11 February 2019 - Minister of Foreign Affairs Srđan Darmanović is paying a working visit to the Federal Republic of Germany, at the invitation of German Minister of Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas. 

During the first day of his visit, Minister Darmanović met with his German counterpart Heiko Maas. "Montenegro is grateful to the Federal Republic of Germany for continuing assistance to the fulfillment of our strategic foreign policy priorities - full membership in NATO and progress in the process of EU accession", Minister Darmanović said, adding that Montenegro's commitment to meeting the Alliance's key tasks and the criteria for membership in the EU is unquestionable. 

Minister Darmanović noted that that German political and expert support in key areas - the rule of law, the fight against organised crime and corruption, judicial system reforms, media freedom, and the strengthening of the security and defence sector - is of particular significance for our country. Furthermore, he pointed to the possibility of stronger economic connectivity, stressing that "Montenegro is very open for a greater presence of German capital in our market and full valorisation of potentials for economic cooperation between the two countries." 

Minister Maas said that Germany will continue to provide full support to the reform processes and integration of Montenegro into the EU. "Your place is in the European Union, and if you continue this way, success is guaranteed," he said. Maas stressed that Germany strongly supports the European perspective of the countries of the region and that, in order to strengthen the stability of the whole of Europe, it is crucial that the door of the Union is open. "The Western Balkans is an integral part of Europe, and in that sense, Germany's support is clear and very strong," Maas emphasised. 

Minister Darmanović also talked with Foreign Policy Adviser to the Federal Chancellor Jan Hecker. The Minister expressed his belief that the future of the Western Balkans is in the EU, and stressed that the success of the enlargement policy is the basis of the long-term stability and security of the region. Both sides pointed out the importance of the European integration process for the further development of the countries of the Western Balkans.

11 February 2019 - The energy sector in Montenegro has great development potential, especially in the field of renewable energy sources, Prime Minister Duško Marković and representatives of the German WPD Group underscored at the meeting which took place in Podgorica.

Pointing to encouraging economic indicators and achievements of the Government's economic policy, Prime Minister Marković said that, through attracting credible foreign investments, Montenegro wants to make the best use of its energy potential, stressing as valuable the interest of the WPD group, a team that is dominantly focused on the development and financing of wind power plants.

12 February 2019 - In cooperation with "Compania de Vinos Montenegro" and the 50th Festival of Mimosa, Lazure Hotel & Marina invites you to their first Balkan Wine Fest, where you can get acquainted with a wide selection of more than 110 wine labels from the best wineries throughout the region. The event will take place on February 16, from 12 pm to 8 pm.

During the Balkan Wine Fest, all guests will be able to sample premium varietals from some of the best wineries; all while music performers keep the party lively during this wonderful experience. Lazure & Marina has managed to gather distinguished winemakers, allowing you to learn all about new and exciting varieties from the experts in a relaxed hotel setting. To complement your festival experience, review the first-class accommodations of the luxurious Lazure Hotel.

The wineries that will be presented during Wine Fest are Krgović Winery (MNE), Winery Vučinić (MNE), Volarevic Winery (CRO), Winery Maneghetti (CRO), Winery Dubrovnik Basins (CRO), Winery Enjingi Kutjevo (CRO), Winery Vukoje (BIH), Dalvin Winery (MKD), Winery Kovacevic (SRB), Winery Zvonko Bogdan (SRB), Winery Erdevik (SRB), Winery Vertus (SRB), Winery Temet (SRB), Winery Kiš (SRB), selected Italian wineries: Astoria, Antonini, Monte Del Fra, San Marzano, Rivera and Brandy/ Rakijas: Kovilj Monastery, Gorda, Stefan Nemanja, Pevec Cellar and Yeni Raki.

Balkan Wine Fest offers a unique wine tasting experience that aims to stimulate all of your senses. Aside from an altogether pleasant experience, the organisers have prepared interesting prizes for the visitors: 3 guests will have the opportunity to win an overnight stay with dinner and breakfast for two people in Lazure Hotel.

Ticket price for the Balkan Wine Festi is 10 EUR per person, and there is a 15% discount on group ticket purchases (3+).  Booking is available via Facebook or by phone number: +382 69 373 120 (Viber).

Lazure Hotel & Marina, where the Wine Fest will take place, is located on the Adriatic coast of Montenegro at the entrance to the picturesque Kotor Bay, next to the beautiful medieval city of Herceg Novi. The complex includes a luxury boutique hotel, which offers exceptional standards of service inspired by Montenegrin hospitality values.

