19 December 2018 - At its 4th session, chaired by the President of the Council, Prime Minister Duško Marković, the Council for Competitiveness reviewed and adopted the Report on the Implementation of Montenegro Economic Reform Programme for 2018 and the Draft Montenegro Economic Reform Programme for 2019-2021.
Key Montenegro's documents in economic dialogue with the European Union and the key strategic documents for medium-term macroeconomic and fiscal programming read that in the past year, 19 of the 20 priority reform measures have been implemented in line with the foreseen deadlines and the planned budgets, and that Montenegro achieved excellent economic growth in the first two quarters. Available indicators for the third quarter show that the economic growth trend continues, last year's report states.
The document dealing with the past year lists the economic activities that resulted in excellent performance and the fact that due to the increased demand for labour and as a result of incentives for self-employment and the Government's active employment policy, the employment rate has significantly increased.
The Draft Montenegro Economic Reform Programme for the period 2019-2021 contains the agenda of structural reforms important for reducing or eliminating obstacles to economic growth and strengthening the overall competitiveness of the country and estimating economic growth for the following years: 2.8% in 2019 ; 2.3% in 2020 and 2.4% in 2021.
The discussion on these two agenda items pointed out that the conservative approach of the Ministry of Finance in the projection of economic growth includes all the risks and deficits in Montenegro's public finances, but that the Government's goal is far higher economic growth than projected as it was in the past two years. The Prime Minister stressed that he does not question the Ministry of Finance's projections that include all aspects and risks, but that the projected values of economic growth are not and cannot be the goal of the Government. "We are here to eliminate these risks and enable the continuation of high growth. This will be our agenda in 2019," Prime Minister Duško Marković said.
The Competitiveness Council reviewed the positioning of Montenegro in the World Bank's Doing Business Report for2 019, the Analysis of the fall in the ranking by indicators in the Doing Business Report 2019 and the Initiative of the Law Office Jovović, Mugoša and Vuković for amending legislation in the field of registration of economic entities and keeping public registers in the economy.
All ministries, the Real Estate Directorate, the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund, the Customs Administration, the Inspection Directorate and the Department of Public Revenues were tasked, and the Notary Chamber was recommended, to pay special attention to the implementation of the reforms previously recognised by the Action Plan for the improvement of business environment in 2019.
The Ministry of Finance was tasked, in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro, to undertake activities to improve the reporting and data collection process for the Doing Business Report, through communication with contributors.
The Competitiveness Council reviewed the texts of the prepared laws on local communal taxes and administrative fees, as well as brief information on the status of the Law on Public-Private Partnership.
The discussion emphasised that both the Government and the economy share the approach that significant differences between Montenegrin municipalities in taxi policies discourage small and medium-sized businesses and that new revenues should not be based on taxes, but they must generate development and create new value.
The Ministry of Finance was tasked with undertaking further activities for the purpose of developing the law by the Government.
The Council was informed about the Report on parafiscalities at the local level - the municipalities of Budva, Bijelo Polje and Danilovgrad, created by the Union of Employers of Montenegro with the support of the International Labour Organisation.
The session reviewed the comments and suggestions made by the Union of Employers of Montenegro on the Draft Law on Fiscalisation in the sale of goods and services concerning the technical solutions of the online fiscalisation of bank accounts and cash transactions, as well as the keeping of tax registers, The Council recommended to the Ministry of Finance to consider the proposals in the process of developing the Draft Law.
The Competitiveness Council, considering the conclusions from the previous two sessions, noted that representatives of the economy were not included in the drafting of certain legal solutions. Ministries were tasked with drafting quarterly reports to the Competitiveness Council on the inclusion and consultation of business representatives in the development of laws that have an impact on the business environment.
