11 April 2019 - Although it does not have large military capacities, Montenegro is very important for NATO, because it is a role model, primarily for the region, and it can offer its expertise to countries of the region, such as Northern Macedonia, Romania's Foreign Minister Teodor Meleskan told Portal RTCG.

Romanian Minister of Defense Gabriel Les told the Public Services Portal that Montenegro should learn from Romania's example and aspire to a stronger cohesion with NATO.

"Solidarity idea is NATO's heritage. It gathers large and small countries, but they all have the same guarantees of peace and security. Montenegro contributes, as well as everyone, within the limits of its possibilities," Meleskan emphasized, strongly urging further expansion of the alliance, and hoping that Northern Macedonia will become a member.

As he pointed out, the Alliance is a political-military alliance, and it is not just a matter of security.

"It is committed to freedom, democracy, human rights and prosperity of the member states," Maleskan explained.

Prime Ministers of Montenegro and Romania, Duško Marković and Vasilica Viorica Dăncilă, recently agreed in Bucharest that the two countries have established friendly relations and partnership in NATO, that both aim to deepen economic cooperation, and that the successful completion of European accession of Montenegro and the continuation of European integration of other Western Balkan countries is the best framework for the stability of this part of Europe.

The meeting was concluded as the prime ministers announced concrete steps in terms of economic cooperation, including a meeting of the mixed commission of the two countries and the organisation of an economic forum that would bring together business communities of Montenegro and Romania. Agriculture, energy and tourism are recognised as concrete areas of cooperation. Direct cooperation within NATO was agreed in several areas.

10th April 2019 - Meeting commitments from the negotiation process, in the first quarter of 2019, had excellent dynamics, which is confirmed by the level of implementation of activities from the Programme of Accession of Montenegro to the EU 2019-2020, Adviser to the Chief Negotiator Dragana Marković said at a press conference following the Government of Montenegro's session. 

At this session, the Cabinet passed the first quarterly report on meeting commitments under the Programme of Accession of Montenegro to the EU 2019-2020. 

Marković pointed out that the Government was satisfied with the fulfillment of obligations in the first quarter, amounting to 74%, emphasising that 53 out of 72 planned commitments in the legislative and strategic part were met. 

She pointed out that, compared to the first quarter of 2018, when the level of meeting commitments amounted to 67%, we see the progress resulting from the dedicated and responsible work of the institutions, as well as good inter-ministerial coordination in meeting commitments of the negotiation process. 

According to Marković, two laws, 26 bylaws and 25 strategic documents were adopted in the first quarter, whose high-quality and efficient application will improve the situation in a significant number of areas and improve the quality of life of our citizens. 

"The largest number of laws and bylaws, 18 of them, is planned in Chapter 27 - Environment and Climate Change, Chapter 12 - Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Policy and Chapter 15 - Energy. The largest number of strategic documents, 16 of them, is planned in Chapter 23 - Judiciary and Fundamental Rights, Chapter 24 - Justice, Freedom and Security, and Chapter 29 - Customs Union," Marković said. 

She pointed out that all institutions were fully committed to meeting commitments from the Programme of Accession, and that the full implementation of the overall activities in the first quarter was achieved by the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs, the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, the Ministry of Public Administration, the Ministry of Culture, the Capital Market Commission and the Central Bank of Montenegro. 

She said that the continuation of the high-quality and efficient implementation of the Programme of Accession would ensure the improvement of the results of the negotiation structure and the intensification of reforms that lead to better living standards and the quality of life of citizens, which is the ultimate goal of the European integration process.

10 April 2019 - Prime Minister Duško Marković hosted Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan Eldar Hasanov. The meeting noted that Montenegro and Azerbaijan could further enrich their excellent political bilateral relations with stronger economic cooperation and more investment in tourism, but also energy and infrastructure. 

"Montenegro has made a huge step forward in the overall progress. We have been NATO member state for two years now, we have progressed far in the negotiations with the EU, and we are strongly committed to economic growth and development issues," PM Marković stressed. 

Furthermore, he pointed to important economic parameters - a growth rate of 4.9 percent in the previous year, a steady increase in revenues, an increase in the number of employees by 12,000, a decrease in unemployment by six percent, and added that the industry grew in the previous year. 

"I sincerely congratulate you on this result," Ambassador Hasanov said, adding that Azerbaijani investors are interested in new investments in tourism resorts as well as in infrastructure strengthening projects. 

The meeting discussed the most significant investment from Azerbaijan in Montenegro - Porto Novi, which will give a new quality to the tourist offer of Montenegro. 

The Ambassador particularly appreciated stability and security in Montenegro and praised its constructive role in the region.

