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

The situation in the UNESCO area of Kotor is more than worrying, especially from the perspective of the cultural landscape, which has been irretrievably destroyed at many locations. Although a moratorium on construction in a protected area is in place, urbicides are developing unhindered by threatening to finally close the story of the UNESCO status of Kotor. The Joint UNESCO-ICOMOS Reactive Mission is underway, and one of the local experts who hosted colleagues was Prof. Dr. Ilija Lalošević.

System of Protection for UNESCO Status of Kotor is Not Functioning

Although in a relatively good state, old city centers are not immune to the general marginalization of the profession, which has been systematically implemented for more than a decade, and as a final result is the fact that the institutions of protection, above all the Department for the Protection of Cultural Goods, allowed the biggest devastation, such as building the Pentagon, the beach in Dobrota, the Turkish Cape, a five-floors hotel in Perast.

UNESCO has warned the US since 2003

The Reactive Joint Mission of the UNESCO and ICOMOS is here in Montenegro to determine the state of the protected area and Montenegro's progress in implementing the demands made at the Bahrain summit, albeit at previous sessions.

The UNESCO mission visited Montenegro for the last time in 2003, followed by a sharp warning in the 2004 summit. Although it was to be expected that we will work to establish a more effective protection system, and the warnings were mostly concerned with the treatment of the cultural landscape, we have gone a few steps backward - the Regional Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Kotor has been drowned in the Department for the Protection of Cultural Goods, and Kotor experts have taken the right to make decisions. A former director of the Regional Institute, nowadays a full professor at the Faculty of Architecture in Podgorica, Dr. Ilija Lalošević, points out:

"All our previous experience is neglected. The director who came after me dropped the Technical Department, to which we could especially be proud of. Apart from the fact that this Technical Department, with the eyes of the conservators, has renewed most of Kotor, we are talking about a team that has carried out conservation work on numerous facilities throughout the former Yugoslavia. With the Provincial Institute of Vojvodina in Novi Sad, the Regional Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments has named one of the best in the former state."

Based on Joint Reactive Mission Report, UNESCO Status of Kotor to be discussed at Committee Session Next Year

During the visit of the Reactive Joint Mission, Professor Lalošević was a contact person in front of the member state, and he met with experts from the World Heritage Committee and ICOMOS on two occasions and was their host.

According to Prof. Dr. Ilija Lalošević, the Reactive Joint Mission would make its report in 15 days, and its content will be the subject of debate by the UNESCO Committee on its next session in 2019. Professor Lalošević is not particularly optimistic about the future status of Kotor: "By the state of the field and the earlier reports that have come from 2003 to today, everything is worse than the gorge, as well as the moratorium that was introduced, albeit only on paper, according to the latest guidelines, which were made at the session in Bahrain, where, inter alia, it requires an extension of the moratorium- it is clear that the situation is not good."

The President of the Municipality of Kotor, Vladimir Jokić, stated earlier that the local authorities are communicating with competent national bodies on an expert level to try to develop the action plan that will preserve the area and be the basic stone for its sustainable management and development in the future. 

November 2, 2018 - The company “Plantaze” was officially able to submit a request to the Rospotrebnadzor to suspend the temporary ban of “Plantaze” wines on Russia's territory on Monday, said the Production Manager of “Plantaze” Milan Milutinović.

Rospotrebnadzor is the Russian control and inspection body in the area of trade and consumer rights protection, which, as Milutinovic states, has refused, without any written explanation, to receive the Montenegrin company's request through its archive. Russian courts refuted the appeal in April and May on the decision to temporarily ban the import of “Plantaze” wines to Russia.

"Given that the actions against our main distributor and sub-distributor are initiated on the alleged defect of our products, ending in their favor, their outcomes are going in our favor, and we have been advised by the attorney-in-law team from Moscow to proceed with the proceeding so that, with their mediation, by official letter to the competent authority of Russia's Rospotrebnadzor, requesting to terminate the temporary ban on imports of our products into the territory of the Russian Federation," Milutinović said to “Pobjeda”.

“Plantaze” has invited representatives of Rospotrebnadzor so that their specialists will visit the production facilities of “Plantaze” in Podgorica in order to immediately assure the quality of these products.

"We point out that the competent Rospotrebnadzor has the legal obligation to respond to the request within 30 working days from the day of delivery," Milutinović pointed out.

He reminded that three state-administrative proceedings were initiated in front of the competent state authorities in Moscow on the occasion of the control of the correctness of the wine from “Plantaze”.

"The decision to temporarily ban the import of our products on the territory of the Russian Federation was made on 26^th April last year, and the decision was delivered only at the end of January this year, so our attorneys have only been able to appeal after that moment," explained Milutinović.

He reminded that “Plantaze” received a notice at the end of February last year from the state authority responsible for control and inspection activities in the area of trade and consumer protection rights of Rospotrebnadzoror, that their wines, or series of certain types of wine, sampled, on the basis, as stated, anonymously submitted applications have an elevated level higher than the permitted pesticide of metalaxyl and plastic particles of diphthalate and that, as they stated, such wine is detrimental and improper, and that they will have to withdraw it from the Russian market.

