11 June 2019 - The greatest achievements in the area of robotics and 3D technology have been presented at this year’s International trade fair of technique and technical achievements in Belgrade, said the engineer in Montenegrin Electricity Distribution System, Mrs Margita Miljanić.

This is the 63^rd fair and it featured tools used in everyday activities. Visitors were mostly interested in the presentation of the application of drones in different technological spheres.

“The fair is the place where achievements and innovation in different technical and technological areas are being showcased. The organization was a major success and Russians and Chinese were dominant among foreign exhibitors. There were achievements in the area of robotics, automatics, machines, tools, different software, 3D and laser technology,” said Mrs Miljanić.

Mr Boris Femić, an engineer, points out that trade is the place for the promotion of revolutionary changes in the ways of operation in companies and industries.

“Conception emphasis of the trade fair was put on the innovation and new technologies which are permeated into a great number of professional areas. Such events are educational, interesting and useful, as a great number of foreign and domestic exhibitors take part,” said Mr Femić.

This experience in Belgrade was important for the engineers of the Montenegrin Electricity Distribution system, as they were able to find expert literature in free sale.

“We could find literature we are interested in, all in one place. This trade fair was marked with robotics this year and that’s the area which is being developed at great speed and is applied in different life spheres,” said Mr Vladimir Ivanović, a visitor.

Montenegrin Electricity Distribution System delegation had the opportunity to see more than 100 novelties at the trade fair.

“New products of Loznica Electro and Rade Končar factory have been presented. There were many exhibitors of machinery and robotics, said the member of the delegation,” Mr Marko Mugoša.

Loznica Electro company presented the most contemporary achievements in the domain of one-way voltage and AKU battery, as well as the product of voltage cells for the internal assembly.

Mr Ivan Mumin, an engineer from Belgrade attended the trade fair for the first time and was very happy.

“I am very satisfied with the exhibitors, they were so kind and willing to answer our questions. We could see how the production processed have become so simple with the development of new technologies and how sophisticated modern technologies are,” said Mr Mumin.

Mr Marko Mugoša says that after the exhibitions, they visited Belgrade sites.

“In three days, we managed to see the cultural and historical heritage of Belgrade. Such reunions should become a tradition,” says Mr Mugoša.

Source: Cafe del Montenegro

11 June 2019 - This summer, tourists will have 139 beaches and bathing areas in Budva at their disposal of which 22 are hotel bathing areas, 88 intended as family bathing areas, 4 romantic, one party area, 8 excursion areas, 2 pet-friendly bathing areas and one location intended for dogs only.

There are also nine beaches with no equipment, two beaches for active rest, two nudist beaches and one beach as a children's resort.

Romantic areas in Budva are located on the Island of Saint Nikola, Malaya Beach, Reževići and Bršalj in Petrovac.

The party bathing area is located in Kamenovo, where the noise doesn’t affect the surrounding areas.

There are two excursion areas on the island of Saint Nikola, at Jaz beach, in Golubinj, Drobni Pijesak, Veizorovo ribarište and Crvena Stijena (Red Rock). They are accessible from the water only and are suitable for excursions and picnics.

The bathing areas for pets are Buljarica and Slovenska plaža, and there is also an area for dog-bathing, which is not designated as a bathing area.

Bathing areas without beach equipment are Saint Nikola, Slovenska plaža neat Park hotel, Bečići, Pržno on its east, Saint Stephen and part of the beach in Petrovac.

Two diving areas at the Jaz beach and Slovenska plaža are the areas for active rest.

Nudist beaches are Jaz – Žuta greda and Crvena Glavica, while the children resort is located in Bečići.

Source: Cafe del Montenegro

12 June 2019 - The Montenegrin Employers Federation will send an initiative to examine the Law on Internal Trade, which envisages the introduction of a non-working Sunday for retail and wholesale, to the Constitutional Court, reports Dnevne novine daily. The Advocate for Legal Affairs and Social Dialogue in MEF, Filip Lazović, stated that the amendments to the Law, about which two days ago the ministers finished the debate, violated the body of economic rights.

"We believe that the Law will soon be the subject of constitutional review, that is, a constitutional initiative will soon be sent. In Croatia, the Constitutional Court abolished this law three times, for similar reasons, which is likely to happen in Montenegro. We really anticipate this as a real possibility," said Lazović.

He added that the official stance of the Union is that the process of adoption is not good because the economy is not consulted, and the law is very much connected with the economy within the country.

"We consider the changes to be problematic both from the aspect of large trading systems and from the aspect of the small ones. The Montenegrin economy consists of 95 per cent of small and medium enterprises. We can observe the negative effects that the adoption of the Law will bring in the future, especially since we have strategically decided that tourism is our main industry. The question arises as to whether we can afford the luxury to deny huge traffic that takes place on Sundays, which is affected by numerous tourists on the coast and in the north," Lazović pointed out.

