26 February 2019 - Minister of Defense of Austria, Mario Kunasek, said that the Austrian Ministry of Defense still focuses its attention on the Western Balkans, with possible reinforcement of the engagement in missions and operations that the EU is conducting in Africa to reduce the pressures on illegal migrations in Europe.

He pointed out that, in case his state or other states refrained from their participation in international missions, development trends in the troubled regions could have adverse consequences for Europe.

“We must export security,” said the Minister whose state is taking an active part in EUFOR mission Althea in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as in the KFOR mission in Kosovo, which actively contributes to preserving peace and stability in the region.

When it comes to the relations with Montenegro regarding defense matters, Kunasek points out the importance of intensifying bilateral cooperation, especially in the domain of training for mountain warfare.

“As Minister of Defense, I strive to deepen bilateral contacts and defense cooperation with Montenegro, in the light of Joint Statement from Graz. I believe it is imperative that we intensify our bilateral cooperation in the domain of mountain warfare training and talk about the future initiatives related to safe munition and armament storage,” said the Minister Kunasek.

Talking about the perspective of Montenegro in the European Union, in the context of its NATO membership, Kunasek that it is terrific. He agrees with the European Union's attitude that Montenegro remains constructively committed to bilateral relations with other candidates and neighboring European Union Member States and that it is an active participant in the regional cooperation.

“Montenegro has got the capabilities and political will for the preparation of the implementation of the acquis communautaire of the EU,” concluded Kunasek.

The joint statement, signed in Graz in September of 2018, is formally recognized by Ministers of Defense of Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia. It expresses committed political will to intensify cooperation with WB, with the aim of increasing the EU perspective of these states.

Source: Cafe del Montenegro

26 February 2019 - According to the latest report of the European Health Consumer Index, Montenegro is ranked 23rd out of 35 countries and advanced two positions compared to the previous year. 

Minister of Health Kenan Hrapović said that, after the success of 2018, when Montenegro advanced the most compared to other European countries from the 34th to 25th position, the country had a very serious goal to attain and maintain the achieved result and, to the extent possible, make further progress.

"Now we have the reason to consider ourselves serious competitors with rich, modern health systems that have a long tradition of nurturing excellence in providing health services. We started preparing for this year's ranking after publishing last year's results. We did not sleep on laurels, nor were we boasting too much, but we realised that success can only be true if it is not a case study, a product of favourable circumstances. We carefully analysed each of the 48 indicators, evaluating the possibilities and potentials of the Montenegrin health system and focusing of the activities in the areas in which we achieved results in the desire to make them visible," Minister Hrapović noted.

Low infant mortality, availability of modern malignant disease treatment and the decision to introduce HPV vaccine for women in order to reduce the incidence of cervical cancer are the achievements that recommended Montenegro for the progress in this year's rankings.

Head of the Health Insurance Fund Sead Čirgić stated that patients, especially those with severe illnesses, were provided with modern therapy in Montenegro, and that, in terms of drugs, increased availability and better market availability were ensured.

The infant mortality rate, i.e., the number of children who die up to 12 months per 1000 live births, as the most vulnerable indicator of health care in one system, was 21.9% in 1985. Director of the Clinical Centre of Montenegro Jevto Eraković said that we need to be proud of the results achieved in 2018 when it comes to mortality rate, and that the obligation of the Clinical Centre is to continue with good results at the Centre for Neonatology and all other organisational units.

"This sensitive indicator of health points to a better organisation of health care and general care for women and children, better general standards, better attitude towards women in pregnancy and children related to intrauterine life and after birth, the degree of vaccination, as well as cultural change," Eraković said.

Assistant Director of the Institute for Public Health Senad Begić expressed satisfaction with the fact that the progress on the European Health Consumer Index list was partly due to significant advances in the field of public health, that is, in the field of cancer prevention, primarily due to the introduction of a vaccine against human papillomavirus.

"In this way, a significant step has been made in order to place Montenegro among the most developed countries offering the most modern and effective protection against cancer and diseases caused by human papillomavirus, which will be entirely at the expense of the state," Mr Begić stressed.

Four years ago, Montenegro was at the bottom of the European Health Consumer Index list based on indicators, including the availability of health care for patients, outcomes of treatment, the extent and scope of services, and the prevention and use of pharmaceutical products.

