05 November 2018 - The traditionally good and friendly relations fostered by Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina are a significant contribution to the overall regional cooperation and the process of European integration of the Western Balkan countries, secretaries-general of the governments of Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina stressed at the meeting that took place in Podgorica.

Secretary-General of the Government of Montenegro Nataša Pešić hosted Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Robert Vidović. The meeting was an opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience in the field of strategic documents adoption and coordination of the work of all services at the Government level.

Secretary-General Pešić pledged the Montenegrin Government's commitment to continuing to promote good neighbourly relations with a view to strengthening stability and encouraging the progress of this part of Europe.

"As the youngest member of NATO and the country that is closest to EU membership, Montenegro is determined to provide full support to its neighbours in implementing comprehensive reforms and to share knowledge and experience gained from the restoration of independence. I am convinced that by strengthening cooperation we can contribute to better and faster reforms in our countries and the entire region of the Western Balkans," the Secretary-General said.

Secretary-General Vidovic thanked Ms Pešić for the excellent cooperation and support provided by the Montenegrin Government, especially in the context of the EU accession process. He pointed out that the fundamental reforms and good results of the Montenegrin institutions and negotiating team are very valuable inputs for the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina in pursuing their European path.

Both sides emphasised the importance of strengthening cooperation between the two governments in the areas of drafting and implementing strategic documents, in particular in the context of public administration reform and the EU accession process. They agreed that the adoption of European standards and values that lead to a better quality of life of citizens is a common goal of all countries in the region, and it is important to improve dialogue and cooperation in the region in order to attain these goals.

04 November 2018 - Montenegrin higher education institutions and faculties must step away from personalized management and strive for institutionalized decision-making. They also need to balance between central and decentralized management. These are the conclusions given in the evaluation report on nine Montenegrin higher education institutions, developed by a team of independent international experts, who were engaged by the European University Association (EUA) within the Programme for the Institutional Evaluation.

“The new analysis was conducted in order to see whether the recommendations given in the last evaluation were successfully implemented. Compared to 2014, there are visible and positive changes in the legislative and financial context. The current situations look promising but unstable as well. Having in mind the fact that the reform is ongoing, Montenegro might be able to achieve significant progress in the area of higher education through the adoption of innovative and proven approaches already used by the rest of the European Higher Education Area. However, the reform process is incomplete and sometimes not radical enough,” suggests the Report signed by Thomas Ekman Jorgensen of the European University Association.

The existing decentralized and often personalized managing structures, the Report says, represent a serious limitation to the institution’s capability for making and implementing strategic decisions in all activities, which was also mentioned 4 years ago.

“Smaller institutions and faculties partially or fully rely on the part-time staff who work in other Montenegrin higher education institutions or abroad,” the Report says.

It is also noted that classes in English still represent a problem for the incoming mobility even though there is a possibility of having accredited English programmes. Also, it might be good if Montenegro would totally accede to the Erasmus program, so students could have their civic and social activities recognized as “practical education”, the Report recommends.

Source: Cafe del Montenegro

04 November 2018 - The National Tourism Organization of Montenegro, in cooperation with the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism, local tourism organizations and the country’s tourism industry, will present the Montenegrin tourist offer at the 39th World Travel Market, which is held in London from 5-7 November.

The delegation of Montenegro is led by the Minister of Sustainable Development and Tourism, Pavle Radulović, State Secretary for Tourism, Damir Davidović and Director of the National Tourism Organization of Montenegro, Željka Radak Kukavičić.

World Travel Market is the world's most significant tourism markets, which gathers more than 51,000 travel professionals from 38 sectors of the world's tourism industry, including government representatives, tourism organizations, airlines, hotels and hotel groups, tour operators and travel agencies, PR and media houses and others.

One of the features of this market is the Ministerial Summit, organized by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), which will take place on Tuesday, November 6, on the topic "Investment in innovation and smart management for tourism". Minister Pavle Radulović will participate at this summit, which represents an opportunity for leaders in the field of tourism from the public and private sectors, to share knowledge and explore opportunities for investment in tourism technology.