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

November 2, 2018 - Montenegro has been and will be a gathering place for valuable, smart and good-natured people looking for answers to the challenges of the modern era not only in the field of agriculture but also in everything else, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Milutin Simović.

Speaking at an international conference on agriculture, the Green Room session 2018 in Podgorica, he said that the key expectation that upsets us all here and the others who come up with this topic is how to produce as much food as possible.

"Another important issue and expectation is that the food meets the basic standards of health security and quality. Third, how to preserve natural resources, how to use them in a sustainable way, to preserve biodiversity and genetic resources in this production and development and intensification of production. The next expectation is to respond to the challenges of climate change, we are not about to think and talk about the planet, but what we feel every day, and it seems to me that no sector can relate to this except the agriculture as a kind of production of food in the open," he said.

According to him, it is also important to make village life have more quality and be more meaningful, to provide a contemporary concept of village development, where not only agriculture is involved, but also diversification of activities in the village through agritourism, craftsmanship and other activities.

"How to give answers to global challenges in relation to many diseases and pests that do not know the boundaries. The next is how to develop a modern 20th century agriculture, while preserving tradition and heritage. I think there is a special chance and the advantage of small agriculture such as Montenegro's. And the ultimate expectation from this conference is to make the best possible combination of science and professions to make valuable manufacturers, processors and entrepreneurs increase their competitiveness, productivity, adopt new standards and improve market position," said Simovic.

Text by CdM, on November 1st 2018, read more at CdM

November 2, 2018 - It has been almost 500 days since the beginning of the reconstruction of the indoor pool in Kotor, and there is no announcement for the eventual completion. Tenders are being annulled, and time passes. Absurdly, but true: our athletes have traveled to the nearest pools for the last two years. And when they get there, they face another problem - there is not enough space.

Unfortunately, one pool is used by three clubs, which practically means that more than 100 people are in the pool at the same time, said the chairman of the president of the Democrat’s Committee from Kotor Slobodan Mačić.

He said that "between our political games, imposed bureaucracy and systemic irresponsibility of the state institutions in charge, are our children".

Slobodan Mačić

"Disappointed by the inability to solve this problem, they slowly lose their motivation, give up or even pursue their future in sports somewhere else outside the borders of Montenegro. Hereby, we request from the competent Public Works Directorate to finish the formal procedure and elect the contractor by the New Year and, if they fail to do so, inform us in a timely manner that they are unable to do so, so that through the Plan of the Directorate for Planning and the construction of Kotor we would seek a way to solve the problem. We also argue that if this process is not completed within a reasonable time, and in order to rescue water polo as a sport in Kotor, we, the Democrats from Kotor, will not seek the reasons for the delay, but we will call for clear responsibility for what was done, i.e. not being done on this project, of which the completion depends on the future of water polo and overall sports in Kotor," Macic said.

Text by Boka news, on November 1st 2018, read more at Boka news

November 2, 2018 - The promotion of the tourism industry, establishing airlines to Tivat and an Info Center about Montenegro, education and participation in fairs and the cooperation of the chambers of commerce, are the most important topics from the meeting held between the representatives of the Municipality of Tivat headed by President Dr. Siniša Kusovac and the delegation of the Czech Chamber of Commerce, led by Ambassador Karel Urban and President of the Chamber Jiri Nestaval.

Director of Czech Airports Pardubice Hana Šmejkalova proposed establishing charter flights with “Smart Wings” and “Montenegro Airlines” during the summer and emphasized the readiness for very close cooperation and enhanced joint marketing.

"The Czechs want to continue cooperation with Montenegro, especially in the field of tourism, but also in other spheres, and this meeting represents an initial step in that direction," said Ambassador Urban.

"Tourism and investments are the most important determinants of the development of the Tivat Municipality and Montenegro in general, and the large investments realized in the territory of Tivat have contributed to the fact that this municipality is present on the tourist map as an attractive nautical and tourist destination. In this positioning, setting up a good airline connection plays a big and important role," said Mayor Siniša Kusovac, as reported by his cabinet.

The meeting was also attended by representatives of Tivat Airport, the Faculty of Mediterranean Business Studies, as well as the largest investment projects in Montenegro - Porto Montenegro and Lustica Development. The President of the Czech Chamber of Commerce, Jiri Nestaval, conveyed the interest of Czech investors for arrangements in Montenegro and proposed the establishment of an Info Center about Montenegro within the Czech Chamber of commerce for the promotion of tourism potential, history, and culture.

The student exchange between the two countries in the area of education and training in tourism, the hotel industry and gastronomy, as well as cooperation through IPA projects, were proposed at the meeting. A memorandum on cooperation between Tivat and one of the Czech cities was agreed to be signed in the future.

Text by S.L., on November 1st, 2018, read more at Boka news

01 November 2018 - Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Pažin congratulated Montenegrin state prosecutors on their crucial contribution to the observed results in the fight against organised crime and corruption in Montenegro in the past year, stressing that the expectations of the Government and the whole society are the highest level of responsibility, knowledge and professionalism in the work of state prosecutors. 

