At the third meeting of partners in the project CoCo Tour, held in Herceg Novi, it was announced that the reconstruction of Ivo Andric's house will be completed by the end of November, followed by the equipping of the facility and defining program contents. The reconstruction of the Nobel prize writer’s house is being funded through CoCoTour.

The leading partner in the project is the Albanian Development Fund, while the other partners are Local Democracy Agencies Niksic, Herceg Novi Municipality, Trikaze Municipality (Italy), Magna Grecia Mare Organization (Italy), Himara Municipality (Albania) and Associate Partner Environmental Protection Agency (Albania). The event is organized by the Local Democracy Agency of Niksic in partnership with the Municipality of Herceg Novi.

Each partner develops project activities related to the formation of the so-called eco museum, and the head of the Herceg Novi office for international cooperation, Simonida Kordic, said that the reconstruction of Andric's house in Herceg Novi is one of the most significant projects in the municipality.

Andrew Teta, a member of the Lead Team in charge of technical project issues, said the project aims to preserve, enhance and promote the natural and cultural heritage of coastal areas through the development of a trans-Atlantic model of cooperation and an eco-network through smart and sustainable tourism management involving three countries – Albania, Italy and Montenegro.

Mayor of Herceg Novi Stevan Katic emphasized that Co.Co. tour project enables the affirmation of universal cultural values. In addition, it introduces various innovative, creative, and modern ways of communicating and involving members of the local community in the creation of new tourism and cultural offering.

Thanks to the Co.Co. Tour, Ivo Andric's house is turning into a place of communication of cultural values, Katic said.

For us, as a Municipality focused on strengthening cooperation with other cities and connecting with them through projects, it is of great importance to be a part of this story - said the Mayor.

Text by Slavica Kosic, on July 31st, 2019, read more at Vijesti

Failure to adopt the Law on the Life Partnership of Persons of the Same-Sex defeated the democratic process in Montenegro and the overall European path was evaluated by the non-governmental organizations LGBT Forum Progress and LGBTIQ Social Center.

The Parliament of Montenegro did not adopt the Law on life partnership of persons of the same sex, because there was no majority in the Parliament. 38 DPS, SD and Liberal Party MPs voted in favor, while minority MPs Ervin Ibrahimovic (BS), Nedzad Dresevic (BS), Adrian Vuksanovic (HGI) and Genci Nimanbegu (Forca) voted against.

NGO Queer Montenegro thanked the MPs who supported the law.

"Thank you also to those who put their personal and political petty interests ahead of the basic human rights of citizens of Montenegro and manipulated our basic human rights. History will remember you in that way. A big thank you to everyone who was against this law. Your resistance strengthens us. Your hatred will never discourage us, slow us down or stop us. We will never lower our heads in front of your hatred. Let's move on," said NGO Queer.

They also said that "the law should be adopted".

"By unsuccessful adoption of this law, the Assembly sent a clear message that the representatives of the Legislature are only nominally cherishing the European and Euro-Atlantic values, but that this is not their real and essential commitment," the NGO LGBT Forum Progress and LGBTIQ Social Center said in the statement.

They added that they were deeply disappointed with the "defeat of the Parliament of Montenegro and the great step backward that has been made today".

"I feel defeated. I hoped today that I would be able to stand before the LGBTIQ community and share the joy that this law was adopted. This outcome of the vote is not only a defeat for civil society, but also democracy and the democratic process in Montenegro. It is obvious that Montenegro is not ready to stand in the ranks of developed, democratic countries of Europe, and to prefer the path of discrimination and prejudice, which leads to hatred and intolerance," said Bojana Jokic from the LGBT Progress Forum. She points out that a clear message has been sent from the Assembly that there is no will and desire to become part of the European family of nations essentially. "We are deeply disappointed, and our human dignity has been devalued at the highest institutional level. Our community has also been devalued. Nevertheless, we will not give up the fight for our dignity, our future, and the well-being of our society. Finally, I want to thank all the deputies who have supported this law and sent a clear message that the LGBTIQ community is not alone in its fight for equality," said Jokic. John M. Barac, LGBTIQ Social Center, emphasized that a message was sent from the Assembly to the LGBTIQ community and the general public "that we are not equal citizens of this country, nor will we ever be." 