The two countries recently introduced that direct flight between Montenegro and Azerbaijan should be available soon. During this occasion, President of Montenegro Milo Đukanović and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev agreed that it was essential to discuss and encourage the introduction of direct flights between Montenegro and Azerbaijan and to abolish visas between the two states.

“Successful implementation of the ‘Portonovi’ project represents the result of high level of trust that exists at the highest and all the other levels of the government,” Aliyev noted.

Montenegro is also actively cooperating with Azerbaijan in the field of culture and the latest meeting which took place in Baku in October 2018 discussed the cooperation in the field of cultural heritage, having in mind that Montenegro is interested in the candidacy of Ćilim from Bihor to the UNESCO’s Best Practice List. Considering that Baku has a Carpet Museum, on this occasion Minister Bogdanović stressed that Montenegro finds the exchange of experiences in this area critical since the tradition of Azerbaijan’s Carpet is registered on the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

10 April 2019 - Five years after the start of bailiffs' work, citizens, business people and investors in Montenegro have witnessed significantly faster and more efficient exercise of the rights and more favourable environment for business, Deputy Prime Minister of Justice Zoran Pažin pointed out at the meeting with representatives of the Chamber of Bailiffs of Montenegro.

Time has proven, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasised, that the Government's decision of 2014 to initiate a fundamental system reform of the execution of court decisions and create an independent and autonomous function for them was right and justified, thus establishing a more efficient, faster and cheaper procedure for the enforcement of judgments.

The Deputy Prime Minister underscored the significance of the bailiffs' contribution to achieving justice in Montenegro and ensuring prompt and timely fulfillment of legal obligations to creditors and holders of the property rights. This, in his words, has significantly unburdened courts, while providing more prompt and efficient exercise of the denied rights of citizens, the DPM stated.

President of the Chamber of Bailiffs Vidak Latković stressed that in the last five years in Montenegro, they had 350 000 cases to work on. He also highlighted that the number of cases reduces every year, which testifies to increased discipline in accomplishing legal requirements and a higher degree of exercise of individuals rights. He emphasised that the Chamber has established a special commission, which will conduct, in cooperation with the Ministry in Justice, standard internal control of bailiffs' work.

Deputy Prime Minister Pažin reiterated that the Ministry closely supervises the legality of the bailiffs' work. He underlined that the Ministry of Justice had established high–quality cooperation with the Chamber of Bailiffs, with which it cooperates closely on boosting bailiffs' expert capacities, as well as providing strict compliance with the ethical and professional standards of the profession. Initiating appropriate proceedings, including a small number of conscienceless they having been removed from office in the previous period, contributed to enhancing professionalism and responsibility of the profession, the DPM concluded.

10 April 2019 - During his visit to the United Arab Emirates, Minister of Culture Aleksandar Bogdanović met with his UAE counterpart Noura Al Kaabi. Ministers Bogdanović and Al Kaabi discussed the possibilities for cooperation between the two countries in the field of culture.

They pointed out that it is of the utmost importance to sign as quickly as possible the agreement on cooperation in the area of culture. The meeting also discussed the exchange of experience in the field of the development of creative industries, which were stressed as very important for encouraging the development of products and services based on elements of culture and art, as well as linking artists from the two countries.

Minister of Culture of Montenegro Aleksandar Bogdanović participated in the Culture Summit Abu Dhabi 2019, at the invitation of UAE Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development Noura Al Kaabi. This year's Summit discussed the role of culture in global challenges and the impact of creativity and technology on positive changes in the world.

At the Summit, Minister Bogdanović talked with the representatives of the participating countries about similar experiences in the areas of development of cultural and artistic creativity and creative industries and the preservation and protection of cultural heritage. Opportunities for cooperation on joint projects of creative industries, promotion of cultural diversity, protection and conservation of cultural heritage and digitization were also discussed.

Earlier, during the December 2018, to mark ten years of diplomatic relations between the United Arab Emirates and Montenegro, the embassy of the United Arab Emirates organized UAE-MNE Cultural Evening on November 27 at the Great Hall of the Cultural and Informational Centre "Budo Tomović".

On this occasion, it was concluded that the audience in Montenegro had the opportunity to enjoy the folklore performances of the cultural, artistic associations from the UAE, in a friendly exchange with the cultural, artistic association from Montenegro for the first time.

09 April 2019 - Works on the construction of energy infrastructure for electricity supply of Bar-Boljare motorway are planned to start in August this year. “Monteput” company is in charge of the realization of the investment that will cost 31,6 million EUR.

The public tender has not been published yet, and the representatives of the company said that they had to reach an agreement with the Montenegrin Electricity Distribution System and Montenegrin Electric Transmission System regarding the regulation of rights and responsibilities on account of the buy-back of the energy infrastructure.

