November 7, 2019 - Data showing that more than 70% of young people want to leave Montenegro is worrying. That fact has nothing to do with politics, religion or any other affiliation. This problem is social and it brings up the following question: What can be done to prevent young people from leaving and provide them with a decent life in their homeland? What is it that country and citizens can do?

Due to slightly increased turbidity of water at the spring “Plavda” in Lepetani, and according to the recommendations of the Institute of Public Health of Montenegro, consumers, especially children, pregnant women, the elderly and the population with weakened immune systems, in the settlements Lepetani, Opatovo, Lastva, Seljanovo, Tivat, Center, Tripovici, Kalimanj, Marici and Bonici can use boiled tap water for drinking or use safe alternatives (bottled water and the like).

Please be reminded that the Notice on increased turbidity from the source “Bolje Sestre” by the Regional Water Supply, which is valid for the southern part of the Municipality of Tivat, with the same recommendations of the Institute of Public Health of Montenegro, is still in force.

We will regularly inform the users in the indicated settlements about the situation on the terrain – it was said in the statement from Tivat Water Supply company.

Text by Radio Tivat, on November 6th, 2019, read more at Radio Tivat

Due to increased turbidity of water at the source of the Regional water supply system "Bolje Sestre", consumers located in settlements Dumidran, Gradiosnica, Vrijes, Brdista, Airport, Obala Djurasevici, Radovici, Gosici and Krasici can use tap water only by boiling it firsrt, informed the Tivat Water Supply company.

According to information from the Regional Water Supply company in Budva, the water has been blurred due to heavy rainfall at the mentioned source, and except for the increased turbidity, all other parameters are within the allowed values.

We will regularly inform the users in the indicated settlements about the situation on the field, reads the statement.

Text by Radio Tivat, on November 6th 2019, read more at Radio Tivat

After 8 pm last night, Herceg Novi was hit by heavy thunderstorms, winds, and rain, and the substantial amount of precipitation could not be accepted by utility holes, canals, streams in that short time.

As the commander of the Protection and Rescue Service Zlatko Ćirović told the portal Radio Jadran, the critical zone is the roundabout in Meljine, where the stream Nemilo flooded, and threatens to endanger the main road and surrounding structures.

"I urge that everyone who does not have an urgent need to go to this road avoid the roundabout, because a traffic jam is created and the vehicles are interfering with the interventions of our services," said Ćirović.

The ground floors of houses and commercial buildings have flooded, and the main road is exposed to torrential waters in many places.

Several calls were received by the security service to pump water from the facilities, but they did not intervene because the level is below 20 centimeters, which is the minimum required for their pumps to operate, Radio Jadran reports.

According to Igalo Weather Station, from 7 to 9 am, 50 liters of rain per square meter fell in that part of the Municipality.

Text by Vijesti online, on November 6th, 2019, read more at Vijesti

November 6, 2019 - From the beginning of the year to the end of September, over 1,13 million of cargo has been handled in the Port of Bar, 18% more than in the same period last year, said the company's CEO, Mr Vladan Vučelić for Dnevne novine. 

“I’m very satisfied with the results and the activities we have undertaken in the past nine months. I’d like to single out certain activities: the establishment of the legislative framework for smooth work and development of the company by signing the Annex and the Agreement on the Use of Coastal Zone. This agreement allows the Port to use the port area and infrastructure, as well as to undertake specific activities aimed at optimal use of the existing potentials and development of new capacities, in accordance with the law and strategic commitments of the Government. The second important fact is the assessment of the property value. It was carried out for the first time since 2008," said Mr Vučelić.

He adds that signing Collective agreement was another important thing, as it provided the widest range of employees’ rights.

“We’ve negotiated a dispute settlement with the Port of Adria and managed to bring to an end two issues that bothered us. We also have a considerable number of new clients and agreed on business projects. One of them is the conclusion of the contract with HBIS Ironworks Smederevo company on the transshipment of the iron ore. We’ve established contact and agreed on the cooperation conditions. The signing of the contract with ZIJiN RTB Bor on the import of copper concentrate is coming next," pointed out Mr Vučelić.

The results the Port achieved exceeded the ambitious plan it had drawn up.

“Total revenues for nine months amount to €6.946.312. On the grounds of the unloaded cargo in October (167.000 tonnes), it can be expected that it will exceed 1.650.000 projection for 2019 and hit the record high annual cargo handling after the port underwent restructuring in 2009”, adds Mr Vučelić.

He said that he wasn't very satisfied with the existing level of technical equipment.

“In my opinion, it’s the Port’s limiting factor, as it sabotages the volume of cargo handling. There hasn’t been any great investment in the development of technical systems in the port for a long time. We’ve earmarked around €600.000 for that purposes and we’ve focused on valuing and using the property in the domain of tertiary activities. We’ll use the funds to invest in the provision of port mechanics in the first place," explained the CEO of the Port.

He stressed that the Port was dominantly state-owned. Unfortunately, he said, the Port “has no investment potential for the fulfillment of strategic development goals defined in the spatial documentation for the port area”.