Addressing the participants of the ceremony in Budva on the occasion of the Day of the Prosecutors of Montenegro, DPM Pažin pointed out that Montenegrin society undoubtedly appreciates the importance, ability and contribution of the prosecutorial organisation to the realisation of justice and security, since Montenegro in its Constitution guaranteed to the prosecutorial organisation not only autonomy in professional decision-making but also absolute independence from the Executive Authority. 

DPM Pažin underlined that because of this systemic position of the prosecutorial organisation, to which the Constitution entrusted the highest degree of independence, the Government and the whole society have great expectations from state prosecutors. 

"The reason for such expectations is simple because justice in Montenegro depends to a large extent from your independent behaviour and decision-making in the investigation, qualification and proving of criminal offenses," DPM Pažin stressed. 

The Deputy Prime Minister expressed his conviction that the Montenegrin Prosecutor's Office has sufficient leadership wisdom, persecution and professionalism that will justify these great expectations and hopes that the whole Montenegrin society lays in the prosecutorial organisation. 

"Moreover, many of those present in this room have already proved that many times," DPM Pažin said. 

DPM Pažin recalled that only during this year, the Prosecutor's office launched investigations against more than 100 persons for the criminal offenses of organised Crime and corruption, assessing that this enough speaks about the contribution of prosecutors in providing safe society, as a prerequisite for Montenegro’s progress. 

Deputy Prime Minister Pažin highlighted other significant successes in the fight against crime that were achieved this year through the good cooperation of the Prosecutor's office with other state bodies. 

Within good cooperation with the Police Directorate, property acquired through crime amounting to about 30 million EUR and illegal cigarettes worth over 10 million EUR were seized, while several tons of narcotics were prevented from entering Montenegro. 

DPM Pažin estimated that by such convincing results, the state authorities sent a clear message that crime in Montenegro is not pay off.

DPM Pažin underlined, however, that the competent state authorities should not be satisfied with the achieved, as long as there are citizens, journalists, businessmen whose rights are violated and who rightfully expect from the state to protect their dignity and provide justice, in particular, if justice is awaited for a long time.

01 November 2018 - Within a four-day visit to Montenegro, Herceg Novi hosted the leaders of 11 renowned tour operators from China over the past week. This study visit organized by the National Tourism Organization of Montenegro was initiated by the European Commission for Travel, in cooperation with the tourist organizations of Serbia and Romania.

As reported by the Tourist Organization of Herceg Novi, during their stay in the town, guests from China visited the villa "Galeb" and, thanks to the guide Alen Filipović, they went to the residence of Josip Broz Tito. After that, they visited the old town and visited the Forte Mare Fortress. Alongside Tourist Organization Herceg Novi, the study group from China was hosted by "Lazure Hotel & Marina", where they stayed overnight.

Despite the rainy weather, Herceg Novi has made a special impression on tour operators from China who are fascinated by the natural and cultural beauty, as well as the city's position, as noted by the Tourist Organization Herceg Novi.

This is the second study group that traveled to Montenegro in the past few weeks since Polish Tour Operators recently visited Bar, Kotor and Ulcinj.

01 November 2018 - Groovy Castel Nuovo recently announced that they organized an unforgettable party with the Verboten and German duo Teenage Mutants, whose signature was on the releases of Stil Vor Talent, Octopus, Suara and many others. The party will take place on Friday, November 2, from 11 pm to 5 am at Maximus Discotheque in Kotor. Tickets are for sale for 8 EUR.

By honing a uniquely catchy and inspired sound, the past years have seen the German techno duo Teenage Mutants tirelessly forge their place on the map of outstanding, timeless electronic music hailing from the heart of Europe.

At the very core of Teenage Mutants’ mission is one simple goal: to spread their remarkably feel-good, energy-driven style of techno to a global audience. And, by now, their reputation speaks for itself: the scene has long been enamoured with the authentic pair from Mainz, as they refreshingly let their skills do the talking, both in the booth and in the studio.

Teenage Mutants have a great presence on the charts of leading music platforms such as Beatport, where you can hear their creativity in many music directions from deep to techno sounds. Behind the German duo is an impressive collection of respected artists with whom they collaborated, like Purple Disco Machine, Moonbootica, Laura Welsh, Betoko and Jonas Saalbach. These are just some of the names they shared the studio with. They also created numerous remixes in cooperation with Nervo (“The Other Boys” feat. Kylie Minogue, Jake Shears & Nile Rodgers), Autograf (“Metaphysical”), Sailor & I, Third Son (“Alaska”), Niiche, EdOne, Edouard!, Simion, etc. which further show how wide their musical opus is. The worldwide clubbing scene has surrendered to TM’s haunting grooves, skills and a praiseworthy attitude during the last couple of years. Talent never falls on deaf ears, for this very reason TM have published great tunes on labels such as Sony Music, Ultra, Suara, Stil Vor Talent, Bunny Tiger, Hedkandi, Incorrect, Click Records, Nervous, Katermukke, Definition Music or Light My Fire.

It is certain that this night will serve us energetic and melodious sounds, with the support composed of P.S. & Raven Tk, who will ensure that the audience stays awake until morning.

You can find more information about the event on the page here.