According to the Ministry of Economy, the provision relating to the introduction of the non-working Sunday will begin to apply three months after the entry into force of the Law, in particular in autumn. The reason for the postponement of the application, as they explained, is to leave the space for employers to organize and harmonize their business in relation to the changes that should be adopted by the Assembly soon.

Judging by the comments of the ruling coalition and part of the opposition parties, it is expected that amendments to the law will be adopted. The draft defines that apart from the established exceptions, all stores will have Sunday as a day off. Economy Minister Dragica Sekulić pointed out in the Assembly that the Government clearly defined the exceptions without the possibility of expanding them. This means that shopping malls, including Delta City (Podgorica) and Kamelija (Kotor), to which the Ministry has refused an exemption request, will be obligated to introduce non-working Sundays.

On Sundays and holidays, as specified, wholesale and retail trade can be performed in pharmacies, specialized stores or stores that sell bread, bakery products and cakes, flowers, souvenirs, prints, plant protection products or funeral equipment, gas stations or retail stores within the gas stations, as well as in markets, stands, stalls, showcases and machines outside the market and mobile shops. The amendments to the Law stipulate that employers who violate the provision and open their stores on Sundays may be fined between 1,000 and 10,000 EUR, and the Law also foresees the closing of these stores.

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

12 June 2019 - Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to Montenegro Songul Ozan said that Herceg Novi is an attractive destination, stressing that Turkey is interested in finding a model and helping the reconstruction project for the Kanli Kula Fortress and rehabilitation of this landslide-degraded area.

Н.Е. Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to Montenegro, Songul Ozan, recently paid a working visit to Herceg Novi, where she met with the Mayor of the Municipality, Stevan Katić and his associates, reports the local government.

The management of the Municipality of Herceg Novi welcomed Ambassador Ozan, who pointed out that this coastal city is one of the most beautiful in Montenegro, and that the country is one of the most beautiful countries in the world.

The Ambassador gained insight into current events in Herceg Novi, cultural events throughout the year, as well as into the cooperation between Herceg Novi and city Jedrene, whose orchestra participated in the 50th Mimosa Festival. This cooperation resulted in the guest appearance of City Music Herceg Novi and majorettes at the 9th International Festival of Wind Orchestras in Jedrene in early March. Both sides agreed that this is a good example of cooperation between the two cities and states, which should continue in the future.

Katić also reminded the Ambassador of plans that are not in the municipality's jurisdiction, but their realization is crucial, such as the construction of the bypass and the rehabilitation of the slopes at Kanli Kula, one of the most beautiful summer stages in this part of the Adriatic. He also pointed to the current socio-economic status of our citizens, caused by unsuccessful privatization processes, both in Herceg Novi and throughout Montenegro.

As the focus of the city government work, President Katić emphasized the arrangement of infrastructure and the revitalization of cultural objects.

Ambassador Ozan pointed out that Herceg Novi is an attractive destination for Turkish tourists, and that Montenegro and Turkey are connected with history and culture. She expressed the interest of the representatives of the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey, in cooperation with the city and the state, to find a model to help the Kanli Kula Fortress and to implement a landslide rehabilitation project that threatens this fortress.

The Ambassador expressed her hope that Herceg Novi will further increase the number of Turkish investors and she invited the municipality's leadership to consider the candidacy of projects at the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA).

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

Local experts in spatial planning, sustainable development, and protection of the cultural heritage of Kotor believe that the Draft Spatial Plan of Kotor represents only the continuity of inadequate planning documents for this area and leads to further devastation of space.

Within the public hearing on the Draft of the Spatial Plan of the Municipality of Kotor and the accompanying Draft of the Report on Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment, the local expert group submitted their remarks to these documents to the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism. Experts are supported by part of the participants on the round table on this topic, Center for Sustainable Spatial Development Expeditio from Kotor organized on 5 June.

"Considering the current situation in Kotor, risking to lose the World Heritage status due to over-urbanization, the general importance of adopting a Spatial Urban Plan for the development of municipalities, and the problematic procedure and the quality of the document itself, local experts claim that the Draft Spatial Plan is only a continuation of inadequate planning arrangements for this area," Expeditio said on their official FB page.

"Even though the plan suggests, with the pressures of the outside, before all UNESCO, that it will partly limit the construction of facilities, we consider it still doesn't help the city to start from the deadlocks that it found by the lack of responsibility of local and state institutions."

Apart of the local experts, comments have been signed by some of the participants of the round table under the project "Active Citizens for Better Montenegro - The Rule of Law and Sustainable Development of Montenegro." At the roundtable, representatives of the profession, competent institutions, as well as all political parties operating in Kotor, were invited.

Experts recall that the neglect of expert opinion in the field of spatial planning in the last 15 years has caused Kotor today threatening to review status on the World Heritage List of UNESCO.

In their view, the Draft Spatial Plan does not represent the sustainable development strategy with the idea but allows for further alteration of the ambiance, thus destabilizing the values for which the Natural and Cultural Historic Area of Kotor is enrolled on the World Heritage List.

The presented document experts commented in the remarks as unworthy of the profession, without the minimum of professional standards.