“In my opinion, the focus should be put on finding a strategic partner that would contribute to the development of the Port”, said Mr Vučelić.

Mr Vučelić firmly believes that capital projects would improve the Port’s market position.

Text by CDM on November 5, 2019, read more here. 

To read more about business in Montenegro, follow TMN's dedicated page.

November 5, 2019 - The National Tourism Organization of Montenegro, NTO, in collaboration with the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism, local tourism organizations and tourism industry, is going to present the Montenegrin tourism offer at the 40th World Travel Market (WTM) taking place in London from 4 to 6 November 2019.

The Montenegrin delegation is headed by the Minister of Sustainable Development and Tourism, Mr Pavle Radulović, State Secretary in the area of tourism, Mr Damir Davidović, and Director of the NTO of Montenegro, Ms Željka Radak Kukavičić.

In order to promote the destination and establish new business connections with renowned tourist journalists from this market, the NTO of MNE organized the participation of the Montenegrin delegation at the prestigious event called ‘The BGTW Annual Gala Awards Dinner’.

On the first day of WTM, Minister Radulović met with Mr Steve Heapy, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays’ chief executive. Both sides were considering possibilities for collaboration, having in mind that this tour operator has already included MNE in its catalogs and the fact it used to bring passengers to our country over the airport in Dubrovnik. Moreover, this company plans to introduce 4 flights over the course of the week to Tivat, of which two will be from London and two from Manchester from May to October.

Jet2.com is the UK’s third-largest airline, while Jet2.holidays is the second-biggest UK operator.

The World Travel Market in London is one of the leading global events for the travel industry where all sectors of the tourism industry are presenting their offer, including travel organizations, airlines, hotels and hotel companies, travel agencies and tour operators, PR houses, etc.

This world’s most significant travel market brings together around 5,000 exhibitors from over 180 countries, over 50,000 tourism professionals and about 3,000 media representatives.

Text by CDM on November 5, read more here. 

To read more about travel in Montenegro, follow TMN's dedicated page.

After about 3pm in the afternoon it was reported that there was gas in the air at the High school “Mladost” and Elementary School “Drago Milovic”, as well as Knightsbridge school. The firefighters were there until 7.30 pm monitoring the situation after closing the valve. According to firefighter commander Zoran Barbic, all gas valves and atmospheric ducts were flushed with water before and after being checked with a gas detector.

It was stated that the situation was normal and that there was no reason to worry or to be on duty. In the morning, the Ministry of Education will send a licensed representative to fix the valves and service the plant.

Schools point out that the situation is regular, that there is no reason to worry, so schools will continue to operate tomorrow as scheduled. The evacuation of students from the international school, the interruption of the basketball game, and the closure of the street were done for security reasons only.

Tet by S.L., on November 4th 2019, read more at Radio Tivat

November 4, 2019 - A message from Montenegro Dolphin Research:

Montenegro Dolphin Research is a project working in Bar to research and protect dolphins in the Southern Adriatic Sea. Since 2016, we’ve been conducting land- and boat-based surveys in order to monitor dolphin populations in Montenegrin waters. By establishing a knowledge base of distribution patterns, encounter rates and residency patterns of bottlenose and striped dolphins we aim to accumulate enough data to be able to define a plan to ensure that the dolphins can be better protected in the future. 

Sadly, these beautiful animals are classified as at-risk or data deficient and face a range of threats such as habitat degradation, prey depletion, by-catch (when they get tangled up in large fishing nets), vessel traffic and pollution.   

So far, we’ve conducted more than 500 land surveys and over 100 boat surveys, but there’s still more that we can do!  

A huge part of our project involves working with the fantastic local community here in Bar to raise awareness of the threats to Montenegro’s dolphins, and to encourage everyone to get involved and protect the country’s beautiful coastline. Through public awareness campaigns, community days and school presentations we hope to engage as many people as possible with our conservation efforts. 

This week, on Saturday 9th November, we’re hosting a community beach clean. This will be a fantastic opportunity to take part in some direct conservation, clearing the beach of litter and plastic pollution and enjoying a morning in the fresh air!  Please come along to Kraljevska Plaza at 10 am on Saturday to say hello and make a real difference to Montenegro’s dolphins!

You can find the event details here. 

To read more about lifestyle in Montenegro, follow TMN's dedicated page.

The biggest benefits of non-working Sunday for shops are obtained by gas station owners, who have expanded their product range over the past two weeks since the new trade law came into effect. Now, you can find oil, milk, salt, and sugar on their shelves.

The ban for shops to be opened started from Sunday 20^th October, with the provisions of the new trade law, with a few exceptions such as gas stations, bus and train stations, and airports, kiosks, pharmacies. Prices at these privileged stores are much higher than in markets that may not operate on Sundays.

The Chamber of Commerce Board, on whose initiative the prohibition provisions were adopted for non-working Sunday, will have a session on November 8 and will discuss the implementation of the new law.