February 12, 2019 - Continuing our look at the real estate opportunities in Montenegro through the RE/MAX catalogue, a visit to the fashionable Podgorica kvart near Delta City. 

While most foreigners looking to invest in the Balkan region understandably look to the coast, there are plenty of opportunities elsewhere. Indeed, for long term rentals, the capital cities are worth a look. Ljubljana, Zagreb, Belgrade, Podgorica and Tirana have stable rental prices and a healthy market place. In Podgorica, for example, the average price for a 2-bed rental in City kvart is 650 euro a month. 

This week's property of the week comes from the fashionable district near Delta City shopping centre and is a RE/MAX exclusive. Here is the official description:

Extremely attractive location meets the highest standards of comfortable housing. Excellent opportunity to acquire a third-floor apartment in a prestigious development located in a City kvart close to the famous shopping mall Delta City and to all amenities. 

The location is well connected by roads to all parts of the city. Accommodation of 68 sqm comprises an open plan kitchen/dining/living room, two spacious bedrooms, the main bathroom, guest toilet and front terrace. The property is built with the high-quality materials (demit facade, blind door, oak parquet floors, Spanish ceramics first class, lowered ceilings), offers good sized rooms and it is finished to very good specifications.

The apartment is facing north-west. In front of the building there is a parking place free of charge while on the back side there is a parking space where one can rent a place. The building is equipped with the elevator. The apartment is being sold completely furnished, equipped and ready to move in to.

It should be noted that this apartment has been upgraded compared to the original project - it has underfloor heating in the bathroom, large closets in bedrooms and hallways offering lots of storage space, washer and dryer machines; built-in fridge, oven, small fridge for drinks and microwave; lower ceiling in the living room and kitchen.

Not a bad price ratio per square metre - 68m2 for 106,000 euro. For more information, photos and to book a viewing, check out the original RE/MAX listing.

February 12, 2019 - Italy on the Montenegrin Coast is the name of the book by the author, archaeologist Jovan J. Martinovic, presented on Monday, 11 February in the Solidarity Gallery in Kotor.

Numerous visitors welcomed the director of the "Museums of Kotor", Dušan Medin, who said that Martinovic had linked different cultural circles to his research work, connecting lost and present worlds and epochs, as confirmed by dozens of publications, scientific works and texts signed by this author.

February 12, 2019 - Flight Control of Serbia and Montenegro SMATSA Belgrade and European Satellite Service Providers (ESSP) have signed two EGNOS work contracts, which is the first step towards the implementation of access procedures based on the EGNOS service at airports in the Republic of Serbia and Montenegro.

The Organization for the Protection of Film Producers Rights A-rights Montenegro is one of two existing collective organizations dealing with copyright and related rights in Montenegro.

A-RIGHTS Montenegro represents the domestic and foreign repertoire from the domain of audiovisual production. On this basis, there is a reimbursement from the cable retransmission system in Montenegro.

Maja Djondovic, Deputy Director for General Legal Affairs, Operations and International Cooperation and Legal Advisor in the Organization, says that thanks to the initiative of the Organization's leadership a few years ago, the fund for the establishment and construction of the first film studio in Montenegro was launched. Pursuant to the Copyright and Related Rights Law and Statutory Authorizations, each year a certain amount is allocated for this fund. A project supported by the Governing Board of the Organization and the Fund, which already has significant resources collected for the purpose of launching and realizing it.

Djondovic says that, despite the low tariff for cable operators in MNE (the lowest in the region), a really poorly developed domestic film production in MNE, poorly represented repertoire of domestic creators, from both local TV broadcasters and cable retransmission system; the initiative of the fund for construction of the studio is of crucial importance for the improvement not only of the work of filmmakers in MNE, but also for the improvement of the general cultural situation in the audiovisual sector of our small state. There is also the possibility of opening up new jobs, attracting and cooperating with foreign co-production etc. Until now, apart from a few municipalities who have shown interest in participation to the project, in the form of leasing the land for the beginning of the studio’s construction, competent ministries or other state authorities have not yet shown too much interest in engaging in this project.

"We have been supported by the international organizations for years, both in our work and in the support of this important project, but we consider that the state authorities are not sufficiently involved in this very important initiative, a project that would only have positive effects on audiovisual creators in Montenegro in the long run, and to the overall state of the Montenegrin cultural scene. It is clear that this is a project of public interest. To this end, it has been launched," says Djondovic and adds:

"It is important to us from the Organization that at the head of the fund there will be a team that will reliably and transparently invest the collected money for the purpose for which it is committed, with the full support of the state institutions."

