Podgorica: On Friday 4th December, the Montenegrin Parliament elected the new Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic. New Government is the 42nd in the country's history and the first after three decades in which President Milo Djukanovic's Democratic Party of Socialists will not be present.

Forty-one deputies voted for the new Government, 28 were against, and one abstained in the 81-seat parliament.

In the new Government, the vice president's function will be performed by the Civic Movement 'Ura' leader Dritan Abazovic. The Minister of Defense is Olivera Injac, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs is Djordje Radulovic. The Minister of the Interior is Sergej Sekulović, the Minister of Finance and Social Welfare is Milojko Spajić, the Minister of Capital Investments is Mladen Bojanić, and the Minister of Economic Development is Jakov Milatović. The Minister of Justice, Minority and Human Rights is Vladimir Leposavic, the Minister of Health is Jelena Borovinic Bojovic. The Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports is Vesna Bratic, while the Minister of Ecology, Spatial Planning, and Urbanism is Ratko Mitrovic. Tamara Srzentić is the Head of the Department of Public Administration, Digital Society, and Media, while Aleksandar Stijović is the Head of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Water Management.

Krivokapic, a 62-year-old university professor close to the Serbian Orthodox Church, announced that the priorities in the Government's program would be an economic recovery, the rule of law, the fight against corruption and crime, a new antiCovid 19 strategy, and good relations with neighbors.

'We want zero corruption, it is not easy to achieve, but Zdravko Krivokapic cannot do it, this Government cannot do it, we can all do it together. If we want it, we will do it. You have already made that this Government, due to political calculations, should last 100, 200 or I don't know how many days. Believe me; it will last four years because for four years 41 (a majority in Parliament) will always be higher than 40, and why not 71 if we think good to Montenegro.'

After the end of the Assembly session, the new Prime minister said at a press conference that 'Montenegro will not become another Serbian state' and that the Government 'did not want to make concrete promises because they assume that the data they have 'is not correct.'

'The exact data is only what was found. Everything else is an assumption. We have strange statistics, which differs from certain ministries' data,' Krivokapic said, referring to the data they received from the previous Government's representatives, stating that data 'Very often do not correspond to reality.'

November 29, 2020 - The winter tourist season is under question due to the epidemiological situation, but experts claim the problem would not be skiing, but gatherings that usually follow this sporting activity.

Measures against the spread of coronavirus, which are prescribed by the National Coordinating Body for Infectious Diseases (NKT), such as a distance of two meters, wearing masks, and regular disinfection, are not easy to follow on ski resorts. However, according to the Institute of Public Health of Montenegro (IJZ), skiing as an individual sport is not a risk, but gatherings that usually follow, are.

"As an individual sport, skiing does not pose an epidemiological risk. Also, the equipment that is worn during skiing helps to a very great extent to prevent the transmission of the infection. What poses an epidemiological risk are gatherings after skiing in cafes and bars along the trail. Activities of this type carry significant epidemiological risk, "said the IJZ.

As for this winter tourist season, which many believe may not happen, the Institute says that this depends solely on compliance with the prescribed epidemiological measures that are currently in force throughout Montenegro.

"When it comes to the winter tourist season, IJZCG wants to believe that we all understand that the improvement of the epidemiological situation depends exclusively on respect for the adopted measures. "We have the opportunity to create conditions in which we will be able to have a good winter season by respecting the measures, but we will strictly respect all official recommendations," they said.

The director of the Ski Center "Kolašin 1600", Sasa Jeknić, says that, despite the current situation with the coronavirus, this Ski Center is ready to welcome guests.

"The opening of the winter tourist season is planned for mid-December, which depends on the snow cover and measures adopted by NKT to suppress and prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic," Jeknić said in an interview with the PCNEN portal.

He adds that they operate with the belief that "the situation will significantly improve by the opening of the winter tourist season."

Source: T. Djurnic, PCNEN

November 28, 2020 - How did Montenegro get from the only corona-free country in Europe to the second place in the world for the number of patients per million inhabitants? Speaking to Deutsche Welle (DW), the future Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić announced a new strategy to restore citizens' trust in institutions and establish control over the COVID epidemic in Montenegro.

In five months, from the only European corona-free country, Montenegro has gone to the top of the statistics map in terms of the number of COVID-19 patients per million inhabitants. In mid-June, Montenegro did not have a single case of the virus for a full 40 days, and at the end of November, it recorded more than 500 new ones every day. In a country of 620,000, nearly 500 people have died from COVID-19.

The opening of the borders brought the virus into the country again. Then the epidemic was ignited by almost everyone with irresponsible behavior - citizens, believers, the Serbian Orthodox Church, the government, and the opposition, which in the meantime became the new government. No smaller country had more mass rallies at a worse time for an epidemiological time bomb, writes DW.