"As a society, we will not be able to move forward until we are all substantially equal in the eyes of the law. Same-sex communities, which have not yet been recognize will retain the same status because we have been told that we are less valuable and undesirable in our own country. Today is a really sad day for all of us in the LGBTIQ community, but the fight continues, "Barac said.

Text by Vijesti online, on July 31st, 2019, read more at Vijesti

Cervantes Square inside the Venitian Palace in the Old Town will also be a place for tourists to enjoy indigenous okra dishes prepared in Ulcinj's famous cuisine this August. The event “Okra Days”, as announced by the organizer Mersiha Resulbegovic Mavric, will be held on August 18 and 19.

The "Okra Days" were organized for the first time last year and immediately aroused great interest from local and foreign tourists as well as bystanders.

“This year, the event has grown into a traditional one and will be international. This contributes to the sustainable development of tourism by promoting Ulcinj's national cuisine and by pointing out the importance and all the healing properties of okra on human health," Resulbegovic Mavric told “Vijesti”.

She also recalls that okra has a unique taste and has been used for medicinal purposes for centuries.

"The okra tasting is free, and this year the participants from Ulcinj will join and support us," said Resulbegovic Mavric.

Text by Samir Adrovic, on July 31st, 2019, read more at Vijesti

The Prosecutorial Council issued an advertisement for the election of the Supreme State Prosecutor. The current Supreme State Prosecutor Ivica Stankovic’s mandate expires at the beginning of October.

A person who fulfills the general conditions for the election of a state prosecutor has at least 15 years of experience as a public prosecutor or a judge or at least 20 years in other legal affairs may apply for the Supreme State Prosecutor position.

The Supreme State Prosecutor must be a person with professional impartiality, high professional, and moral qualities.

The candidates submit their applications to the Prosecutorial Council, chaired by current SSP Ivica Stankovic.

The deadline for submission is 15 days from the date of announcement of the advertisement in one of the print media and the Official Gazette of Montenegro.

The Prosecutorial Council, based on the list of candidates it has drawn up, the opinion of the Extended Session of the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office (SSP) on the nominated candidates, and the interview with the candidates determines the proposal for the election of the Chief Prosecutor at a non-public session.

The same prosecutor may be elected up to two times for the position of the Supreme State Prosecutor.

Upon expiration of his term of office and termination of office when he so requests, the Chief State Prosecutor shall remain as State Prosecutor in the SSP.

The Chief State Prosecutor is President of the Prosecutorial Council, by position.

Text by MINA News, on July 31st, 2019, read more at Vijesti

31 July 2019 - Starting July 31, visitors to the Kanli Kula Fortress in Herceg Novi will be able to “step” into the medieval era and take a peek into what this centuries-old fortress and the town of Herceg Novi looked like throughout history using of augmented reality goggles and 3D animation.

This brand new concept will be implemented at the high-tech Visitor Centre, which was recently opened at the Kanli Kula Fortress. The equipment of the Visitors Centre is funded by European Union through the Interreg IPA Cross-border Cooperation Program Croatia-Bosnia and Herzegovina-Montenegro 2014-2020 for the Fortress ReInvented Project - Innovative approach and digital contents in historical fortification monuments. The total value of the project, whose funds are used by institutions and organizations from four municipalities - Šibenik, Klis, Herceg Novi and Zenica, amounts to 1.3 million EUR, reports European Integration Office of Montenegro.

"Thanks to the European funds for cross-border cooperation, the Kanli Kula Fortress in Herceg Novi, the Old Town of Vranduk near Zenica, the fortress of St. Mihovil in Šibenik and Klis will receive high-tech equipment, which will enable visitors “step” into the medieval era and experience the true value of cultural and historical heritage of these precious structures," Montenegro's Chief Negotiator with European Union Aleksandar Drljević said at the opening of the Visitors Centre.

He emphasised that cultural heritage and tourism are one of 4 thematic priorities that the trilateral program for Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro has identified as priorities for the development of the cross-border area. The other three priorities include improving public health and health care services, protecting the environment and improving energy efficiency and supporting the competitiveness and operations of SMEs.

