Green House, a non-governmental organization, urged the government to suspend preparatory operations for the arrival of a 3D seismic survey vessel and introduce a moratorium on oil and gas exploration, classifying it as a high-risk project that brings serious devastation effects to the living world of the sea, seismic risks, health risks and the life of citizens, as well as serious degradation for tourism, as the most important Montenegrin economic activity.

In that NGO, the affected local communities still do not have information about what the consequences they are expected to have regarding the risks of sea pollution and induced earthquakes.

Planned research signs a death sentence to fisheries

"Poorly organized public hearings so far have been attended by only a few citizens, while there is no information in the public media giving explanations on the consequences by the Hydrocarbon Agency and the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism. Planned research in Bar and Ulcinj, announced in early November 2018, also includes a death sentence for fisheries whose proportions can only be guessed through the fees in several hundred thousand euros offered to fish societies at extremely non-transparent meetings," the Green Home reported.

They explain that during the seismic exploration at sea, the ship slowly moves and pulls a sound pulse transmitter (a series of air guns) behind it.

"3D ships have multiple emitters (usually 4 to 20), three to six kilometers in length, which they are pulling at a distance of 120 meters between each other, which speaks of a vast zone influenced by the aquatic world and marine ecosystems. These sound explosions caused by sound cannons are up to 240 decibels, causing severe damage to marine organisms and leading to drastic migrations or fish kill. Only one sound wave reaches a width of 60 km, so that plankton, marine mammals, fish and other species within this belt, closest to the source, will die from damage to vision and orientation sensors, their organs will crack and the like, while the younger species will be permanently destroyed," the NGO warned.

Fishermen and citizens are blindfolded

As they add, instead of the consequences from oil exploration and construction of oil plants be scientifically examined, and especially their impact on the sustainability and development of the supporting economic structure of society, and in relation to current development strategies and international obligations, fishermen and citizens are blindfolded by examples from Greece's Kavala, no mention is made of the example of Delta Niger, the Gulf of Mexico and other areas that have been forever devastated by the oil and gas pipelines, whose quality of life is below every level. 

"No examples of the consequences of oil accidents on exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons, especially in earthquake susceptible areas, could not be heard during public hearings. The awareness of citizens is continuously being brain-washed through some kind of random example of oil exploitation from Greece, and the fact that the length of the Greek coast of more than 13.600 kilometers of open sea is missing, comparing them to our 297 kilometers, in which all our fish farms are concentrated, natural assets, mariculture, archaeological underwater sites, waterways," the Green Home reports.

Citizens, as emphasized in this organization, do not have any guarantees that there will be no oil spills and the destruction of marine biodiversity and the coast. "Montenegro has no equipment and personnel and is not in a position to monitor oil tankers, oil pipelines, converter plants, platforms, raw oil treatment plants, and others. How will it control the operation of international oil corporations such as the ENI that has more than 400 oil spills annually in the coastal area that is highly susceptible to earthquakes?" asked Green Home. 

The Constitution of the ecological state of Montenegro is being violated

The government, according to the signing of ecocidal contracts with oil magnates and future research, violates the Constitution of the ecological state of Montenegro, which guarantees that everyone has the right to a healthy environment and timely and complete notification of the state of the environment, the possibility for influencing the decision making on issues of importance for the environment and the legal protection of these rights. "Everybody, and especially the state, is obliged to preserve and improve the environment. The government's future research violates numerous international treaties, including the Paris Agreement, through which we have committed to gradually abandon the use of fossil fuels," concluded Green Home.

Text by CdM, on November 2nd 2018, read more at CdM

03 November 2018 - The application deadline for rewards within the Fund for quality and talents expired on 1 November, and 1,000 applications have been submitted, the Ministry of Education told Dnevne Novine daily. As the said, this project proves people strongly believe in the education reform.

