31 January 2019 - Meeting commitments from the Programme of Accession of Montenegro to the EU 2019-2020 leads to the adoption and application of European standards in all areas and improvement of the quality of life of citizens, Deputy Chief Negotiator Dragan Marković told a press conference following the Government's session.

At the session, the Government of Montenegro passed the Programme of Accession of Montenegro to the EU for the period 2019-2020, which represents a two-year plan of legislative, strategic and administrative reform activities of the Government of Montenegro in the field of European integration and fulfiling obligations from the negotiation process.

Ms Marković stated that, by implementing this document, the Government would intensify the reforms aimed at raising the living standards and the quality of life of citizens.

According to the Accession Programme, in the next two-year period, 108 laws and 254 sub-legal acts, 112 strategic documents, as well as the strengthening of administrative capacities in the institutions that carry the reform activities, are planned.

"The most obligations in the legislative section are expected in the chapters: 24 - Justice, freedom and security, and the largest number of sub-legal acts in chapters: 1 - Freedom of movement of goods, Chapter 12 - Food safety, veterinary and photocontrol supervision, 14 - Traffic policy and Chapter 27 - Environment and Climate Change. The majority of strategic documents are planned under Chapter 14 - Transport Policy, Chapter 24 - Justice, Freedom and Security, and Chapter 27 - Environment and Climate Change. The greatest need for strengthening administrative capacity is under Chapter 23 - Justice and Fundamental Rights, Chapter 24 - Justice, Freedom and Security, Chapter 27 - Environment and Climate Change, Chapters 1 - Freedom of Movement of Goods. and Chapter 19 - Social Policy and Employment," Ms Marković explained.

She pointed out that the most significant number of obligations in implementing the Programme of Accession covers sectors of the economy, finance, agriculture and rural development, and transport and maritime affairs.

Given the importance of chapters 23 and 24 for progress in the accession negotiations, the Deputy Chief Negotiator noted that the Programme of Accession defines activities aimed at fulfilling provisional benchmarks in these areas.

She explained that in these chapters, the passing of several important laws had been planned, namely: the Law on Internal Affairs, Law on Media, Law Amending the Law on National Broadcaster RTCG, Law Amending the Law on State Prosecutor's Office, Law Amending the Law on Courts, Law Amending the Law on Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters with EU member states.

She said that the quality and efficient implementation of the Program of Accession would ensure the improvement of the results of the negotiation structure, maintaining the excellent dynamics of the accession process and achieving internal readiness to close chapters temporarily.

30 January 2019 - Culture Minister Aleksandar Bogdanović paid a working visit to the Holy See, during which he talked to the Vatican with the Under-secretary for Relations with the States of the Secretariat of the Holy See, Mgr Antoine Camilleri and Director of the Historical Archives of the Holy See, Johan Ickx. 

The meeting with the Mgr Antoine Cammilleri discussed the continuation of cooperation in the field of culture between Montenegro and the Holy See. 

During the conversation, the interlocutors concluded that the recently organised visits of the State Secretary of the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin to Montenegro and the President of Montenegro, Milo Đukanović to the Holy See, represent an important step in strengthening the relations of the two countries, and stated that he is convinced that the announced opening of the Nunciature of the Holy See in Montenegro will soon be realised. 

Minister Bogdanović emphasised the special importance of activities for issuing the first book from the edition of documents on Montenegro from the Vatican archives, which should be completed this year.

"It is a book that will contain authentic correspondences and negotiations when signing the Concordat in 1886, which represents the basis of historical relations between Montenegro and the Catholic Church, but also testifies to the proud and rich multicultural and multi-confessional history of Montenegro. This will be the first edition of the books that we will be published and which will contain documents that testify to the rich and meaningful relations between Montenegro and the Holy See," Minister Bogdanović said. 

During the visit to the Vatican, Minister Bogdanović also had a working meeting with the director of the Historical Archives Johan Ickx, who expressed satisfaction that Montenegro and the Holy See continued the cooperation initiated during the last year's meeting in Rome and confirmed during the stay of mr Ickx in Montenegro last November. 

