novi Comics Festival announced the first guests of this year's edition of the festival. The arrival has already been confirmed by two famous Italian comics authors Andrea Di Vito and Mario Alberti.

World superstar, Italian comics artist Andrea Di Vito, was the first confirmed guest for the 13th edition of the Herceg Novi Comics Festival, which will be held from September 6th to September 11th. Full nine months before the start of the festival, a confirmation has also arrived by another Italian artist - Mario Alberti, who was supposed to be part of last year's Herceg Novi Comics Festival, but due to illness, he had to cancel his arrival in Herceg Novi.

Andrea Di Vito began his work in short stories in the Italian magazine "Interpido", to sail into the Marvel world as a CrossGen's artist, and immediately afterward as an official drawing and fill-in artist "The First and Scion" comic. Later, he followed the conquest of almost all of the most important titles in Marvel's edition, beginning with the series "Young Avengers".

Some of the most famous titles of the greatest publishing house Marvel Comics, such as Annihilation (Annihilation #1-6, as well as Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus # 2), Black Panther #33, Captain America and the Falcon # 8, Civil War: House of M # 1-5, Dungeons and Dragons, Thor # 80-85 and World War Hulk: X-Men #1-3 are only part of the opus that was done entirely by Andrea Di Vito.

The Italian legend of comics art creativity, Mario Alberti, is currently engaged in the latest editions of Tex and Nathan.

Alberti works for the largest American, French and Italian publishers, drawing comics such as The Cutting Edge, Les Chroniques de Legion, special projects for Tex Willer, and a number of cover pages for Aquaman, Wonderwoman, Dr Fate, as well as the X-Men, Spiderman,  and Fantastic Four. With one of the greatest Italian cartoonist stars, Luke Enoch, in 2000, he created the Morgan series for the French market, which became a worldwide hit, in which Mario Alberti is a standalone artist. His significance and greatness in creativity in the world of ninth art is confirmed by the fact that he had the special honor that his five pages art participated in the drawing of the Jubilee 600th number of The Amazing Spiderman comics, and to be the standalone author of the 601st episode.

Announcing such guests nine months before this year's edition, Herceg Novi Comics Festival continues its mission of creating one of the region's most significant manifestations dedicated to comics that have already positioned Herceg Novi and Montenegro very high in the European sky of ninth art.

03 January 2019 - Minister of Foreign Affairs, Srđan Darmanović, says in the interview for CdM portal that Montenegro and China have great relations, but also points out that our state’s path is clear – EU membership and it has no alternative. Tensions between Podgorica and Moscow eased. He says that Montenegro is definitely the best EU candidate and announces opening the last chapter and as well as closing several already opened chapters.

CdM: Can China have an impact on the European path of Montenegro?

Darmanović: Opinion about what China wants is different across the world. There’s an opinion that China’s interests are related to business primarily, and that they resolve their issues thanks to their economic success. Another idea is that there cannot be economic impact without political intentions and ambitions. And a variant of this attitude is that China wants to divide the EU with its economic approach. On the other hand, the fact is that China has excellent cooperation with the EU and thinks that Europe is their most important foreign-policy partner. For now, we can’t tell that China disagrees with the EU policy.

However, an anecdote would probably best answer the question what China wants. During the administration of President Richard Nixon, at the beginning of the 1970s, there was opening towards the USA and China. One of the main people for holding talks was the State Secretary at the time, Henry Kissinger. And during some informal chats with the Chinese PM of the time, Zhou Enlai, Kissinger asked him: “What do you think about the French Revolution?” Enlai replied: “It’s still very early to have an opinion about that.” Therefore, we’ll probably see in the future what is that China wants. Our cooperation is, first end foremost, of economic nature. China has never intervened in our internal policy. It acknowledges our EU path. Just like it was the case with NATO. We are developing our relations with China but not at the expense of our primary national objective – European integration.

CdM: This year is an election year in the EU. Can that slow the integration process down?

Darmanović: The main question is what the outcome of these elections will be. There are those who think that the populist right parties will make a spectacular success and that they will challenge almost all aspects of traditional European policy. I’m not sure it’s going to be that way. I can imagine the success of right populist parties in the sense of the increasing number of their seats in the European Parliament. I think that traditional parties will be able to form coalition Government, that is, a commission based on the principles of moderate European values and that this Government will present the continuation of the policy conducted so far. That’s why I believe that during the Romanian presidency, we will open the last chapter and we are ready to close five or six chapters. I expect this trend of Montenegro being the leader of the EU agenda to continue.

CdM: How ready is Montenegro for the EU membership today?

Darmanović: Montenegro is without any doubt the readiest of all WB countries. But we still need to work more in many areas. Key areas are the rule of law and additional improvement of the judicial system. Also, there will be challenges in other areas as well. We opened Chapter 27, which is very important for us, essentially and symbolically. Essentially, because of environmental protection of one of the most important issues in every state. And, symbolically, it’s crucial because Montenegro is an ecological state.

CdM: What are relations between Montenegro and Russia like?

Darmanović: Bilateral relations are certainly calmer than they used to be. The overall situation is normal. President Vladimir Putin was among the first ones to congratulate us on presidential elections. Russia is still revising foreign policy, in which they want to make an impact on the change of powers in the world order, and they have spread their activities in several world regions. The policy of the so called hybrid warfare is still in force, and we are aware of that. However, Russia has accepted the fact that Montenegro is NATO member now. Official Moscow is in good relations with many NATO members, so I don’t see why couldn’t be the same with us. We have never wanted to have conflicts with anybody; we defend our right to be where we want to be.

CdM: What do you think about relations with Germany after Angela Merkel withdrew?

Darmanović: Angela Merkel is one of the greatest statesmen after World War II. When such a political colossus withdraws from the political scene, it must be felt. There’s always a question if the successor will be just as good. However, Germany is one of the most successful post-war democracies in Europe. Great democratic leaders managed Germany before Merkel, and I believe the same will be after Merkel. As far as we are concerned, we still count on German support in our EU journey. Relations between our states are great.

CdM: What are the key benefits of the NATO membership? Did it protect us from the recent turbulence?

Darmanović: NATO membership is the most important achievement after regaining independence. For the first time we became the state of the Western world. Apart of well known safety benefits, economic benefits are very important too. Investments in Montenegro increased, number of tourists broke all records… Their perception is that they come to a safe state.

Source: Cafe del Montenegro