The Mayor of Herceg Novi, Stevan Katić, emphasised that the Herceg Novi municipality is the first in Montenegro to implement this type of project, which will surely attract the fans of cultural tourism and improve the tourist offer of the city. As he said, the Kanli Kula Fortress got a new concept - in addition to the most beautiful summer theatre, stage and cinema under the open sky and in front of the open sea, it became a real time machine. "The project of reinvention of the Kanli Kula, which is one of the emblems of our city, was carried out without the slightest disturbance of its architectural identity. Only the barriers of time have been moved, allowing us to extend the experience and visually experience the historical events, epochs and civilizations that this grandiose monument testifies to," said Katić.

Visitors will have the opportunity to rent 20 augmented reality goggles with installed video content in 4 different languages to choose from, which present the history of Kanli Kula Fortress and Herceg Novi. The goggles with 3D animations will be used while taking a tour through the fortress, following the prepared map with checkpoints that require visitors’ attention.

This cross-border project also includes the installation of a screen that will provide visitors with the opportunity to take a live tour through the partner forts from the other two countries. An innovative sound guide to all four fortresses, with an application that enables the automatic activation of content when visitors pass by, is provided for people with visual impairments.

Read more information on places to visit when travelling through Montenegro at TMN's dedicated page.

31 July 2019 - The Secretary-General of the Government of Montenegro has published the fourth issue of Eurokaz - Magazine on EU integration of Montenegro in July 2019.

The latest issue of Eurokaz emphasizes the importance of Montenegro's accession to the European Union, and the authors of the articles and their interlocutors talk about Montenegro’s accomplishments during the seven years of the negotiation process, the importance of proclaiming Salina in Ulcinj a nature park, Montenegrin prosciutto as a quality Montenegrin product that deserves European attention, regional cooperation, as well as many other topics of importance for the EU accession process.

Within a number of columns, Eurokaz presents the current status of the negotiation process, the results of the reforms that Montenegro is implementing in the accession process, successful examples of the use of EU funds, as well as evaluations by the partners from the civil sector.

“EU membership will present numerous opportunities before our citizens and our country as a whole. We need to be prepared in time and be informed in the right way. For this reason, the Ministry of European Affairs started the Eurokaz, which is the result of our desire to present to the citizens of Montenegro, to our friends and partners the activities and mission of this sector of the Government and to familiarize the citizens with the EU accession process and to keep them informed of the development along that path,” said Aleksandar Andrija Pejović, Minister of European Affairs.

Interviewees of Eurokaz from Montenegrin institutions and organizations, as well as representatives of EU Member States, speak on current topics in the negotiation process and on the current issues in the field of EU functioning.

The magazine is published every six months and is available on the websites of the Office for European Integration and eu.me.

The authors of Eurokaz include representatives of the Government of Montenegro, journalists of Montenegrin print and electronic media and representatives of the civil sector.

“Every six months, Eurokaz will testify to the dedication and decisiveness of the society to take Montenegro to the group of the most developed countries of the European continent, point out to the remaining but also to the fulfilled tasks and commitments from all negotiation fields,” highlighted  Mr. Pejović.

The fourth issue of Eurokaz can be downloaded here, while you can review and download earlier issues here.

Read more about politics in Montenegro at TMN's dedicated page.

31 July 2019 - The exhibition "Mediterranean in the Works of Montenegrin Painters II" will continue the art program of this year's Theatre City Budva. The show, selected by prof. Dr. Alexander Chilikov, will be opened on Thursday, August 1st, in the Church of Santa Maria in the Old Town, starting at 9 pm, as announced from the Theatre City Press. 

Prof. Dr. Aleksandar Chilikov, says about the exhibition:                                                                                                                                                                                         “The exhibition of works within the art program of the Budva City Theatre, titled “The Mediterranean in the works of Montenegrin painters II”, is a continuation of the project realized in 2018. A chosen selection of works by dozens of Montenegrin and ex-Yugoslav contemporary painting was presented to the audience and the professional public then. In the concept of the current exhibition project, the works of two groups of established painters are predominantly treated. The first is represented by the works of the older generation of Montenegrin artists, which seem to be in a certain way unjustifiably forgotten despite evident artistic qualities.