Minister Bogdanović expressed his great satisfaction with the possibility of accessing an impressive archival material of over 1.5 million digitised documents, which is located in the Historical Archives of the Secretariat of the Holy See, and pointed out that the project of collecting archival material will be of great importance for further research and documentation of the history of Montenegro. 

The meeting was an opportunity to specify further activities in the realisation of the project of gathering material on Montenegro, available in the Historical Archive of the Holy See, and highlighted the important recent formation of Montenegrin historian teams who will stay in the Vatican and, through the availability of their archives, certainly contribute to the illumination of lesser known fact about the history of Montenegro. The meeting defined the future way of work, the composition of the team of Montenegrin historians and agreed that the presentation of the book that will be published, will be realised in Montenegro and the Vatican. 

Minister Bogdanović expressed his satisfaction at the meeting that the cooperation between the Montenegrin institutions and the Historical Archives of the Holy See was supported by the highest state officials of the two countries.

The visit to the Vatican was also an opportunity for a meeting with Giacomo Zucconi, the Secretary General of the Sant’Egidio Community. 

Minister Bogdanović emphasised the belief that the previously defined cooperation in the signed Memorandum of Cooperation between Montenegro and the Community Sant’Egidio would be a good basis for the implementation of concrete projects. 

In this sense, the readiness of the interlocutors to be announced is to organise an international Youth Conference on Ecumenism at the beginning of next year in Montenegro, jointly organised by the Ministry of Culture and the Community of Sant'Egidio. Minister Bogdanović also sent an official invitation to the President of the ZSE, Mr Marc Impagliazzo, to visit Montenegro in the upcoming period, which was accepted with satisfaction. 

Meetings, which once again confirmed the quality of relations between Montenegro and the Holy See, represented the continuation of talks held last year at the highest level, and were also attended by the Ambassador of Montenegro to the Holy See Miodrag Vlahović and the director of the National Museum of Montenegro Anastazija Miranović.

30 January 2019 - Montenegro can serve as an example to many other members of the Council of Europe when it comes to the execution of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, said Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Pažin at the opening of the regional conference "Duty to Execute Decisions of the European Court of Human Rights" in Podgorica. 

"As Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, I am very proud of Montenegro being the front-runner of European countries in the timely, conscientious and orderly execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights," said DPM Pažin. 

The Deputy Prime Minister stressed that Montenegro should continue with such a good and responsible attitude towards the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, adding, "But we should be aware that the most important is development and strengthening of national institutions for the protection of human rights and freedoms, because national institutions should carry the fundamental burden, and the protection of human rights should be primarily achieved at the national level." 

He pointed out that no judgment of the European Court of Human Rights establishing a violation of any of the Convention rights is at the expense of Montenegro. "On the contrary, they give us guidelines in which direction the Montenegrin legal order should be developed, in which way we should promote and strengthen human rights and freedoms for the benefit of our citizens." 

Speaking of the importance of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Deputy Prime Minister estimated that it was the most sophisticated international legal instrument for the protection of human rights and freedoms.

"The citizen becomes the subject of international law, in a procedural sense equal to the most powerful of the states and the richest of governments. No other international legal instrument has made such a strong promotion of human rights and freedoms as the European Convention," concluded Pažin.

30 January 2019 - Foreign legal and natural persons have the right to establish a company in Montenegro under the same conditions as nationals. The most common forms of companies are limited liability company (LLC) and joint stock company (JSC).

All regulations regarding the establishment, operation and taxation system are compliant with European standards with benefits for foreign investors. The deadline for registration with the Commercial Court is a maximum of 4 days, while other duties (statistics – company registration number, entry into the tax records, opening a current account, registration in customs records) are completed within a maximum of 3 days.