With 5,000 exhibitors from 182 countries around the world, World Travel Market is a key meeting point for global tourism industry participants and a unique platform for establishing new and strengthening existing business links, establishing cooperation with key decision makers in the field of travel and getting acquainted with current trends and news in the tourism industry.

By participating in this fair, the National Tourism Organization of Montenegro aims to present the destination to potential partners, contribute to the strengthening of the image of Montenegro as a tourist destination and better positioning, both in the UK market and in the global travel industry in general.

Read more about World Travel Market in London here.

03 November 2018 - Montenegro is a source of stability, in the region and beyond its borders, said Alison Kemp, the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Montenegro.

The UK welcomes sMontenegro’s role and contribution in the Balkans amid political turmoil in the region, which happens in Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“Montenegro is a source of stability, in the region and beyond its borders: as the NATO member state and the leader in the process of EU integration, as the participant in NATO-EU-UN missions and as an example of patient and consistent settlement of bilateral disputes. However, this does not mean Montenegro is not facing challenges such as the need for further strengthening of the rule of law and sustainable economic development. The process of EU integration represents an effort to overcome these challenges so that the country’s position shouldn’t be questioned in the next wave of the EU enlargement,” noted Kemp.

As for the UK, she added, Montenegro is perceived as a NATO ally and the two nations have been forging close ties. The UK will be fully involved in the EU activities while being its member state.

“Also, we will continue providing support to Montenegro, especially in the context of your aspirations towards the EU. The EU accession process is intensive and quite challenging, created with the aim to ensure harmonization of Montenegrin standards with the EU practice and ideals. As for the rule of law, this year Montenegro will have concrete obligations denoted on several hundreds of pages with given detailed steps for the strengthening of the Montenegrin legal system,” concluded Kemp.

Kemp also said the two countries are not just allies but partners and friends, and that Montenegro is gradually getting rid of stereotypes while simultaneously being utterly intriguing to the Brits.

Source: Cafe del Montenegro

03 November 2018 - A Montenegrin language Manual for Turkish speakers, titled "Türkler Için Karadağça El Kitabı", authored by Aylin Galip and Samir Adžovic, was promoted on November 2 in Podgorica. The Montenegrin-language Manual in Turkish will make it easier for individuals from the Turkish speaking area who live in Montenegro to learn about Montenegrin language, said Montenegrin Culture Minister Aleksandar Bogdanović at the promotion.

While introducing the Manual, Minister Bogdanović said: "In some of the most important theoretical and philosophical works that have been elicited over the past hundred years, the issue of language has become a central place, thanks to which language has become one of the more important phenomena in the new breakthroughs of culture. Today it is clear that language represents much more than a means of communication and that its creation and development hide the specialties that bear witness to the cultural and spiritual ripening of one nation. That is why it can be said that in each process of learning a language, the characteristics and mentality of the people to whom the language “belongs” are revealed.” During his speech, the Minister also focused on the aspect that the dynamics of language development have led to changes in cultures throughout history, which is precisely why language is one of the crucial segments of cultural cooperation.

By creating the Manual, authors Samir Adžović and Aylin Galip have given their contribution to cultural cooperation between Montenegro and Turkey. While speaking about the work on the Manual, Ms. Galip stated that although she was somewhat familiar with the Balkan languages because she had spent some time on the peninsula, that knowledge was insufficient for such a project. To overcome this situation, when Galip decided to learn the Montenegrin language, she found Samir Adžović, who helped her in the learning process. She had many difficulties in understanding the “logic” behind Montenegrin language, which is very different from the Turkish language, and Adžović was a huge help in overcoming the obstacles. Because of the growing number of Turkish citizens who are staying in Montenegro, an idea was born to write a book that would contain basic grammatical information, daily dialogues and words. “It was envisaged that Samir writes the explanations of Montenegrin grammar, and the adjustment and explanation in the Turkish language came to me," Ms. Galip explained.

Proud of their success in creating the Manual, Mr. Adžović stated: “We tried to encompass only what is significant and deprive the Manual of excessive content. Of course, this was a difficult undertaking, but I hope that we managed to write a useful book and make our contribution to linking the two cultures - Turkish and Montenegrin."