“Preparations for the public tender for the contractor are underway. Also, the procedures regarding the issuance of approvals for the purchase of energy infrastructure are on,” said the representatives of “Monteput”.

One of the pre-requisites for the tender is the provision of money through a loan.

“Monteput”, headed by Jonuz Mujović, is about to bring the talks about the million loan to the end.

“We are negotiating with several potential creditors over the provision of funds for the realization of this project. Right now, we are not able to give you any more details,” said the representatives of “Monteput”.

Around 160.000 EUR will be earmarked for the repayment of the loan for the highway electricity supply.

“We think that it would not be appropriate if we bid names of the interested companies. It is still very early,” said the representatives of “Monteput”.

Works are due to be completed in a period of 15 months.

The executive director of ‘Monteput’, Jonuz Mujević also stated that the Bar-Boljare motorway should be completed by September 2020.

Mujević said that the construction works performed by China’s CRBC company should be completed by May 2019 but there are delays due to “certain misunderstandings of the design, harmonization with the European documents and hydro-geological researches.”

“The negotiations on signing the Annex to the Contract are about to finish. There are certain obstacles in the implementation of the previous construction works. ‘Monteput’ expected everything would go much faster,” said Mujević at the round-table on the motorway organized by the Network of Affirmation of the NGO Sector, MANS.

Also, he stressed that having in mind the quality of the motorway, Montenegro is going to have the lowest possible maintenance costs according to European standards.

09 April 2019 - NATO will donate a 3D radar system to Montenegro which is going to be installed on Bjelasica. The Ministry of Defense applied earlier for the abandonment of the radar which is worth around 20 million EUR.

“We can confirm the grant of the radar to Montenegrin authorities. This important step is another of our efforts that go into ensuring defense and protection of the air space of the country, together with the police air forces provided by the ally planes from Greece and Italy,” said representatives of NATO.

Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Montenegro, Dragutin Dakić, recently presented the information about the radar.

“The next step in modernization is the provision of radar. Since it is a pretty big investment, we got it in the form of a donation from NATO. We must finance it through equipment and arrangement of positioning at an annual level. That way, we will cover all the critical spots to round up the whole picture of Montenegro. However, considering its configuration and the fact that Montenegro has got many dark angles, we opted for the radar that will most likely be installed on Bjelasica. This way, our air space will be integrated into the NATO system,” said Dakić at the meeting of the Safety Committee held recently.

According to the unofficial knowledge of “Pobjeda”, Montenegro will defray expenses of transport and installation. It could cost around 4 million EUR, considerably less than if it had to cover all the expenses of the radar system by itself.

Commenting on the donation, a military analyst, Aleksandar Radić, said that it was very important, especially in financial terms.

“It is necessary to sign a technical agreement which would define the model of the borrowing and if that will be a national borrowing of if NATO agency will make procurement within its possibilities,” pointed out Radić.

Long-term defense plan envisaged the procurement of 3D radar which will enable full operational capacity for generating the image of the situation in the air space of Montenegro.

Source: Cafe del Montenegro

09 April 2019 - Prime Minister of Montenegro Duško Marković, who is currently in an official visit to Austria and Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria Sebastian Kurz met in Vienna to continue the dialogue on the current results in relations between Montenegro and Austria and further cooperation.

Marković and Kurz both agreed that the bilateral relations of the two countries are good and that they see opportunities for further development, especially in the area of the economy. Chancellor Kurz said that Austria fully supports the European aspirations of Montenegro, while Prime Minister Marković noted that his country highly values the engagement of Austria and Chancellor Kurz in the Western Balkans.

Noting Austria's good relations with the Western Balkans region, Chancellor Kurz pointed out excellent relations with Montenegro - an excellent political connection and enormous economic potential. "Austria is one of the biggest investors in Montenegro, and we also see here excellent potential and many opportunities for economic exchange but also for additional investments in Montenegro," Kurz said at a joint press conference held at the Federal Chancellery following official talks.

Federal Chancellor Kurz referred to the progress Montenegro has made in the field of European integration and assessed as a particularly important continuation of the strengthening of the rule of law, the fight against corruption and the battle for freedom of the press.

Prime Minister Duško Marković took this opportunity to thank the Chancellor for supporting Montenegro country and the entire Western Balkans region.  "It is a pleasure to be in Vienna in the first official visit of the Prime Minister of Montenegro to Austria after the renewal of our independence in 2006. After several meetings recently, I am pleased that we met here again and continued the dialogue on further cooperation and the current results in relations between Montenegro and Austria. Montenegro highly appreciates the role of Austria, as well as of the Chancellor personally, in the Western Balkans. First of all, we appreciate the continued commitment to consolidating the European perspective of Montenegro and the region, strongly expressed during Austrian presidency of the Council of the European Union last year, "Prime Minister Marković said at the press conference. 