Their creations range solely in the spheres of subject painting - the realism of Luka Stankovic; expressionistic connotations in the poetics of Ksenija Vujovic Tosic, Danica Danja Djurovic, Miljenko Sindik, and Darko Djurisic; seasonal landscapes of Vojislav Djokic and Mirko Kujacic, and the refined colours of Mario Mascareli and Milo Pavlovic. The second painting group is mostly selected from the ranks of current artists who are existentially and professionally connected with the coastal regions of Montenegro. In the spirit of abstract and semi-abstract tendencies, the works of Budva painters Darko Mandic, Diana Lazovic, Djordje Boljevic, Marica Kuznetsov Boljevic, Jelena Djuraskovic and Vaso Nikcevic were created, while Jelena Papovic and Sandra Durbuzovic are in the center of interest.

The poetics of two young authors from the north of Montenegro - Tijana Gordić and Mirjana Marsenić - join the group of Budva authors of abstract expression. Among living coastal authors, the oldest generation is led by sophisticated landscape painters Savo Pavlovic and Aljo Smailagic with their magical realism. The selection of this year's Budva art manifestations is completed by two figurations from Tivat, drawers and painters of the noblest kind, Ljubomir Popadic and Momcilo Macanovic.

Selected composition, generational and stylistic heterogeneity, very briefly observed in the introductory text, is one of the possible choices within the subject matter dealt with by numerous Montenegrin artists - in this context it may be desirable to present other quality local authors in the future, through treating narrower topics such as the Marina landscape, the Mediterranean genre scene, Marine life... The exhibition will be open to 30 August.

31 July 2019 - The following article represents the personal perspective of author Gunther Fehlinger on the 12 concrete recommendations for European Montenegro and the views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Total Montenegro News.

This article is the 3rd in series to contribute to better tourism and economic development by Austrian and European best practices in transport and tourism planning and pricing. For more information about the economic part, read Strategy for European Boka 2020 and for transport and mobility issues, read Smart Mobility Strategy RecommendationsRecommendations from 2018, still fully to be implemented.

This article from July 2019 discusses concrete experiences and builds simple, small budget recommendations on how to improve the 2020 tourism season. The Austrian author lives has lived in Morinj Montenegro every summer since 2006 and is an economic consultant for European transition economies.

1. Meet the Montenegro border and customs!

Entering Montenegro from Bosnia, the welcome is a one hour waiting at the smallest border crossing and a warm welcome by a rough, unfriendly Montenegro border policeman working slowly and asking in bad English what I want in Montenegro. Well, a good question – most Europeans in the summertime in a car with children come for tourism, not for arms, drugs nor car smuggling! A kind smile and welcome to Montenegro would be just fine. But well maybe smiling is not part of the job description for the border police in Balkans.

2. Have a green card or driving a stolen car?

Car smuggling is a good topic, must be common in the EU in 2019 as the border police ask for car papers and a green card for each car. Most cars coming from northern Montenegro are from the EU or Bosnia or Serbia - where else they should come from? I actually happened to come from Kyiv, Ukraine by car and it is the first time I was checked for papers and green cards since entering the EU at the Polish -Ukrainian border. Nobody asked me when I left Schengen in Slovenia – Croatian border nor when I entered Bosnia but when entering Montenegro, I am checked and registered and this takes time. Arriving at the border at the new small border checkpoint I chose because I had the pleasure of waiting many hours at the other bigger checkpoints to Croatia and Bosnia many times before, so I decided for this one close to Foča in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Well done, I thought when there were only 7 cars and I consider myself smart and lucky and after one hour I passed with just 7 cars in line and I doubted my choice.  Sure, we must have control and simply waving summer tourists through like inside EU might not be possible, but really, is it necessary to register every car and check the green card? We in the EU have the administrative capacities to ensure that all cars are insured and in fact they are and who comes in the EU we anyhow check at our EU land border to Ukraine & Belarus and where shall the cars come from if not from the EU, Bosnia or Serbia when entering the northern checkpoints of Montenegro? And if you do not trust Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia cars for green cards well OK check them but EU registered cars? And are there so many stolen cars you find with these checks?