"Such a great interest exceeded our expectations. The Fund will provide 400 remunerations for students and teachers, and a certain number of them will be awarded by default. So far, we have received over 1,000 applications, which exceeded our expectations,” Milica Lekić, the Montenegrin Education Ministry spokeswoman.

“Such a strong interest in the Fund is extremely significant to us because we are now sure we are going to select the best ones,” said Lekić.

As for the Commission in charge of evaluating received applications, she said: “We are sure they are going to do their job professionally and objectively.”

The final decision on remunerations will be made by 30 November 2018 at the latest, and rewards will vary from EUR 500 to 2,000 (EUR 1,000 on average).

Read more about Fund for quality and talents here.

03 November 2018 - Montenegro is a source of stability, in the region and beyond its borders, said Alison Kemp, the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Montenegro.

The UK welcomes sMontenegro’s role and contribution in the Balkans amid political turmoil in the region, which happens in Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“Montenegro is a source of stability, in the region and beyond its borders: as the NATO member state and the leader in the process of EU integration, as the participant in NATO-EU-UN missions and as an example of patient and consistent settlement of bilateral disputes. However, this does not mean Montenegro is not facing challenges such as the need for further strengthening of the rule of law and sustainable economic development. The process of EU integration represents an effort to overcome these challenges so that the country’s position shouldn’t be questioned in the next wave of the EU enlargement,” noted Kemp.

As for the UK, she added, Montenegro is perceived as a NATO ally and the two nations have been forging close ties. The UK will be fully involved in the EU activities while being its member state.

“Also, we will continue providing support to Montenegro, especially in the context of your aspirations towards the EU. The EU accession process is intensive and quite challenging, created with the aim to ensure harmonization of Montenegrin standards with the EU practice and ideals. As for the rule of law, this year Montenegro will have concrete obligations denoted on several hundreds of pages with given detailed steps for the strengthening of the Montenegrin legal system,” concluded Kemp.

Kemp also said the two countries are not just allies but partners and friends, and that Montenegro is gradually getting rid of stereotypes while simultaneously being utterly intriguing to the Brits.

Source: Cafe del Montenegro

03 November 2018 - A Montenegrin language Manual for Turkish speakers, titled "Türkler Için Karadağça El Kitabı", authored by Aylin Galip and Samir Adžovic, was promoted on November 2 in Podgorica. The Montenegrin-language Manual in Turkish will make it easier for individuals from the Turkish speaking area who live in Montenegro to learn about Montenegrin language, said Montenegrin Culture Minister Aleksandar Bogdanović at the promotion.

While introducing the Manual, Minister Bogdanović said: "In some of the most important theoretical and philosophical works that have been elicited over the past hundred years, the issue of language has become a central place, thanks to which language has become one of the more important phenomena in the new breakthroughs of culture. Today it is clear that language represents much more than a means of communication and that its creation and development hide the specialties that bear witness to the cultural and spiritual ripening of one nation. That is why it can be said that in each process of learning a language, the characteristics and mentality of the people to whom the language “belongs” are revealed.” During his speech, the Minister also focused on the aspect that the dynamics of language development have led to changes in cultures throughout history, which is precisely why language is one of the crucial segments of cultural cooperation.

By creating the Manual, authors Samir Adžović and Aylin Galip have given their contribution to cultural cooperation between Montenegro and Turkey. While speaking about the work on the Manual, Ms. Galip stated that although she was somewhat familiar with the Balkan languages because she had spent some time on the peninsula, that knowledge was insufficient for such a project. To overcome this situation, when Galip decided to learn the Montenegrin language, she found Samir Adžović, who helped her in the learning process. She had many difficulties in understanding the “logic” behind Montenegrin language, which is very different from the Turkish language, and Adžović was a huge help in overcoming the obstacles. Because of the growing number of Turkish citizens who are staying in Montenegro, an idea was born to write a book that would contain basic grammatical information, daily dialogues and words. “It was envisaged that Samir writes the explanations of Montenegrin grammar, and the adjustment and explanation in the Turkish language came to me," Ms. Galip explained.