Chancellor Kurz congratulated Prime Minister Marković on the positive development of Montenegro. "In Montenegro, there is almost 5% of economic growth last year and probably 4% this year. These are much larger numbers and very positive prospects for economic growth, which is optimistic for Montenegro and the region as well. Your economic growth is far above ours. Austria looks forward to success and supports Montenegro and the countries of the Western Balkans," the Austrian Chancellor emphasised. 

Chancellor Kurz said that many Montenegrins are living in Austria who make a significant contribution to Austrian society. He emphasised that Austria remains a reliable partner to Montenegro and the region, and thanked the Prime Minister for the visit and the possibility to exchange opinions. 

The talks were conducted after a solemn welcome which was organised with the highest state honour.

08 April 2019 - Volleyball Club Budva won the Montenegrin Cup after defeating Jedinstvo Franca 3-0 (25:16, 25:19, 25:22) in the grand finale in the Mediterranean Sports Center. Players of the Volleyball Club Budva returned the volleyball cup trophy to this city.

All of this was made possible thanks to the new club - a club originated with the desire to return the volleyball trophy to the capital of Montenegrin tourism, which disappeared with the closing of the most successful Montenegrin volleyball club, the Budva Riviera.

In addition to the defeat in the Cup final, the team of Darko Prebiračević was eliminated in the semi-finals of the playoffs from Budućnost Capital Plaza, with two maximal defeats. In the decisive matches in the season, the team from Bijelo Polje could not count on Montenegrin national player Luka Šuljagić because of his illness.

Volleyball Club Budva will have the opportunity to win the double crown, and the final series against Budućnost, to three victories, will start on April 13th.

As far as the match is concerned, starting from the first set, there were no dilemmas about who would come out victorious.

Budva started with 5:0, which played without injured captain Jovan Delić, and continued to 8:2. Jedinstvo returned to 13:11, but the host scored with six points in a row for 19:11 which was too much for their opponent.

The second set was pretty equal until the score of 16:14 for Budva, when the host team scored 4 points in a row for 20:14 which eventually gave them the set.

It seemed that Jedinstvo in the third set would prolong the uncertainty. The team from Bijelo Polje opened this set better than the other ones, quickly scored 6:11, followed by 12:18 and at this point everyone thought that the fourth set was already on its way.

However, the team from Budva did not give up, and with 5 consecutive points, they first reduced their opponents' lead at 15:18, and then switched from 15:19 to 21:19. The guests held until 22:21, when Budva reached the first match point with two consecutive points. This match point was defended by the team from Bijelo Polje, but the other one was at 24:22, when the young Ivan Zvicer scored the match winner.

Alen Didović with 16 points was the best in the winning team, Ivan Urtado and Zvicer added 10, Dejan Jocić 9. The best in the defeated team was Bojan Strugar with 16 points.

Technician Shun Imamura was named the best player of the men's final.

07 April 2019 - Minister of Defence Predrag Bošković participated in the Bell Helicopter Textron Demonstration Day, organised by the Ministry of Defence, the Embassy of Canada and Bell Helicopter Europe. 

At the military airport "Knjaz Danilo" in Golubovci, numerous guests and representatives of the media had the opportunity to see characteristics of the Bell 412 EPI, which is owned by the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Montenegro, but also the new type 505 Jet Ranger X. 

Minister Bošković stressed that the fleet of gazelles, which the Montenegrin Air Force owns are rather old since they are older than 30 years and that the Ministry of Defence is considering replacing the entire fleet of gazelles with helicopters of similar characteristics over the next five years, and one of them is undoubtedly Bell 505. This will provide more safety and security to the pilots in carrying out tasks.

"Our armed forces are small but, as part of the Alliance, I believe that we have a significant role in this part of the Western Balkans, which we can perform with this type of equipment even better," Minister Bošković said. 

"Everybody helped us do this job quickly and easily," Bošković said, pointing out that the entire job was done for an incredible period of fewer than nine months.

Furthermore, cooperation with the Canadian Commercial Corporation and the Embassy of Canada enabled the Armed Forces of Montenegro and its aviation to be the first country in the Balkans to have Bell's multifunctional helicopters, the 412 EPI.

The Demonstration Day was also attended by Ambassador of Canada to Montenegro Kati Csaba and Bell managing director for Europe Duncan Van de Velde. Ambassador Csaba pointed out that Canada will continue to support Montenegro's overall efforts to improve the Montenegrin defence system, and expressed its satisfaction that the cooperation between the two countries in the field of defence resulted in the procurement of three multifunctional helicopters. 

Van de Velde said that his company is particularly proud of cooperation with Montenegro, and expressed hopes that the collaboration will be continued and improved in the future.