3. End this nonsense asking for car papers and green cards!

Why not scrap these useless annoying asking for car papers and insurance have much faster border process and invest a bit more in EU standards road safety measures? One simple measure and everybody is happier to come back a second time in amazing and magic Montenegro with great people and amazing landscape but quite backward procedures introduced after the Balkan Wars when smuggling to main business in southern Balkans but are they really justified today? No. So, one simple order from Ministry of Interior to stop asking EU registered cars at the northern border check with Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina during the summer season for car papers and green cards and well Montenegro has many more happy EU tourists. Or stop that unnecessary procedure fully for all – we are in 2019 not in 1999.

4. Transit trucks in tourist coastal area during peak season?

Better border management during season includes to interdict transit during the season at the coastal border crossing and forcing them inland. Simple inform all logistic companies that no truck above 3,5 t will be allowed to cross from Croatia to Montenegro and such trucks are allowed in July and August only the main Bosnia and Herzegovina Montenegro border crossing close to Nikšić. Assign the customs official to that border crossing and simple stop transit above 3,5 t during the 2 crucial months for the Bay of Kotor relevant border crossings. Inform the transport industry now and assign some more customs officials to the main border crossing at the M6 close to Vilusi.

5. Allow only delivery trucks with coastal destination or origin to use the Adriatic Highway during the season.

And constant traffic jams at the Adriatic Highway will be much better between Herceg Novi and Ulcinj in July and August only truck for delivery target costly supply chain and the rest inland on Nikšić – Podgorica – Shkoder and next year to the new highway north if transit is for Kosovo and beyond. And yes, to the Adriatic Highway but this I have discussed so often elsewhere, and here only about the small items with big effect – but still yes you need a big inland motorway connecting Croatia with Albania along with your main population centres of Nikšić and Podgorica. Why build the Northern Highway to nowhere first is beyond understanding, but anyhow, good, it is ready, but now for the real part the Adriatic Highway.

6. More landing spots for the Ferry on each side and re-locate the Port Master House

The border and transit lead to the ferry over the Boka, the most famous bottleneck of the past has a lot of its terror since now 6 ferries are in operation and transport is swift and waiting times still considerable but no longer painful. Now the real bottleneck is the lack of landing spots for the ferries. Each side in Kamenari and Lepentane has only 3 and so the ferries have to wait in the straits until on and off loading allows for the next ferry to land. On Lepentane side there is ample space for the 4^th landing spot on the Tivat side of the village and why not ask the operator to do it or share the costs with the Government as part of the concession? On the Kamenari Herceg Novi side, there is space but the obstacle is the Old Port Master house in stone blocking the space. While it may cost a bit to simple expropriate it the costs of simple re-locating it and rebuilding the house 300 m towards the Herceg Novi side on the seaside next to the Old Stone House ensemble seems reasonable compared to the traffic obstacle it poses for public safety and welfare. There is a great beach zone close to the Port now looking to Tivat and now a bit in shadow of the ferry port there are two old stone houses and a perfect spot for a small Marina for sport boats and why not re-locate the Old Port Master House there and make a nice small protected marina for small boats there on the Herceg Novi side of the Ferry Port and so upgrade the whole Verige Bay with a working nice Marina for small boats left  of Kamenari and a 4^th landing spot for the ferry and straighten out the street which in the most important obstacle for the bottleneck of the ferry port?

7. Learn from the Austrian Alpine Village forbidding transit traffic in summer

And there to build a checkpoint and stop all transit trucks and force them on the ferry if they still made it through the border. And to ask and force all major vehicle without final destination inner Boka Bay onto the Ferry. We do the same in many Alpine villages to forbid transit in a village when there is a highway and the same principle applies to Ferry and UNESCO Inner Bay. Only source and destination traffic may pass now and later add an entry fee as outlined in Boka Bay 2020 article but for now, enforce the usage of the Ferry for all major vehicles who do not need to go there for accommodation or supply or tourism reason. If you put a policeman asking all and a table to explain the ferry makes more turnover as well and put the cost of the re-location to the Ferry operator. The Austrian Government did the same in Sarajevo with the INATI Restaurant even 150 years ago. It can be done within one winter no problem and the traffic is much faster no need for bridge or tunnel at all.