Proud of their success in creating the Manual, Mr. Adžović stated: “We tried to encompass only what is significant and deprive the Manual of excessive content. Of course, this was a difficult undertaking, but I hope that we managed to write a useful book and make our contribution to linking the two cultures - Turkish and Montenegrin."

03 November 2018 - Although the application "My Tree" was officially launched only two weeks ago, the creators have already sold seedlings worth over 10,000 EUR, which means that Podgorica will receive more than 100 new seedlings in the next ten days, according to the official report by the Capital of Montenegro.

Ivan Vuković, the Mayor of Podgorica was present at the project in Kralja Nikole Street, which was funded by the donations of the Montenegrin Electricity Transmission System, within the application "My Tree". The application was created in cooperation with Podgorica Municipality and the Company "Amplitudo". The Mayor pointed out that this is the starting phase of the implementation of the “My Tree” project, which is currently one of the most important projects within the Capital.

"In this way, we form new park surfaces in different parts of the city and we are trying to mitigate what were the negative consequences of the accelerated development and urbanization of Podgorica in the past period," said Mayor Vuković. He pointed out that the Montenegrin Electricity Transmission System first responded to the “green call” and so far invested the largest amount as a socially responsible company that showed interest in helping the Capital plan the realization of this project. "Apart from METS, there is Telekom and Vezuv Company and many others that have invested, and I hope that there will be more companies and individuals who will show concern for this major project within the Capital", said Mayor Vuković.

Vuković also emphasized that as the Mayor, he has a special obligation to thank people from the Public company "Zelenilo" who have made significant efforts in the process of determining the locations where the planting will be carried out, as well as the specifications of plant species that are adapted to this climate.

"It's not a simple job at all, though it just seems that you just need to select locations and plant a tree. However, before that, the necessary conditions such as hydraulic installations should be provided, and the trees should be watered so that they do not dry out. I invite all people who have similar initiatives in mind with the same goal, to seek the expert help from people from our PC Zelenilo, because they are leaders with the great number of people with the necessary level of knowledge that can help individuals who want to do something nice for our city ", said Vuković.

02 November 2018 - Prime Minister Duško Marković recently hosted an inaugural visit of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Poland to Montenegro Artur Dmochowski. 

Welcoming the Ambassador, the Prime Minister congratulated the 100th anniversary of the independence restoration which Poland celebrates this year. 

Both sides noted that the two friendly countries have excellent political relations at all levels and that they see room for strengthening and deepening economic cooperation for mutual benefit. Prime Minister Marković expressed satisfaction with the last year's growth of the number of Polish tourists in Montenegro, while Ambassador Dmochowski pointed to the expected further growth after the Polish national airline LOT introduced the regular line Warsaw – Podgorica. 

The Prime Minister thanked the Ambassador for the support of Poland to Montenegro in the processes of the Euro-Atlantic and European integration. The Ambassador of Poland assessed that Montenegro's accession to NATO contributed to the stabilisation of the region and expressed the full support of its country to Montenegro in continuing the process of the country's accession to the European Union, including expert and technical assistance. 

Poland will, according to the Ambassador, try to use its participation in the Berlin process and the planned summit of the Prime Ministers in July next year in Poznan to contribute to the further economic progress of the countries of the region. 

02 November 2018 - The Commissionaire for European Neighborhood Policy, Johannes Hahn, said it clearly – the forum for political discussion in Montenegro is Montenegrin Parliament. The Commissionaire was asked to comment on the announcement of the Civic Movement URA and the Democrats that they were going to form a non-institutional forum that would deal with electoral legislation.

“The Commissionaire expects that all political parties that support Montenegro's EU journey participate actively in the work of temporary assembly committee that has just been established,” said the representatives of Hahn’s office.

The Montenegrin Parliament adopted the decision on the formation of the Committee for the reform of electoral and other legislation that was formed with the aim of optimizing the overall environment in which the next election cycles will be held.