"We have received information that gas stations have expanded their range to such an extent that groceries from all product groups are on offer. Bearing in mind that we, for whom the trade is our primary activity, do not work on Sundays according to the Act, we consider this an obvious abuse of the non-working Sunday. A meeting of the Commerce Committee is scheduled for November 8th, where we will point out the non-compliance with the Law. In agreement with the Chamber of Commerce, we will call on the Minister of Economy. We expect the authorities to react because the law must apply equally to everyone, ” it was said to “Vjesti” from the company “Voli”, who was one of the proponents of introducing a non-working Sunday for all shops.

The Association of Petroleum Companies of Montenegro (UNK) told “Vijesti” that petrol stations with their facilities, however, cannot significantly endanger the consumption in supermarkets, because the level of trade with them is much lower and they say that there are no baskets or carts for groceries located at gas stations., which indicates that this is a short trade of the basic items”.

Asked if the amendment to the law was really fair to all traders, because the owners of gas stations used the non-working Sunday, whose shops, along with the increase in turnover on Sundays, sell products at significantly higher prices, from the cabinet of the Minister of Economy Dragica Sekulic, it was answered that in Montenegro the principle of free pricing is applied and that it is up to citizens when and where they will shop.

In shops inside gas stations, goods can be sold if, for the same, the facility meets the prescribed conditions.

As for the sale of food, as explained by the Ministry, following the Law on Food Safety, the Food Safety Directorate registers retail shops.

“Such certified facilities may also be gas stations if they own facilities where they place food on the market and if they have a decision on entry in the register of food establishments by the Administration. The register of the Food Safety Administration contains a large number of gas stations, which also have facilities for retail food sales, ”the Ministry added.

The Association of Petroleum Companies of Montenegro (UNK) admits "a clear increase in sales on Sundays for individual items", which they explain "says that citizens and tourists, while refueling, recognized the opportunity to buy some basic articles on Sundays, while the supermarkets are closed”.

“The increase in sales varies and depends on the location of the gas station itself, so traffic is higher in populated areas. Most often, gas stations, in addition to car cosmetics, oils and lubricants, sell cigarettes, drinks, juices, confectionery and other packaged food products, which are more or less standard and approximately similar in range at all gas stations across Montenegro,” the UNK said.

The association adds that "this increase for only one day is not so significant financially as sales at gas station stores aim primarily to serve customers of oil and petroleum products further, and margins and prices at gas stations are higher than those of standard supermarkets, so buyers only trade basic items, mostly to carry and use while driving.”

Asked by "Vijesti" whether it is true that the owners of gas stations expanded their product range, UNK responded, "that it is an individual decision of each individual gas station to sell goods at the facilities and that the decisions are sometimes seasonal."

“Some gas stations sell heating pellets during the winter, beach mobile during the summer season, car chargers, souvenirs, etc. It’s all a matter of management decision. Outside Montenegro, especially in the EU, it is evident that various goods can be bought at the gas stations. In terms of sales capacity and assortment, petrol stations cannot significantly threaten the turnover in supermarkets. There is no need for the public to favor, to this extent, the advantage of gas stations over supermarkets when working on Sundays. In our opinion, this does not contradict the law, it can only be an advantage for citizens or tourists, who, when traveling, expect to buy certain items to carry, drink or eat in cars at gas stations. Anyone who buys the groceries for their home will probably continue to do so in supermarkets as usual or where they think is best for them," UNK concluded.

Food can only be sold at gas stations with approval

The Ministry of Economy notes that every retailer who sells food products is required to comply with the Food Safety Act, to have equipment in place to store it, and to comply with the principles of good hygiene practice.

When asked if food can be sold at gas stations, UNK replied that "any gas station that duly registered its trade and received a decision from the Food Safety Authority can sell food, factory-packed products."

"We do not have information that has been defined which product can and should not be sold on Sundays, so we asked the Market Inspectorate to answer the same question. Owners of gas stations have the same interest, which is to generate profits solely following the law, which they do now. Some gas stations that have coffee shops or restaurants within their facilities can also sell and serve customers, sell pastry by permits from those in charge, ”UNK said.

The Inspection Directorate told “Vijesti” that their market inspection continuously controls the stores inside the gas stations.

Text by Milorad Milosevic and Goran Kapor, on November 4th, 2019, read more at Vijesti

After an extraordinary game, Teodo's basketball players won against Primorje 100-55 in the 4th round of the Erste Basketball League.

The team from Tivat played great defense, which confused the start-up and talented team from Herceg Novi. The game was decided in the second quarter, which the hosts won 23-10.

The audience applauded the fantastic game, which exceeded all expectations. A convincing lead allowed coach Prorokovic to bring in younger players as well. The last 4 points were scored by the young Maric and Pekovic for the incredible standing ovation.

An uncertain match was expected, but the team from Tivat played extraordinarily and recorded a convincing victory. The most efficient player in the match is Boskovic with 28 points. Vukovic scored 17 points.

The guests played well with Rutesic who scored 18 and Kovacevic 17 hits.

Text by Radio Tivat, on November 3rd, 2019, read more at Radio Tivat