"Non-compliance with measures and unique examples of a large number of mass public gatherings - are key reasons. All of these were severe risks that were not correctly understood," Boban Mugoša, director of the Montenegrin Institute of Public Health, told DW.

However, he adds that Montenegro is a country with a small population, so one newly infected significantly raises the incidence rate per million in comparison with other countries. Montenegro does not have the highest mortality, nor are all its covid beds filled. "It leads to a more accurate picture, which is by no means the second-worst in the world," claims Mugoša.

Opposition supporters began a series of rallies in the days leading up to the August 30th parliamentary elections. The elections themselves brought huge crowds, followed by the celebration of opposition supporters after the triumph. The government responded with a series of patriotic rallies, one of which gathered tens of thousands of people in Podgorica, all in the presence of representatives of official bodies, who had previously banned such behavior themselves. The final epidemiological time bomb followed the farewell and burial of Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Littoral in early November.

The media war between the Montenegrin Prosecutor's office and the police, two bodies that should cooperate in the protection of the people and the state, best shows how much the system washed its hands of everything. And while in the first wave they arrested teenagers if three people were sitting on a bench (because only two could), now practically no one is responsible for such drastic violation of measures.

Mugoša says that they appealed in vain every day for citizens to not gather.

"There is also a cultural context, our tradition, emotions, expression of political attitude, desire to see friends- all of that included in the whole story. Then, it is easy to forget the recommendations. The psychological defense mechanisms start according to the principle "it won't affect me." Unfortunately, it will. It is often difficult and painful to get rid of these delusions, and it usually happens when a person becomes infected on their own," explains Mugoša.

In the first wave, Montenegro achieved a good result by severely punishing citizens for violating measures. Now there are not so many penalties, and a large number of people do not listen to epidemiologists, so as not to wear masks or crowd in cafes.

However, while at the beginning of the COVID epidemic, they enjoyed entire public trust, Mugoša also admits that it is changing.

"We went through all the stages, me, and my team - from when everyone loves you and when you are "heroes," to when you are certainly not anyone's favorite. It teaches you that praise should not distract you, and criticism and attacks should not discourage you. I think that the Institute enjoys trust because people see that we will not give up, but we also need respect for our recommendations," says Mugoša.

He points out that he never claimed that everything they did was perfect. He adds that mistakes and omissions happen because they had to act immediately, but he is sure that the significant majority of moves were correct.

Source: Deutche Welle (DW)

November 24, 2020 - Montenegro is close to declaring the first marine protected area. A public debate is underway on the Draft Decision on the Proclamation of the Platamuni Protected Area, as well as the related Protection Study, which was announced by the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism for December 17.

The area of ​​the future Nature Park "Platamuni" is a part of the coastal sea with its coast between the bay of Trašte - Cape Žabica in the northwest and Cape Platamuni near the beach Ploče in the southeast, which protects protected and ecologically significant marine and coastal species and habitats.

The story of declaring protected zones from the perspective of marine biodiversity has been going on for years. This is why Montenegro has been waiting for such a long time for the proclamation of protected sea areas , explains one of the experts from the Institute of Marine Biology who worked on the protection study, Dr. Slavica Kašćelan Petović.

"Platamuni has long been the subject of our interest. We have carried out some studies on the assessment of the state of ecosystems in that area previously. We have also carried out studies for the island of Katiči and the location of ​​Stari Ulcinj. Finally, the segments are coming together. The work on perceiving biological potentials was intensified, and I hope that we will soon have the first marine zone under protection, "says Dr. Kašćelan Petović.

Platamuni Nature Park will be an Integrated Coastal and Marine Protected Area, classified in the IV category of protected areas, including locations in which there are protected wild species of plants and animals and established systems for their habitat protection. Dr. Slavica Kašćelan Petović explains why Platamuni is a significant area from the perspective of biodiversity:

"Platamuni is significant because of its great biological potential. In this area, some habitats are a priority according to European directives. Here we have benthic species on the protected and endangered lists, and Platamuni is also significant as a rich fishing resource. All this has contributed to the recognition of this area as valuable for protection," explains Dr. Slavica Kašćelan Petović.

Topographic map of Platamuni, Donji Grbalj, Kotor

The total area of ​​the future Nature Park "Platamuni" will be 1,091.73 ha, of which in the sea part 285.08 ha in the II protection zone and 775.87 ha in the III protection zone. In the land - coastal part in the III protection zone 3.08 ha. The total length of the border of the future Nature Park "Platamuni" is 28,589 km.

Dr. Kašćelan Petović expects that the establishment of protection for Platamuni will be completed soon, but also that shortly after the first is established, we will get two more protected areas in the sea - the island of Katiči and the area in front of Stari Ulcinj. However, she emphasizes that any protection is insufficient if the awareness of each individual about the need for environmental protection and limited resources that oblige us all to account is not raised.