Just a couple of hours later in his Twitter post, Hahn welcomed the formation of this Committee and said he expected everybody’s engagement.

Ten hours after Hahn’s post, URA and Democrats did completely the opposite of the expectations of Hahn. Leaders of these two parties, Dritan Abazović and Aleksa Bečić announced the participation in the work of their own forum, that would consist of their advocates and would act outside the Parliament.

This way, they clearly neglected the requirements of Brussels, although it was not long ago when they presented their reform plans to the Commissionaire Hahn right at the EU headquarters.

Source: Cafe del Montenegro

02 November 2018 - On November 2, the Montenegro Business Alliance hosted an Info day in regards to the launch of the project: "Domestic products as an incentive for the development of tourism economy at the local level", which the MBA is implementing with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The realisation of the project includes the organisation of eight roundtables in 10 municipalities in northern Montenegro (Pljevlja, Bijelo Polje, Rožaje, Plav, Gusinje, Berane, Andrijevica, Mojkovac, Kolašin, Žabljak). The aim of the roundtables is to encourage local economic development through the increase of presence of domestic products in the Montenegrin tourist offer. By organising roundtables, the Montenegro Business Alliance also wants to ensure the increase of domestic products’ share in the supply of local trade chains. After the roundtables, a Fair of Agricultural Products will be held in Bijelo Polje.

MBA has directed its activities to municipalities located in Northern Montenegro since this area is becoming more and more interesting to tourists who like to taste domestic products. Local tourism organisations support the aforementioned project and are currently communicating with locals and helping them with the participation in the roundtables and promotion of their products in city bazaars.

MBA and Montenegrin Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development have recognised that secure placement of agricultural products is a great incentive for agricultural producers to increase the volume of production in order to meet the needs of the market. The multiplication of agricultural producers at the local level is very important for strengthening cooperation with tourism businessmen and trade chains in order to develop the overall economy at the local level.

In addition to the organizers, the Info Day was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, representatives of municipalities and tourist organizations from the north of the country who were thoroughly informed about the way this project was implemented.

Read more about Montenegro Business Alliance here.

02 November 2018 - Shopping mall "Bazar" in Podgorica is hosting the fair "VII Bazaar of Montenegrin products", which will take place on November 3 and 4.

The fair will present a wide range of agricultural products, Montenegrin brandy, coffee and tea, various non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, organic food and decorative items.

The aim of the fair is the promotion of Montenegrin traditional products, as well as their improvement, presentation to the visitors of the fair in the best way and finding new channels of sales. In addition, the goal is to recommend and bring Montenegrin authentic products closer to potential larger customers, like shopping malls, restaurants, hotels, hotels’ suppliers, distributors, professional gastronomes etc. With the exhibited products and accompanying activities that makes this fair recognizable, the organisers want to draw attention to a wide range of products from Montenegro that should be consumed as much as possible by the country’s people, which should result in the increase in their production.

All visitors of the fair will be able to get on-site information on the supply, use and purpose of Montenegrin products. With the exhibition of traditional products and direct contact with their producers, the organisers want to emphasise Montenegrin culture and confirm the quality by which the country is recognisable.

In the hope that the number of Montenegrin producers will grow, organisers invite everyone to visit the shopping mall Bazar and to support another promotion of quality and useful Montenegrin products.

The fair will be open on Saturday, November 3 from 8 am to 10 pm and Sunday, November 4, from 8 am to 9 pm.

Read more about TC Bazar here.

November 2, 2018 - The disastrously bad condition of rural infrastructure is one of the key barriers to market development in agriculture and the rural economy in Montenegro, which for seven decades has no consistent and fruitful agrarian policy, adequate to the natural, market and socio-economic needs of the country.

This is stated in the book "Agriculture and Villages of Montenegro in the Transition Period 1990 - 2016", by Cedomir Marovic, former Director of the Agroeconomic Institute, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry and Director of Agrobank in Podgorica.