8. Traffic restriction for Inner Bay of Kotor – speed limit 30 km/h all along the Bay road in season

This leads to the traffic restriction for the Inner Bay of Kotor I have called for many years now. During the season only two months access only with payment is the best option. As the Austrian Administration has built the coastal road as it is today and it was the right decision but today in main touristic usage in summer both traffic and consumers walking to the beaches of the Inner bay have to live in some cooperation which can only work if you put a price tag on the entry and so only the once with a reason of logistics to the Bay and tourism in the Bay come in and the rest either pays or uses the ferry. With a resident card, I have outlined already this is simple to administer and the effect for the Inner Bay tourism will be amazing. The Bay road is a touristic sensation in itself and not a transit truck stops nor a rally track for local youth nor a black spot for traffic accidents nor a road where slow driving tourists are an annoying domestic supply truck in beach zone as they are smoothing home while other work and drive in summer heat, stay out of Boka all who are busy it is a zone of relax! And the simplest measure is a speed limit of 30 km/h with speed reduction measures like speed bumps – sleeping policemen in all village zones, beach access meaning basically everywhere in each 200 m and so to simply enforce the speed limit with physical infrastructure and remove it outside the season if this is what you want but during the crucial 2 months put many of them all along the Inner Bay road. Soon most local drivers from Herceg Novi and Kotor avoiding the Ferry will start to use it as it will be much faster and the Inner Bay road is for tourist with leisure and time no longer afraid for their life. True there are not so many deadly accidents mainly because the road allows anyhow only slow speed so 30km/h won’t be a shock but indeed there are so many angry shouting’s, near accident, desperate breaks, closes missing of families waking to the beach and people speeding by which are not part of any traffic statistic but make sure many European families never return to Boka and are happy to survive such conditions. And it is the family fathers driving who have the budgets to pay for expensive accommodation during summer who are competing on the road for safety with the resident voters who want to use the road in summer in same hyper speed as always to drink their coffee in just another coastal town or impress their girlfriends, true these are your voters but we are you costumers are we want safer roads for our family in the 2 months of the summer! Speed bumper and speed limit 30 in the Inner Bay from 2020 onwards.

9. Upper Village bypass road – build them now before all hills are full of buildings!

Well, what to do with the traffic jam from Tivat to Bar, Herceg Novi to Ulcinj? Again, the Adriatic Highway will help and again working with Croatian, Bosnia, Albanian and Kosovo road authorities and media to communicate that the inland road via Podgorica is much faster would ensure a lot of Albanian and Diaspora drivers to drive inland. But some congestion in Adriatic coastal towns might be simply unavoidable. But it really does not take an international expert to understand upper bypasses are what needs to be done like in Perast, Dobrota and Petrovac as well for Tivat, Budva, Risan and Bar. Well it might not work for all – in Kotor and Morinj it is hard to do but in Risan, Bar and Budva, Herceg Novi & Bijela it is all planned and rather simple to do. I have written about it in Smart Mobility for Montenegro One and no need to come back. I am surprised you build the access road to Cetinje first and neglect the coastal bypass for now. The longer you delay the more building up there makes the project more expensive with higher costs for land access and expropriation. Some beach shuttles and some night live shuttles to bring people from and to beaches and from and to the night life (remember – do not drink and drive !) might do wonders. Most people go to same beaches during all holiday and taking a bus is much more cost-saving than using a car in a traffic jam and paying for parking if you ever can find a parking space at the coast in summer.

10. Parking with smart pricing – higher during peak season! 0,8 offseason and 2 Euro in season

This leads to parking I have discussed this as well before but back to basics - public space is for the public but the access is payable and pricing decides the access and usage. And for the massive user meaning residents and long-time tourists who needs parking a long time reduce subscription on non-discriminatory basis meaning everybody of EU or Montenegro resident can buy it and it results in cheaper access long term but all short-term single user pays for parking and pays an amount which secures there is parking reasonable accessible for short term access. Good, what does that mean concrete?