"Methodologically, the document is at an inappropriately low level, full of contradictions, copied pieces from different materials, which, in a large extent, represent the content of the document itself, which is unacceptable. Such a plan will be impossible to implement," states the letter addressed to the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism, which has signed 13 of the most subordinated space planning and protection experts from Boka Bay.

They point out that a significant role for this plan plays the legislative framework - the Space Planning and Construction Facility Act of 2018, which instead of introducing the order and upgrading the space planning system has led to complete chaos. The established, previously confirmed planning practices were abolished, creating a prerequisite for accelerating the devastation of space, ignoring the already dramatic condition in Montenegro.

One of the critical remarks of experts from Kotor is that the Draft Spatial Plan does not entirely rely on the Cultural Heritage Protection Study for the area of the Kotor Municipality, which was done precisely for this document. This Study is only formally cited, but its core guidelines and the way of treating the Invertebrate Areas are not taken into account, which is incomprehensible, because, for a municipality where more than one third of the territory is on the Heritage List, it must have been the primary starting point for making the plan, experts conclude.

The only solution to the current situation is that the planning is brought back to experienced teams of planning experts, with the involvement of experts in the area of protection of the World Heritage, who would, without resorting to politics and personal interests make a document that would represent a breakthrough from the previous harmful planning practices.

"Of course, the prerequisite is a complete change of the space planning system (because its improvement is unfortunately impossible), including the legislative framework. The priority should be given to preserving the extraordinary universal value of the Kotor Area, as clearly indicated by the UNESCO / ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring Mission Report of November 2018, "states the remarks, experts from Boka Bay submitted yesterday to the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism of Montenegro.

On Sunday, September 1^st, popular London hitmakers Disciples and their biggest hit "How Deep Is Your Love" will perform to Sea Dance festival.

The song originally was written and recorded with the Norwegian singer Ina Wroldsen was liked so much by the famous producer Calvin Harris, he immediately offered to release it together, and the video featuring the astonishing supermodel Gigi Hadid now counts a dazzling 1.3 billion YouTube views with two BRIT nominations and an MTV award!

Their outstanding talent was first recognized by the legendary Pete Tong on whose publishing house they released a brilliant record "Catwalk", but shortly after their first big radio hit, "They Do Not Know", which the prestigious BBC Radio 1 released day and night. The enormous success has continued today, and the status of the hit stars has been cemented by the summer house hymns "On My Mind" and "Jealousy"! Glastonbury, Leeds, Creamfields, and EXIT are just some of the world's biggest festivals where they performed, and today they host the program in Ibiza, where they perform side by side with names such as their former mentors and today's partners, Calvin Harris and David Guetta, as well as another Sea Dance star - Sven Vath!

In addition to the British stars to the Sea Dance festival, there will also be the young German producer and DJ star Lovra, who drew the attention of the great names of the world's electronic music scene starting with David Guetta, Armand van Helden, Basement Jaxx and Felix da Housecat, with whom she performed worldwide. The young artist from Berlin has played 17 shows with David Guetta in Ibiza, as well as in the club Hi that has been inherited by the former Space. At the main stage of the festival will perform one of the most popular DJs and producers from the Balkans, Macedonian genius Galoski, who also enjoys the support of David Guetta, and other greats like Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Afrojack, Nicky Romero, Fedde Le Grande, and others. Under the alias Sand & Sense, he also released the single "Cold Night" which jumped out of the regional popularity and became one of the most listened-to songs on the famous BBC Radio 1.

DJ Wags will also perform, recognized by the energetic and unique performances that elevate the atmosphere to the flames and is considered to be one of the best house music performers. In his rich career and performances at numerous world stages, he enrolled five consecutive performances at the Ultra Festival. The talented Montenegrin duo Vill & Vash, who for a short time gained the public's sympathy throughout the region but also in Europe, is coming to Budva Riviera as well, and this year the TDI stage is preparing for a great party on the Adriatic. This stage will be home to some of the most exciting domestic and regional DJ stars, including Mark Funk, Danny Cruz, Oysha, Mirko & Meex, Divolly & Markward, Wreckage, Leo Fragogiannis, Rosske, Mario Eddie, Mr Mips and Davor Billyc.

The sixth Sea Dance will take place from Friday, August 30th, to Sunday, September 1st, on the hidden pearl of the Adriatic coast, the beach Buljarica in Budva.

So far, the shows have been confirmed by the most successful producers of the 21st century and one of the most popular performers in the world, David Guetta, the father of the Global Tech Movement and the three-time winner of the award for Best World DJ Sven Väth, one of the most prestigious electronic performers Richie Hawtin, the leading German producer and DJ Robin Schulz, French Club Sensation, Duo Ofenbach, and Famous German Producer Recondite.

There are also regional musicians such as the great Darko Rundek, powerful Senidah and popular Balkan rappers Surreal, Fox, Kuku $, Hazze and Bekfles.

Text by RTV Budva, on June 11th, 2019, read more at RTV Budva