The Montenegrin health system is better ranked than the ones of 12 European countries. Regarding the countries of the region, Serbia is ranked 18th, Croatia 24th, and Northern Macedonia 25th.

The first-ranked on the European Health Consumer Index is Switzerland, which inherited the Netherlands, which for years had the best health system, and the last one on the list is Albania.

Dejan Milovac from the MANS Research Center said that the amount of evidence that has been piling up for years against the longtime state official Branimir Gvozdenovic, is becoming worrisome, but not nearly as much as the lack of adequate response by the competent state authorities when it comes to this matter.

"Over the past years, MANS has filed hundreds of pages of written evidence that testifies to the brutal violation of the law by Gvozdenovic, whether it is a privatization process, an energy sector or spatial planning," said Milovac.

He adds that there is almost no area which Gvozdenovic dealt with, "without having resulted in serious doubts about corruption."

"The information that has come to the public from the beginning of this year again testifies to numerous suspicious transactions that Gvozdenovic has not yet been prosecuted for. One of them refers to the buildings that in one of the last speeches was mentioned by the President of Atlas Group, Dusko Knezevic, and which were built by Gvozdenovic's best-man, Radenko Radojicic. The survey conducted by MANS in 2012 showed that Gvozdenovic, as the Minister of Urbanism, allowed his best-man to build two residential buildings, with nearly 100 housing units in contravention of the law and the planning documents.

The criminal complaint filed at the time stated that Gvozdenovic abused the function of the Minister of Urbanism and the companies of his best-man ("RR Inženjering" and "Kapacity") in 2010 issued building permits that allowed the construction of several surplus floors than it was allowed by the plan at the time for the village Momisici in Podgorica. Although we warned then that Gvozdenovic should be abolished due to the violation of the law, the Assembly of the Capital in 2012 adopted the amendments of the plan and thus legalized this agreement among the best-men. Amendments to the plan were initiated, at the time, by the Mayor Miomir Mugosa, who was also included in the criminal charges as an accomplice," said Milovac.

He said that "unfortunately, the prosecution at the time headed by Prosecutor Ranka Carapic rejected this criminal complaint by failing to fully investigate the relations between Gvozdenovic and Radojicic but also their interest in violating the law in this way." This is just one of the many criminal reports that over the last decade MANS filed against a longtime state official.

Just to recall, MANS reported Gvozdenovic for participation in the legalization of villas on Zavala, the privatization of St. Stefan, the clip "Snimak", enabling the investors, such as Brano Micunovic and the company of Darko Saric, to build conflicting the law, as well as the legalization of numerous buildings in Podgorica and on the coast through modification of planning documents when he enabled the privileged investors not only the acquisition of extra profit but also the avoidance of criminal liability. While it is well known in whose favor Gvozdenovic has violated the law for years, the Montenegrin Prosecutor’s Office has still not done anything to examine what was the price of those "favors", Milovac concluded.

Gvozdenovic: What MANS calls evidence is only the fabrication of the truth

MANS speaks about numerous criminal charges that they have filed against me and about "hundreds of pages of evidence", but MANS does not mention the fact which is more than obvious - that the prosecution regularly rejected these applications. That, I suppose, sufficiently speaks about the merits of their "evidence", the Vice-president of the Assembly Branimir Gvozdenović announced. He reacted to the allegations of the Network for Affirmation of the Non-Governmental Sector from which it was announced that the amount of evidence that has been piling up over the years against Branimir Gvozdenovic is becoming worrisome, but not nearly as much as the absence of an adequate reaction by the competent state authorities when it comes to this matter. Gvozdenovic assessed that the logic that MANS addresses the public "within their continuous campaign of unsubstantial and unfounded accusations" is astounding.

"In fact, even before filing each of the applications, MANS was always aware that my guilt is not real, that what they call evidence is actually a fabrication of the 'truth', such that the evidence for it cannot exist. Each of these applications was submitted due to the media attention, i.e. the organization of sensationalist press conferences on which I would be further accused. In other words, instead of MANS, after each dismissal of their criminal charges, informed the public, they continued on their own," Gvozdenović said.

He said that the truth cannot be created, nor the evidences can be found for the lies.