First, all coastal Municipalities have to ensure all their area is short term parking during summer.  Second, all accommodation has to have the legal obligation to provide parking at their accommodation or pay a fine to municipalities. Better public transport from beaches can be financed with such revenue. So, Perast with 5 Euro a day in too cheap but for one hour too expensive. Porto Montenegro with 2 Euro per hour is about right in the Coastal Area. Morinj beach parking for 2 Euro per day is much too cheap. Any beer costs 2 Euro for a drink and parking a day for 2? No! And why pay 5 Euro if you stay only one hour? That is a bit excessive! So, what is needed is simple to increase the public parking fee from 80 Eurocents to 2 Euros in July and August in all coastal municipalities public and private parking and oblige all accommodation providers to build their own parking spaces or pay a fine to municipalities or to rent one for each apartment and yes you can do that legally we in Vienna call that Stellplatzverpflichtung google it. Parking at the accommodation should be included in the price of the accommodation and if you want to make excursions than you have to pay for the parking as part of your excursion budget and off-season return to 0,8 Euro.

11. Social unfair or a major burden for citizens?

Please remember that tourism is the key to Montenegro prosperity for all citizens. It is your only major industry for foreign revenue and affects all sectors from construction material to Government to agriculture to IT, simple everything depends on the money earned by tourism, accommodation and hospitality sector. So, call on the population that they know in July and August parking is expensive and organise their life accordingly and organise public administration accordingly. Nobody shall need to go to MUP or Municipality in summer – do that during the year in the time of e-Gov! Most things can be done after the summer and keep your museums open on Mondays in the tourism season! I mean I it is a tourism country and all you recent 13 years of success is funded by tourism, land sales to tourism, construction projects due to tourism – a Podgorica city boom funded by selling the coastal property to tourism investor and consumer and without tourism where would you be? And tourism season is short in Montenegro and so do all other things during the rest of the year and focus on tourism during the 60 or 75 days there is interest and consumption and simple treat tourists as the individual they are who work hardback home to spend in your amazing country and have deserved your full respect or they move to Turkey, Greece or Tunisia or Croatia.  So, a working and successful tourism sector is crucial for the welfare of pensioners and construction workers and hospital employees and please this is message to educate all population – we are not "neki turisti" but the most important lifeline of prosperity of all Montenegro so next time you meet a tourist – we are all tourists here not immigrants be friendly say hello, speak some words in English, smile at least a bit, drive carefully and do not push or bully or threaten a tourist but treat him and his family for the respect required and deserved for working hard a year to spend his and her time and money in your country. Everybody to do so is an honour and show him and her that he is welcome. And stop complaining about cruise ships, tourist just looking, high prices and overcrowding but organise your public system better to cope with the inflow and so developed from a developing country to a European Member Montenegro to which all other European are happy to bring their money and spend their time full of happy memories and not afraid of their safety and in traffic jams. And getting a prosperous tourism magnet is the only way to keep funding your pension system, your hospitably open and your welfare system running and so it is not anti-social to ask for 2 Euro per hour for parking but it is perfectly possible for poor people to take the bus during summertime or walk to the beach. And again, the hard truth the summer is for people in a summer holiday destination the main working period – it is the time everybody here should be working full time in the tourism industry and no it is not for the Montenegro youth you enjoy but to work in summer in. tourism. Ask in any Austrian Alpine ski village if the people ski in winter – if they do then as ski instructors or during some off days but during the rest of the season they are working very hard to earn for all year when their village is less in demand.

12. Invest in modern parking systems – with card payments!

Amazing Porto Montenegro has not Credit Card parking payment – investing half a billion Euro but not buying the payment option for the parking system provider what is that about? We are now in the world of contactless payments by bank cards and good and apple pay and Porto Montenegro is asking everybody to park the car and pay at a parking machine in cash!

And in Tivat Airport it is the symbol for careless management of the details – there is nothing happening when no flight but when two flight arrive at about the same time - the one parking area is so full and for leaving you have to wait for 40 min each time to pay their 80 Eurocents just because there is just one booth working to allow this payment in cash to leave the parking system? Is this European Montenegro in 2019 or Yugoslavia 1989? Anywhere in the world, there is an automated parking system with Credit Cards and in Montenegro, so do you have to have people in hot boxes collecting cash?