The book came out in an issue of "Vijesti" and represents the image of agriculture and rural space in Montenegro from 1918 to 1941, then the period of self-management and socialist development of the economic branch from 1945 to 1990, and finally, times of major system changes or popularly called transition times.

"In spite of the fact that the legacy of Montenegro, when it comes to the rural economy, was not the brightest one before the nineties, there were realistic expectations that some of the previous negative processes would be halted (rural exodus and devastation of the rural economy) and to embark on a process through which economically developed countries have turned this industry into one of the pillars of their economy. On the other hand, we should finally accept the expected changes that the rural environment is the natural habitat of man. Unfortunately, that did not happen, and villages continued to perish, currently existing with 75 to 80 percent of life and the economy, which is one of the most difficult contemporary and developmental problems," Marovic said.

In support of this allegation, he states that the percentage of agricultural land usage in 1989 was 36 percent, and in 2016 it fell to five percent, according to Monstat. The number of farms in 1991 amounted to 60,043, while in 2016 this number was 43,791 farms or 27 percent less.

Marovic states that the lack of concept for functioning the market for agri-food products as a multi-decennial problem in this sector has led to the fact that farmers are left to regulate the market according to the laws of competitiveness and their economic interests, which is the most straightforward to undermine the concept of every successful agricultural production and producer standards.

"The low level of productivity in livestock production, as a result of a high technological decline, is shown by the most striking fact that the average milk production per cow in Montenegro in 2016 was 2,803 liters per year, while the same product in Western European countries ranged 6,500 liters. In Canada, the annual milk production per cow is 9,000 liters of milk, while the same production per cow in Israel is 11,140 liters. Finally, farm production in cattle breeding as the most important agricultural branch is not competitive on the local market, let alone on the international market, which is why the effort and the funds invested do not bring farms and state the results that would be realistic to expect."

Čedomir Marović PHOTO:

He points out that the Strategy for the Development of Agriculture and Rural Areas for 2015-2020 is abundant with the wrong and incomplete view of ways to address major problems in the current production and development sector, whose solutions should be positioned as a firm policy and operational principle on quite different grounds and for a longer period of time. 

"The disadvantages have come to the fore in the current monocentric concept of rural economic development as the only choice, where the direction of significant investment funds has lost the power of economic progress, which confirms the extremely weak position of agricultural households in the reproduction system, and on the other side this unfavorable condition is most directly reflected in the weak increase in food production and export. Particularly worth mentioning is the lack of projects of integral development of food production and rural tourism and other activities, on for such predicted attractive locations. 

On the other hand, as Marovic puts it, for almost three decades they have been left out of the reach of the current development policy, science and profession, the largest and most widespread natural resources such as: Bjelopavlići plain, Lješkopolje, Crmnica field, Ulcinj and Vladimirsko field, coastal zone of Skadar Lake with Zeta, Mrčevo field, Tivat field, Sutorina, Grahovo field, Lim valley, Vraneška valley, Gusinje field, Nikšic parish, Krnovo, Lukavica, Kosanica, Durmitor area, Bjelasica, Komovi. Investments in the farm production of milk and meat are in 90% of cases (estimates because there are no official data) directed towards persons who do not have any professional education for successful employment. Because of this situation, it is logical that existing production does not have the expected economic results and because of which such farms are most often decaying. The fact that the number of flocks of cattle in 1989 compared to 2016 is more than halved. 

Marovic states that the meat processing industry is living on imported raw materials, although there are some extraordinary conditions here to compensate for the import with our own production. "The number of vineyards in 1989 was 17,190,720, while in 2016 this number was 10,552,905 grapevines. As a result of prominent and other problems, total production balances compared to 1989 in relation to 2016 are more than halved. It is an assessment because there is no official data and, finally, it should be kept in mind that Montenegro is in the second last or last place of the list of rurally developed countries in Europe."

Text by Dejan Perunicic, on November 1st 2018, read more at Vijesti