The process of establishing a joint-stock company (JSC) is defined in the Law on Business Organizations (http://www.mipa.co.me/en/legislation/). When registering a joint-stock company, it is necessary to download and submit the following to the Central Registry of Business Entities (http://www.crps.me/):

1. Develop Articles of Incorporation of the company, download articles of incorporation for a joint-stock company;
2. Develop a founding act of the joint stock company and certify it at the court, or by a notary. Download an example on the incorporation agreement of the joint-stock company;
3. Develop a decision on the appointment of the Board of Directors, auditors, secretary and executive director;
4. Take out a decision of the Securities Commission (a minimum founding stake is 25,000.00 EUR);
5. Pay to the account of the Tax Administration 50.00 EUR, bank account: 832-3161-26;
6. Step 6. Pay to the account of the Official Gazette of MNE 12.00 EUR, bank account: 520-941100-57;
7. Fill in the registration form PS01;
8. Submit the collected and certified documents (Articles of Incorporation, certified decisions/agreements in 2 copies, certified copies of the ID or passport, application for registration in 2 copies, decision of the Securities Commission, founding act, payment slips) to the Central Registry of the Commercial Court, Marka Miljanova 54, 81000 Podgorica, Tel: +382 (0) 20 230 858, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., working hours 08:30 – 12:00; When submitting documents, a certificate will be issued including the number of the decision, to be presented upon the collecting the certificate of registration, seven days from the date of filing the application.

After obtaining the company registration certificate, it is necessary to do the following:

1. make a seal;
2. open a bank account;
3. register workers at the Tax Administration.

If the company wants to apply for registration as a payer of value added tax (VAT), the PR PDV-1 form will be filled in, and then submitted together with other documents required for registration. If the company wants to apply for entry into the register of excise duty payers, the AKC-P form will be filled in, and then submitted together with other documents required for registration.

The founding stake for the establishment of a JSC is at least 25,000.00 EUR and these funds are deposited by the founders with a commercial bank until the establishment of the company. After the establishment of the company, the funds are used for the company’s operations.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro

29 January 2019 - The area of Ulcinj Salina should be declared a protected area by the end of February, said the executive director of the Montenegrin Centre for the Protection and Study of Birds, Jovana Janjušević, in an interview for TVCG, adding that the real and serious job has only started.

The European Integration Office has recently published the Common Position of the European Union for Chapter 27 - Environment and Climate Change, which represents the initial and most important document for planning the obligations that need to be fulfilled within this area in the upcoming period. This document states that without the adequate protection of the Ulcinj Salina area, Montenegro cannot count on the temporary closure of Chapter 27.

The Common Position of the European Union for Chapter 27  explains that “the EU invites Montenegro to demonstrate its capacity to manage the Natura 2000 network by ensuring effective management of existing national protected areas, by affording the Ulcinj Salina the appropriate protection status and effectively implementing the necessary conservation measures leading to the improvement of its conservation status and by designating marine protected areas and ensuring their effective management.”

Ulcinj Salina is located in the outermost southern part of Montenegro and covers approximately 14.5 km2 of salt basins. The Salina is separated from the sea by the Brijeg od mora village and Velika plaža beach, and from the Bojana River by channels and dykes against floods. It is an integral part of the Lake Skadar and Bojana River watershed system.

Janjušević told the Mina News Agency that this is by far the highest level of support for the EU civil sector in the matter of the protection of Ulcinj Salina. "Until now, no country that negotiated with EU has ever had the protection of a particular site set as a condition for closing negotiations, which speaks primarily about the importance of Ulcinj Salina in terms of nature protection, but also about the specifics that it carries as a complex problem for the whole of Europe," Janjušević said. "We have just met a formal legal protection requirement, but effective management and responsible steering remain as difficult challenges in the coming period," Janjušević concluded.

She pointed out that Salina is an artificial ecosystem based on and suited for the industrial activity of salt production, and that its production has been carried out in accordance with the rules of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

The first act on the protection of the Ulcinj Salina was adopted in 1984 when the decision of the Workers Council banned all hunting. Several years later, the Ulcinj Salina became the first Important Bird Area (IBA) in Montenegro and afterwards became an Emerald site under the Bern Convention.