"They can with enough motive, and MANS, obviously, has them, create an apparition of truth, especially in the part of the public opinion that follows the political divisions in Montenegro," the vice-president of the Assembly concluded.

Source: Vijesti

February 26, 2019 - The opposition should seek early elections, as entering the technical government would mean losing time and failing to deliver the desired results, claims Executive Director of the Center for Civic Education (CGO-CCE) Daliborka Uljarevic. She thinks the opposition should use public dissatisfaction and intensified attention by the international community to achieve better election results.

The construction of the Southwestern bypass is going according to the defined plan and the Capital will, within the projected deadlines, gain a valuable infrastructure facility, said the Mayor Ivan Vuković.

He visited the site of this road today.

"We are pleased to note that the works on the construction of the Southwestern bypass are being carried out according to the established plan, and that within the projected deadlines, and possibly earlier, we will have a valuable infrastructure facility that will have significant meaning for the future development of Podgorica," said Vuković.

He emphasized that this road is of great importance because it also represents a part of the future wastewater treatment system, bearing in mind that in its core there is an important part of the primary collector network.

"The Southwestern bypass is only one part of the future traffic network we are “knitting” around Podgorica, because a few days ago we announced a tender for the Western bypass design, a road that should be added to the Southwestern bypass and which will connect Cetinjski and Niksicki roads all the way to Komanski Most," said Vukovic.

From there, he added, in the middle of the year, the reconstruction of the existing road to Danilovgrad, i.e. the transformation of that road into a modern boulevard type road, should begin.

He assessed that, if everything goes according to plan, it is not unrealistic to expect that in three years we will get a modern boulevard from Podgorica airport to Danilovgrad.

"This will mean closing the trafficking ring around Podgorica and will not only be significant for the capital city, but for Montenegro as a whole," concluded Vukovic.

Veselin Kovacevic, executive director of the company Bemax as the main contractor of the works, said that so far, the most significant part of earthworks was done, which included excavations for fecal and atmosphere sewage, where the trenches are between seven and eight meters deep.

"It's a very demanding and complicated business. On the third section of the route of the Southwest bypass, we completed about 85 percent of the excavation. In the first section, from Donja Gorica side, over 50 percent of the excavation was completed, and at the end of March we will end up with excavations. Then we will execute assembling works on the sewage and atmospheric sewage, which will be completed in the next months," Kovacevic said.

He added that regarding the construction of a bridge in the length of 157 meters i.e. the second section of the Southwestern bypass, the contractual obligation of the consortium "Crnagoraput" and "Bemax" was to produce the design documentation, which was completed and sent for the audit, adding that they expect a positive audit very soon and after that, a rapid start of the bridge construction.

The construction of this roadway began at the beginning of August last year.

The total contract value of the project is 15,668,356 EUR, which is also one of the most valuable traffic projects on the territory of the capital.

The south-west bypass includes a boulevard-type road with a total length of 3,621 meters.

The road will have four lanes, an overpass in the zone of KAP, 29.4 meters long and a new bridge over Moraca, 157 meters long. This road is divided into three sections. The length of the first section is 1.354 meters. Along with this section, which starts from the intersection with the Cetinjski road, there are four traffic connections. The length of the second section is 200.80 m long. The bypass on this section crosses the bridge. The length of the third section is 2,066 m. In this section, it is planned to build an overpass in the zone of KAP.

Text by MINA News, on February 25th 2019, read more at Vijesti

Through the Podgorica branch of the Luca Institute for International Economics from the USA, 40 students from Montenegro and Albania performed in Prague at the first international conference that links philosophy and entrepreneurship.

Organized by the American "Ayn Rand Institute”, the conference "Individualism in the Time of Tribalism" gathered more than 450 participants from Europe, and speakers were experts in the field of philosophy of objectivity and entrepreneurship, such as Jaron Bruck, Ben Bayer, Lars Kristensen, Onkar Gate, and Fleming Rose.

"It is our great pleasure to have the confidence of the "Ayn Rand Institute” and the Balkan Objectivity Center from Serbia to bring these young people to the conference in Prague because we believe that this experience will be significant to them in their further individual development. Full scholarships for participation are provided by organizers and donors from the United States, and the selection of 38 scholarship holders from all four Montenegrin universities, and two from Albania, was carried out by the Balkan Objectivist Center and our Institute," said Slobodan Franeta from Luca Institute for International Economics.