A bilateral agreement with the AGICO Alliance was signed

Djondovic says that after several months of negotiations, a bilateral agreement with the AGICO Alliance was signed last Sunday, representing the world repertoire of film production, with the accent on the American, which is mostly used in Montenegrin TV ether. She announces on behalf of the organization that they are largely in the process of opening up new tariff-related negotiations with the cable operators in Montenegro and ultimately implementing the system of collecting private copying fees, as well as keeping an eye on raising awareness of professional and laic public about the system of work and the importance of the existence of collective organizations for the protection of copyright and related rights in general.- Collective organizations are not a business barrier in a system where the rule of law should be the guiding principle of action in every segment of society, especially in the field of the protection of intellectual property rights. That is why we are actively working on transparency and increasing awareness of the specificity and importance of these organizations," concluded Djondovic.

Text by Promo, on February 12th 2019, read more at Vijesti

Traveling the world with the sole aim of visiting all the continents for two or three years and finding inspiration for new poems on this journey is the mission of the Canadian poet and the professor of literature Michael Dudley from Ontario, which brought him to Montenegro one month ago. 

With the help of his colleagues from the Association of Literates from Bar "Nekazano", Michael was guest at the High Economic and Catering School and talked about his life, the odyssey he endeavored, haiku poetry, and what he experienced, visibly touched, and that young writers from Bar are reading his poems in the original and translated forms.

"It is a great pleasure to be here, in fact, I did not even plan to be in Montenegro, as my trip altogether has no plan, except the next state I'm going to visit. On my journey, my 'pilgrimage', which should take two to three years, I plan to visit all the continents, and the choice of the route depends on the weather and political conditions in the region where I am," Dudley said.

He started his journey eight months ago, by the most logical route from Canada - right to Greenland, where he spent two months, then the same time on the "neighbor" island - Iceland, which he says has incredible landscapes and is completely different from Canada. He continued his Scandinavian tour with a two-month stay in Denmark, where he explored the ancient connections of that country with Greenland, and then "jumped" to the south, to Croatia.

“In elementary school I had a teacher who emigrated from Yugoslavia to Canada, whom I loved and with whom I talked a lot about Yugoslavia, so I knew what to expect in Croatia. The last Croatian station was Dubrovnik, from where I went to Montenegro for which I was not prepared, but I visited the whole Boka Bay, Podgorica, Cetinje, Niksic, Budva, Virpazar. Now I'm with my colleagues, writers from Bar, and I want to see St. Stefan and Ulcinj. Croatia and Montenegro are very similar not only in geography and history but they also have this kind of; I would say, friendliness of the people living here, that familiarity."

At Garo in "Duklja" in the renowned bohemian and artist gathering, in the company of the colleagues from "Nekazano" - Labud Loncar, Srdjan Lekovic and Stevan Stijovic, Michael reveals the most enormous wealth he gains by travelling the world.

"The people! Always the people and everywhere people. Relationships that are created in these contacts on the road are immeasurable treasures, resulting in friendships, impressions for new poems, always new and inspirational."

The father of three children that was born in Toronto proudly said that it is a large city of small communities and a multicultural capital of Canada, on which streets daily communication is carried out in more than 120 languages.

He taught literature for the last 33 years, of which 30 years in one school in the rural, western Ontario. His poems have been published in several countries of the world in books, newspapers, magazines and anthologies, and he is a member of the association "Haiku Canada".

"Haiku is the most specific kind of poetry. All the other genres are characterized by the author's vision, a poet transmitted to the reader, and in haiku poetry, the imprint is created in the reader itself, because the haiku is so imaginative that it is based on images and scenes that it causes. And, yes, it must be created in one breath, two breaths are too long for the birth of a haiku poem," Michael presented his masterpiece in the High School students in Bar.

Answers the questions of students regarding how his stay in Montenegro is inspirational and how many poems he wrote here, the Canadian first showed a big diary in which he records the most diverse observations daily. 

"I will come back to these notes later, read all of them, and based on them create poems, so in Montenegro, I record what I see, hear, feel ... There are no poems yet, sometimes from the first to the last hand there are some fifty versions.”

When he closes the covers of the Montenegrin chapter of his poetic-travel adventure, a new destination will undoubtedly be the "southern coast".

“Firstly, it will probably be Albania, and then Greece. I was thinking about Cyprus too... Let's see where the road will take me."

Text by Radomir Petric, on February 11th 2019, read more at Vijesti

The main nautical season this year in the Port of Kotor started earlier than ever because the first big cruise ship already arrived this year - the brand new “Viking Jupiter” with 640 passengers.