In the final study on protection of the Ulcinj Salina, according to Janjušević, two options were proposed: if the Salina will continue the salt production – the site will be protected as a national park, and if there will be no salt production, the area will be protected as a nature reserve.

29 January 2019 - Amendments to the Law on Road Transport of Montenegro envisage the introduction of Limousine services (rent-a-car with a driver), which will be recognized as a special type of transport which did not exist within the country so far. This announcement was published after the meeting of the Working Group that will work on with amendments to that law, the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs of Montenegro announced.

The concept of a limousine service involves the rental of limousines (limo) with the driver, and such service does not imply a pre-prepared route and departure time. The buyer of the services determines the time and place of departure, the period of use of the service, the destination and other conditions. The service provider offers a pre-determined price per hour, day or mileage.

The primary goal of the amendment to the Law on Transport in Road Traffic and its by-laws is to find new solutions that will have the strong effect on the reduction of the grey economy in the domain of public transport of passengers in road traffic. "Amendments to the laws which we are working on and announce today, will include precisely prescribed conditions for the provision of the Limousine service, as well as the conditions for the inspection bodies, which have not been defined so far", the CdM News Agency was informed by the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs .

The representatives of the Ministry of Transport also explain that taxi services which are provided by individuals (entrepreneurs) or legal entities are conditioned by the employment of the driver, i.e. by the establishment of a working relationship between the driver who operates a taxi and a specific employer. However, in the case of Limousine service, this requirement was not included in the previous Law on Tourism, which initiated the so-called “undeclared work”. Renting a vehicle with a driver was possible only by finding retired pensioners, as well as employees in other workplaces who supplemented the family budget with the extra work.

"Thanks to the convenience afforded by the previous Law on Tourism, the provision of rent-a-car services which included renting vehicles and a driver (Limousine service) was expanding rapidly, creating unfair competition and damaging licensed taxi drivers and carriers, and domestic and international transport, which has already reflected in the reduction in the number of passengers transported in road traffic in the previous period, "it is noted in the Information by the Ministry.

The Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs has been given the deadline – first quarter of 2019 – to prepare the proposal of the Amendments to Law on Road Transport.

Source: CdM News Agency

29 January 2019 - At the latest session, the Government of Montenegro passed the Information on the conclusion of the Agreement on the transfer of credit and grant funds for the needs of implementing the project "Wastewater Collection and Treatment in Podgorica,"  financed from a loan arrangement signed on 22 September 2017 by the German Development Bank (KfW) and the Government of Montenegro, in the amount of 35 million EUR.

On that occasion, the Government gave its approval to the Capital City of Podgorica for loan funds provided by the arrangement with KfW Bank, and accepted the Agreement on the transfer of credit and grant funds for the needs of the project "Collection and treatment of wastewater in Podgorica." It is envisaged that the Capital City will transfer funds of a loan arrangement of 35 million EUR, of which the amount of 26 million EUR will be transferred without obligation to return, while the remaining amount of 8.05 million EUR the Capital City will be obliged to return to the State.

28 January 2019 - A platform for cooperation of border services in the Western Balkans represents one of the initiatives that will enable stronger cross-border cooperation and establishing frameworks for more efficient sharing of information among the customs administrations. It will contribute to greater security of a society and protection of the countries’ financial interests. These were the outcomes of the meeting of the heads of customs services in the region, hosted by the Customs Administration of Montenegro.

“The meeting represented the continuation of agreements reached at the London Summit in July 2018,” the Administration stated.

The United Kingdom Ambassador to Montenegro, Alison Kemp, and head of the Customs Administration, Vladan Joković, delivered their welcome speeches at the opening of the meeting.

The latest debate on chapter 29 - Customs Union discussed that in the area of customs policy, Montenegro has largely harmonised its legislation with the European one, and the modernization of the customs service will remain a priority this year, so that, with a higher volume of international trade and raising the standard of living, Montenegrin society would be safe.

Chief Negotiator Aleksandar Drljević reminded that Montenegro opened negotiations at the end of 2014 on Chapter 29 and that three final criteria for closing this chapter were defined. They are related to further harmonisation with European legislation and its application, as well as the progress achieved in the development of interconnected IT systems, which is a significant challenge. 