He also said that the "Ayn Rand Institute" and the Balkan Objectivity Center announced the second edition of the School of Objectivism "John Galt" in Podgorica, where our young people will be able to learn more about the philosophy of objectivism "and to deepen their understanding of the notions of freedom, individualism and capitalism.

Text by Radomir Petric, on February 25th 2019, read more at Vijesti

The full moon night - a regional mountaineering event, was completed last night, and 24 hiking clubs, societies and related collectives from the four former Yugoslav republics took part. The organizer, Mountaineering club "Subra" saw the possibility that as many clubs as possible could have their members at this traditional mountaineering event because the accommodation capacities of the mountain lodge "Za Vratlom" are regularly insufficient to receive all interested ones.

At the target, about 65 mountaineers arrived at the 1679-meter-high Subra in about two and a half hours, by the moon, and just before the dawn.

"This climb, which is very demanding, this time was even more difficult due to extreme weather conditions. There was the stormy bura (north wind), frozen snow, and a temperature around -12 at the top, but the subjective feeling significantly lower due to the wind. A spacious bivouac was made in the snow at the top for this occasion, as in the previous years, so that the mountaineers visited it on shifts, because inside it was significantly warmer (+2 degrees C) and they could refresh themselves with domestic sweets made on the spot, a contribution by the Development and Protection Agency of Orjen.

The interior of the bivouac is decorated with mimosa, a gift from Herceg-fest, since this year, on the jubilee Mimosa Festival, the Night climb has been re-incorporated into their calendar. Thus, gentle mimosa found itself under the same snowy roof with mountain munika, which is a reminder that Herceg Novi has both the harsh mountain and warm Mediterranean climate, and that it is also an exciting value that can be valorized in tourism," the organizers said.

Text by Slavica Kosic, on February 25th 2019, read more at Vijesti

25 February 2019 - On March 9, Igalo Sports Hall will become the dance centre of the region, since it will gather some of the best regional dancers and choreographers. The organisers of the dance festival, Dance Association “5678” announce quality artistic content throughout the day, as well as a large number of participants of the event itself.

“We organise the Dance Festival in Herceg Novi for the first time, but we want the event to become a tradition. This event is intended for all dance lovers who want to enjoy our art,” said the representatives of the dance association.

The organisers believe that a large number of their colleagues will gather at the festival and that Herceg Novi will get another wonderful event worthy of attention. “Of course, this dance event, which takes place during the holiday of Mimosa, is a must-visit,” announced the PR Service of Dance Association 5678.

Dance Association 5678 is an organisation which emerged with the idea of a new approach to dance. The founders of the association wanted to bring together dancers around the world and experts in that field. Festival 5678 is aimed at young and older dancers, those who have yet to create their careers, people who have influenced and still influence the creation of dance talents, those who find talented people, the enthusiasts who accompanied and cheered the talents, and those who want to be part of the dance world.

According to the organisers, the goal of the festival is to raise the art of dance to a higher level, so they tried to make the festival a must-see manifestation for all dancers who want to be part of the world dance scene.

“We want to contribute to the youth movement in our country, but also throughout the region, to educate, inspire and guide young talented people. We encourage peace and tolerance through dance, competitive spirit and friendly relationships between teams and countries,” highlights the 5678 Association.

The event will take place on Saturday, March 9, from 10 am to 10 pm, at the Igalo Sports Hall (II Dalmatinske Brigade bb).

26 February 2019 - The fifth edition of the contemporary piano music festival Forte piano - Homage to Classics, organised by the Art School of Music and Ballet "Vasa Pavić” and Cultural and Information Centre “Budo Tomović", will be held on 26 and 27 February 2019 in Podgorica. The festival is supported by the French Institute in Montenegro. This year's festival honours music classics, whose heritage is inspired by the generations of contemporary composers. Hence the thematic title "Homage to Classics".

The festival will open on Tuesday, February 26 at 1 pm, at the concert hall of the Vasa Pavić Music School, with the performance of students of the secondary music school who got their first composition experience in the class of composer Milivoje Pićurić. At a concert entitled "Stylistic Composing Exercises," students will present works written in the style of their favourite composers.