02 November 2018 - Prime Minister Duško Marković recently hosted an inaugural visit of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Poland to Montenegro Artur Dmochowski. 

Welcoming the Ambassador, the Prime Minister congratulated the 100th anniversary of the independence restoration which Poland celebrates this year. 

Both sides noted that the two friendly countries have excellent political relations at all levels and that they see room for strengthening and deepening economic cooperation for mutual benefit. Prime Minister Marković expressed satisfaction with the last year's growth of the number of Polish tourists in Montenegro, while Ambassador Dmochowski pointed to the expected further growth after the Polish national airline LOT introduced the regular line Warsaw – Podgorica. 

The Prime Minister thanked the Ambassador for the support of Poland to Montenegro in the processes of the Euro-Atlantic and European integration. The Ambassador of Poland assessed that Montenegro's accession to NATO contributed to the stabilisation of the region and expressed the full support of its country to Montenegro in continuing the process of the country's accession to the European Union, including expert and technical assistance. 

Poland will, according to the Ambassador, try to use its participation in the Berlin process and the planned summit of the Prime Ministers in July next year in Poznan to contribute to the further economic progress of the countries of the region. 

02 November 2018 - The Commissionaire for European Neighborhood Policy, Johannes Hahn, said it clearly – the forum for political discussion in Montenegro is Montenegrin Parliament. The Commissionaire was asked to comment on the announcement of the Civic Movement URA and the Democrats that they were going to form a non-institutional forum that would deal with electoral legislation.

“The Commissionaire expects that all political parties that support Montenegro's EU journey participate actively in the work of temporary assembly committee that has just been established,” said the representatives of Hahn’s office.

The Montenegrin Parliament adopted the decision on the formation of the Committee for the reform of electoral and other legislation that was formed with the aim of optimizing the overall environment in which the next election cycles will be held.

Just a couple of hours later in his Twitter post, Hahn welcomed the formation of this Committee and said he expected everybody’s engagement.

Ten hours after Hahn’s post, URA and Democrats did completely the opposite of the expectations of Hahn. Leaders of these two parties, Dritan Abazović and Aleksa Bečić announced the participation in the work of their own forum, that would consist of their advocates and would act outside the Parliament.

This way, they clearly neglected the requirements of Brussels, although it was not long ago when they presented their reform plans to the Commissionaire Hahn right at the EU headquarters.

Source: Cafe del Montenegro

31 October 2018 - The Director of the Directorate for Food Safety, Veterinary Medicine and Phytosanitary Affairs, Vesna Daković, said that food safety system in Montenegro is at a very high level and that Montenegrin citizens and tourists as well have high-quality and safe food at their disposal.

She explains, however, that the public often identifies terms “safety” and “quality” of the food although they are different categories.

“A product can be safe in the context of health but it might not correspond to the defined parameters of quality and vice-versa. Some product might be meeting the standards of quality but, at the same time, it might not be safe for use since it contains unauthorized substances, the surplus of certain types of matters, or some microbiological changes occurred due to inappropriate preservation,” says Daković.

As far as the segment of food safety is concerned, we should bear in mind that safety is provided in the complex chain of food production and food distribution, also known as “from the field to the table”.

“In order to have safe food, first and foremost, we must have healthy animals and plants. In that sense, it is necessary to fulfill measures and requirements stipulated by veterinary and sanitary policy. If for example, there’s the processing of the primary product, hygienic conditions must be provided in every single phase of that process,” said Daković.

According to the regulations, the producers and those who place the food at the markets shall be responsible for its safety.

“The control of every process is a must. Every country has its own control system but at the conceptual level, it works the same everywhere: we get safe, high-quality food intended for the consumers’ needs from healthy animals and plants, with appropriate hygienic conditions and requirements for food preservation,” concluded Daković.

She points out that Directorate for  Food Safety, Veterinary Medicine and Phytosanitary Affairs, via inspection competent in all of the three areas, controls food safety in the entire chain, from the production until it gets to our tables. Although the number of inspectors, 24 of them, is not optimal, they are dedicated and work hard and the results they achieve are excellent. In the three months time, more than 70 thousand EUR of fines have been imposed.