"When it comes to Montenegrin business people and entrepreneurs, removing customs barriers will give an opportunity for unhindered product placement, which will facilitate the export of domestic goods to the market of about 500 million consumers. Networking of business entities and an increase in exports will positively affect the trade balance and the overall business environment in Montenegro. On the other hand, our citizens will have access to better quality products from EU countries at significantly lower prices due to increased competitiveness," Drljević concluded.

28 January 2019 - According to the information provided by the Parliament of Montenegro, the Committee members also met the president of the Republic of Albania, Ilir Meta, Albania’s parliament speaker Gramoz Ruci, minister for diaspora  Pandeli Majko as well as the members of the Committee for foreign affairs and subcommittees for diaspora and human rights.

During the meetings, both sides concluded that “Montenegro and Albania have fostered their friendly relations, mutual trust, and good neighborly relations.”

Apart from Nikolić, the Montenegrin delegation included other members of the Committee as well – Luiđ Škrelja, Halil Duković, Miloš Nikolić, and Ervin Ibrahimović.

Montenegro Ambassador to Albania, Dušan Mrdović, and Montenegrin consul in the Embassy, Danilo Brajović also attended the meetings.

During the earlier meeting that took place in Podgorica, Prime Minister of Montenegro Duško Marković and President of Albania Ilir Meta agreed that Montenegro and Albania should join forces to make the best of standard potentials in many areas such as water management, tourism, and agriculture.

"The economic prospects of the two countries are serious, and the two governments should do everything to use them," said Prime Minister Marković, adding that bilateral political relations are at a very high level.

The meeting also discussed the importance of peace and stability in the region, and in that context, the importance of the membership of both countries in NATO, emphasising the significance of European integration as well. Prime Minister Marković said that Montenegro supports Albania's EU bid, adding that country is willing to transfer knowledge and experience from its negotiation process.

Source: Cafe del Montenegro

27 January 2019 - Citizens who have high electricity debts could have problems with applying for loans in future since the Electric Power Company of Montenegro will deliver to the Central Bank data about the debts of the loan users.

Delivering of the data about the debts has been enabled on the basis of the opinion of the Agency for Personal Data Protection and Free Access to Information that assessed that, according to Article 37 of the Central Bank of Montenegro Law, there is a legal basis by means of which the Electric Power Company of Montenegro can deliver such data to the Central Bank.

On the other side, it has been concluded that delivering of personal data of loan users to Electric Power Company of Montenegro is in contravention of the Law on the Protection of Personal Data.

In the request for an opinion, the Central Bank said that they had decided to use the lawful authorizations granted to them and fulfill the Credit Register with data about the debts of specific persons to the Electric Power Company of Montenegro. It is a well-known fact that Electric Power Company of Montenegro provides to its users the possibility to settle their debts in monthly instalments, through the conclusion of specific agreements.

“With the conclusion of the agreements on repayment of debt, individuals burden their profit and additional indebtedness could endanger their finances and, finally, it would, as a domino effect, expose to risk the banking system and the entire economy. It is essential to estimate the credit standing of every person who is planning to take out a loan to minimize the credit risk which is dominant in the banking system of the Central Bank of Montenegro.”

Council of the Agency stated in the opinion signed by the president, Muhamed Đokaj, that the Central Bank had the legal basis for the processing of personal data, but they shall be clearly defined through explicit legal norm, in accordance with the principles and standards contained in the confirmed international agreements on human rights and basic freedoms of processing of personal data.

“Council of the Agency holds that the existing legal framework, stipulated in the Article 37 of the Central Bank of Montenegro Law, grants the authorization for processing of personal data to the Central Bank in a very general and discretionary manner. The manner of processing is defined by the bylaw that can lead to insecurity and abuse."

The Council states that the Electric Power Company of Montenegro has no legal basis to grant Electric Power Company of Montenegro right to use ID data of the persons from the register since it has not been established for such purposes.

Source: Cafe del Montenegro