On the same day, on the big stage of CIC "Budo Tomović" at 7 pm, a concert titled "The Contemporary and Classics" will be held, where contemporary music performances by various authors will be performed, from Žarko Mirković and Slobodanka Bobana Dabović from Montenegro, Vasilije Mokranjac and Dejan Despić from Serbia, Marija Gracio from Croatia to world famous composers Helmut Lachenmann from Germany and Alfred Schnittke from Russia. Montenegrin pianists of the younger generation Milena Kovač, Vesna Damjanović, Nataša Popović, Tamara Jasović, Milena Nikočević as well as Aljoša Lečić from Croatia will also take part in the concert performance.

On the second day of the festival, on Wednesday, February 27, in the concert hall of the Music School "Vasa Pavić", the festival "Modern Contemporary Piano" will be presented at 1 pm, which is organised by the Frederik Chopin Conservatory (Conservatoire Frédéric Chopin) in Paris under the auspices of the Municipality of Paris. The festival will feature pianist Armin Varvarian, festival coordinator.

The festival continues on the big stage of the CIC "Budo Tomović" in several program units: at 5 pm a concert "French devoted to classics" featuring works by French composers: Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Henri Dutilleux, Arthur Honegger, Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc, Gérard Gasparian, Nobuhiro Okada. Students of the music school "Vasa Pavić" will perform at this concert and for the first time they will be accompanied by students from other Montenegrin secondary music schools: "Andre Navara" from Podgorica and "Dara Čokorilo" from Nikšić as well as from the Conservatory "Frederik Chopin" from Paris. The continuation of the festival will include a concert entitled "In the style of Prokofiev", which represents a collection of compositions titled "The Ten Grimaces" by a contemporary French composer Bernard Col, written in the style of the great Russian classic of the 20th century.

For the end of the festival, the promotion of piano music by Aleksandar Perunović, Montenegrin composer and docent at the Music Academy in Cetinje, will be held at the DODEST Hall at 7 pm, followed by a full-time concert by pianist Bojan Martinović at 8 pm.

The program of the festival will include several pieces that will be performed for the first time in Montenegro, as well as the world premiere of the compositions by Nobuhiro Okada and Aleksandar Perunović.

25 February 2019 - Minister of Foreign Affairs Srđan Darmanović participated in the 40th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. 

"The Government of Montenegro is committed to the promotion and protection of human rights at the national and international level," the Minister said, expressing strong support to the work of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. 

He pointed out that in the times of crises, continuous violations of human rights, rising radical extremism, only coordinated action by all international actors and multilateral cooperation can achieve universal respect for human rights and ensure sustainable development, peace and security. 

Minister Darmanović pointed out the Government's commitment to strengthening the national dialogue on human rights, as well as the progress made in the area of promotion and protection of human rights in Montenegro, especially the rights of vulnerable groups, women, children, LGBT people, minorities, the elderly and persons with disabilities. 

He pointed out the importance of fulfilling obligations and expressed satisfaction that Montenegro is a pilot country for establishing a mechanism for monitoring and implementation of recommendations received from the UN Human Rights Bodies. 

On this occasion, Minister Darmanović also met with President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Peter Maurer. The meeting welcomed the role of the ICRC as a key organisation addressing growing humanitarian needs, which is one of the priority challenges facing the international community. The need for stronger international cooperation was emphasised in order to ensure unhindered access to humanitarian assistance in endangered areas. Darmanović underlined the importance Montenegro attaches to this issue and pointed out numerous activities implemented in the previous period in cooperation between the Government and the Red Cross in Montenegro. Maurer welcomed the activities of the Government of Montenegro to finalise the establishment of the Commission for Humanitarian International Law, as well as the humanitarian assistance provided during the crisis period and the continuous contribution as a factor of stability in the region. 

On the sidelines of the 40th session of the Human Rights Council, Minister Darmanović also met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani. The two officials expressed the readiness to further strengthen bilateral cooperation, especially in the field of economy, tourism, renewable energy and air transport. 

At the meeting with Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia Marija Pejčinović Burić, both sides reiterated the interest in further strengthening bilateral cooperation, as well as the willingness to improve cooperation through regional forums and at the international level.