The cruise ship which is on its first, so-called shakedown or trial cruise, only four days ago was handed over to its owner, the Norwegian-American company "Viking Ocean Cruises", at the Italian shipyard Fincantieri in Ancona where it was built.

This company has been operating since 2015 when it started working with its first cruiser "Viking Star", and it is customary to bring all its new ships on the first voyage to Kotor, as was the case with “Viking Jupiter”, the latest 340 million-euro ship from the cruise series led by "Viking Star".

The new ship whose equipment and furniture just peeled off the protective nylon layer, and the interior which still smells of fresh paint, sailed to Kotor by captain Atle Hakon Knutsen.

It is his fifth arrival with newly built ships by the company “Viking Ocean Cruises” to the busiest Montenegrin maritime port, and this time there was the owner of the company, the Norwegian naval magnate Torsten Hagen, who had already built a special relationship with Kotor.

Our port, which was among the first to bring its ships, apparently brought luck to Hagen and his company because “Viking Ocean Cruises” is currently the fastest growing cruising company in the world with a fleet of six new ships, that will be joined in the next few years by another four cruisers made in Italy, as well as two more new expedition cruisers that are made for the "Viking" in Norway.

The director of the Port of Kotor, Captain Branko Kovacevic welcomed the new ship and his 460-member crew, as well as the director of th BCM agency, which represents the "Viking Ocean Cruises" in Montenegro, Captain Goran Macic.

They exchanged appropriate gifts with the commander of the "Viking Jupiter", captain Knutsen, whereby the Norwegian received a painting representing Perast islands of Our Lady of the Rocks and St. George, which made Knutsen very happy because these two islands in Boka are one of the most beautiful attractions and motives which travelers keep as their longest and most precious memories.

The delegation from Montenegro was able to visit the new 227-meter-long and 28-meter-wide cruiser of 47,800 gross tons, with the unique honor of visiting the command bridge of this ultramodern ship which is characterized by a high degree of automatization.

"Viking Jupiter" is designed in accordance with the latest "Safe Return to Port" (SRtP) requirements of SOLAS Convention, which means that the ship is capable of safely returning to the nearest port even in the event of a major fire, without the evacuation of passengers and crew in case of emergency, or penetration of water caused by damage to the hull.

The boat is also ecologically powered by an advanced diesel-electric hybrid drive that, along with the optimized form of the underwater hull part, which allows a high cruising speed of 20 knots with the reduced fuel consumption and "Viking Jupiter" also has additional solar power panels, state-of-the-art technology for the treatment of solid waste and waste points, while for the lubrication of bearings in the hulls of its propellant shafts, this ship does not generally use biodegradable oils, as is the case with other vessels, but the seawater itself.

Text by Sinisa Lukovic, on February 11th 2019, read more at Vijesti

11 February 2019 - NGO Fit Woman Montenegro, in cooperation with the Day Centre for children with disabilities from Herceg Novi, organized a seminar on the topic "Importance and benefits of animal-assisted therapy".

Animal-assisted therapy, which was the main topic of the lecture, is a therapeutic intervention that incorporates animals, such as horses, dogs, cats, pigs, and birds, into the treatment plan. It is used to enhance and complement the benefits of traditional therapy.

Employees in the Day Centre were able to hear a fascinating one-hour seminar delivered by Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Alina Denis Kizgin from Romania, who is also a member of the Fit Woman Montenegro organization. The lecture taught the employees how animals could provide a sense of calm, comfort, or safety and divert attention away from a stressful situation and toward one that gives pleasure. Advocates of animal-assisted therapy explained how developing a bond with an animal can help people develop a better sense of self-worth and trust, stabilize their emotions, and improve their communication, self-regulation, and socialization skills. According to Dr Kizgin, many studies and practical experiences have shown that therapeutic animals can positively affect people with disabilities, especially children and youth. Time spent with therapeutic animals among other things improves the health, mood, confidence, as well as the overall social life of persons involved in the therapeutic process.

“This lecture is a continuation of the good cooperation that we have established with the Day Centre, we believe that we will continue to conduct joint activities that will benefit the Day Centre and its citizens, "said Esma Cerinan Otović and Šule Kadan Turkel, the founders of Fit Woman Montenegro. Encouraging women to lead a healthy life and to be actively involved in the presence of the community are the main goals of Fit Woman Montenegro, an organization that has quickly gathered a large number of women in a variety of professional orientations, ages, and backgrounds.