And it takes no new concession or major strategy to open a second booth to pay for parking, just a bit of love and care for your consumer and tourists. It is the combination and accumulation of small steps with a big impact by time which turns countries in successful tourist destinations. And again, what will you be without tourism? Montenegro would be condemned to live of its agriculture and industry and both are having very little commercial prospect without a construction industry selling flats to the world and food to consumer in restaurants frequented by tourists.  It took as in Austria 2 generations to get this touristic mentality going but visit Austria no matter what the weather the experience is great and we have amazing return figures of tourists coming back every year.

Stop complaining - make sure there is nobody complaining about you

Complaining about a bad season results in nothing – you need to make sure tourists find nothing to complain in standard public services. And be sure a day a beach with truck passing by, a city visit to magic Perast with no parking, a long wait at the border, or parking payment box or traffic jams whenever at the Highway lead to a One and Only visit mentality for Montenegro tourists – come once and great and we come back once you are ready later in the decade once you are in the EU and all of this will anyhow be done inside the EU. But please why not now and turn every tourist into an Ambassador for Montenegro -saying to everybody back home that Montenegro is not only magic and amazing but as well ready for European future by being positive experiences in all simple 12 steps as outlined above. And please implement them before the Adriatic Highway reaches Montenegro and will bring much more European tourists into driving range from the European population's centre in Central Europe.

This article is the 3rd in series to contribute to better tourism and economic development by Austrian and European best practices in transport and tourism planning and pricing. For more information about the economic part read Strategy for European Boka 2020 and transport and mobility issues read Smart Mobility Strategy RecommendationsRecommendations from 2018, still fully to be implemented.

Read more news about lifestyle in Montenegro at TMN's dedicated page.

31 July 2019 - A company which fails to issue electronic fiscal receipt risks will pay fines of up to 40.000 EUR, which is a lot higher than the maximum envisaged by the law.

The Law on Electronic Fiscalization of Goods and Services defines fines ranging from 8.000 EUR to 40.000 EUR for a legal entity, 2.000 – 12.000 EUR for an entrepreneur and 1.300 – 4.000 EUR for a natural person who fails to issue a fiscal receipt. The law defines a fine ranging from 6.000 EUR to 20.000 EUR if VAT is not calculated immediately.

Representatives of the Ministry of Finance said that the decision on an increase in fines was a recommendation of the International Monetary Fund. They believe stricter fines will be more effective. Commenting on the expected effect of higher fines, President of the Assembly Committee on Economy, Predrag Sekulić, said that he had very high hopes for the effectiveness of higher fines.

“I believe this will have a positive impact on the reduction of the grey economy,” stated Sekulić, as CdM reports.

Economic analyst and Professor in the Faculty of Management, Vasilije Kostić, says that the number of fines could have an important role but only “under specific conditions”.

“Under given circumstances, the amount of fines is not an adequate instrument and will not result in any improvement. It is necessary to enable the functioning of the whole mechanism,” said Kostić

He also added that, this time, the International Monetary Fund and international institutions “are wrong”.

“Their opinion is based on consequential and consistent systems that exist in their countries,” explains Kostić.

“Parts of the mechanism prior to imposing fines do not function appropriately, in some cases they do not even exist. Those who have some “connections” always avoid paying fines. In a system like that, amount of fines can not improve anything, nothing’s going to change,” stressed out Kostić.

He also said that this would only sharpen the sense of social injustice.

“Punishment system in our country does not produce desired results and does not enjoy the majority support of the society. Everybody who violates a regulation shall be punished. But it is a social process and it takes time,” concluded Kostić.

Read more news about business in Montenegro at TMN's dedicated page.

The traditional Lastva Festival will be held for the 45th time on Saturday, 3rd August from 9 pm, in front of the church and Ilija Marković Cultural Centre in Gornja Lastva.

The festival is held on the first Saturday of August and always begins with a kolo dance of the Boka Navy, performed by members of the Tivat group with musical accompaniment by Tivat Music Education Society.

There will be a performance by the Next Band from Omiš, and the “Posters of the Lastva Festival” exhibition will also be opened.

 Lastva Festival 2017 - Boka News

The Lastva Festival has for many years been part of the cultural calendar for locals and visitors, with the festivities continuing late into the night. 

The event is co-financed by the Tivat Municipality.