12 December 2018 - President of Montenegro, Milo Đukanović, met with the president of Paraguay, Mario Abdo Benítez, who handed him the highest national decoration - Ordain of the national honor on the necklace. Mayor ofAsunción, Mario Ferreiro, handed Đukanović the keys to the Capital city and the charter of the honorary guest of their capital, suggesting him fraternity with Podgorica.

The two presidents talked about the Montenegrin emigrants, who started arriving to Paraguay at the beginning of 19th century. There are around two thousand of their descendants, many of whom are successful in business, politics, and diplomacy. Even some members of the delegation of the president of Paraguay have Montenegrin origins.

Đukanović pointed out that Montenegro and Paraguay had similar experiences regarding their freedom and past, as well as regarding their strategic vision of the future.

Đukanović invited his Paraguayan counterpart to visit our country, and he gladly accepted the invitation.

“The two Presidents attended the signing of the Memorandum on the cooperation of diplomatic academies and the Agreement on the abolition of visas for the holders of diplomatic and official passports,” reads the report.

The first lady of Paraguay organized an interesting program for the first lady of Montenegro. Together, they visited famous “Women City” – authentic Paraguayan project.

Abdo Benítez and his wife organized lunch for Milo and Lidija Đukanović in their residence.

Source: Cafe del Montenegro

11 December 2018 - Interior Minister Mevludin Nuhodžić said at the United Nations conference on migration held in Morocco that the Government of Montenegro is working in all fields, in order to better regulate migration processes. The country, as the responsible state, also took all measures for the possible acceptance of migrants and refugees in the event of their inflows and that it is in line with all international standards in this field. Montenegro is committed to further strengthening regional cooperation in order to preserve the security of countries of Western Balkans and borders together too. 

“The Government of Montenegro is very active in different areas, aiming to regulate migration processes better, especially when it comes to controlling of entry to the territory of Montenegro. As a responsible country, we have taken all the necessary measures to be able to accommodate migrants and refugees in case of their eventual inflow, in line with all international standards in this area.” – Minister Nuhodžić said in Marrakech at the Intergovernmental Conference on the Adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Convenient and Regular Migration. 

At the event, opened by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, heads of states and governments, as well as high-level representatives from more than 150 countries, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, supported the Global Compact for Safe, Convenient and Legal migration, which establishes a framework for managing migration flows, through cooperation with European and international partners in border control in an integrated and coordinated manner. Secretary General Guterres announced that participation in the conference shows the importance that the international community attaches to finding solutions for better migration management, based on the principles of state sovereignty, shared responsibility, non-discrimination and human rights. 

Addressing the gathering, the Montenegrin Minister reminded that Montenegro welcomes the synchronized international activity, ie the definition of the Global Compact for Safe, Convenient and Regular Migration, which is a clear political signal to the unique activities and shared responsibility of the countries of origin, transit and destination to deal with this phenomenon. He said that the position of Montenegro is that the definition of the Global Compact represents another confirmation of the importance of effective multilateralism in addressing the growing challenges facing the world. 

“Montenegro is strongly committed to regional cooperation and enhancing the stability of the region. We believe that responsible approach in addressing migration related challenges requires joint activities of all countries to be able to cope with the very complex task of securing the country's borders while, at the same time, providing better future to those facing suffering. Within that context, it is of extreme importance that all Western Balkan countries align their national legislation in the area of migration and asylum, as well as to harmonize their normative frameworks with EU Directives and standards, and in particular to develop human resources and technical capacities within their systems for control of the movement of foreigners. The migrant crisis that has affected Europe pointed to numerous deficiencies of national systems, underlining the need for regional cooperation, sharing of experiences, information, data, as well as sharing of missing resources, thus developing a joint response to this challenge.” – Minister Nuhodžić emphasised. 

On the margins Minister Nuhodžić spoke with Foreign Ministers of Croatia Davor Božinović and the Republic of Turkey, Suleyman Soylu, on bilateral relations and strengthening cooperation in the area of security and migration management. 

In the Montenegrin delegation, which was led by Minister Nuhodžić, were also the State Secretary for Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Zoran Janković and the Head of the Permanent Mission of Montenegro to the United Nations, Ambassador Milica Pejanović Djurišić. 

11 December 2018 - Montenegro has made significant efforts to improve both the legislative and institutional framework for human rights and freedoms, said Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Pažin, adding that in the coming period there will be challenges in implementing the adopted regulations. 

In his speech at the opening of the conference, which marked the International Human Rights Day in Podgorica, Deputy Prime Minister Pažin emphasised the importance of accepting diversity and suppressing all forms of discrimination in Montenegrin society. 

"This extremely negative phenomenon of discrimination needs to be suppressed because it destroys the very foundations of civil society. By the nature of things, those who are most vulnerable in society, vulnerable groups in society, are always affected. That is why we need to fight persistently and thoroughly against discrimination," he said. 

The Deputy Prime Minister said that another type of challenge stems from growing violence in society, from verbal violence to physical violence. "With this negative phenomenon, we also have to fight as a society that is civically committed. From violence against women, domestic violence in general, violence against children, including sexual violence, to an extremely dangerous and harmful violence against members of the journalistic profession and media assets."

He pointed out that, as a civil society, Montenegro should build a special sensibility towards those who are most exposed to violence, rejection, and discrimination, such as persons with disabilities, members of the LGBTI population and members of minorities, regardless of the personal characteristics that determine their minority's commitment. 

"I am convinced that we are all vigorously committed to these noble goals, as I am convinced that every 10 December we will be able to ascertain the progress made in this area because that is what is the measure of our civic identity," the Deputy Prime Minister concluded. 

The conference on the topic "Protection of human rights and freedoms in Montenegro", within the celebration of the Human Rights Day, aims at assessing the level of respect and protection of human rights and freedoms in Montenegro, with an overview of areas identified as challenging and requiring more intense efforts by all actors in the society to reach the highest standards.

11 December 2018 - On December 11, 2018, Montenegrin House (“Casa de Montenegro“) was officially opened in the city Presidencia Roque Sáenz Peña in the Chaco province, Argentina by the President of Montenegro, Milo Đukanović.

Đukanović was honoured to represent Montenegro in Argentina and witness the implementation of the project “Montenegrin House“ with the support of the representatives of Sáenz Peña, the whole province of Chaco, and with the assistance of Montenegrin emigrants. “This is the first project of its kind in this part of the world, which symbolizes Montenegro's eternity and the Montenegrins rooted in the foundations of the Argentinean society, as well as the sustainability of the Montenegrin-Argentine friendship. It is also a symbol of the progress of our country, as well as the success of its sons who for centuries went to distant lands,” the President explained in his speech.

As a country with an immigrant tradition, Montenegro also shows special sensitivity to its emigrants and their descendants. “As a symbol of Montenegrin emigration and a safe place for all those who after the First World War did not settle with the disappearance of Montenegro, Chaco became an essential part of Montenegrin identity,” added Đukanović.

“I think that you are convinced by this today's event that Chaco has a special place in Montenegro, as well as Montenegro in Chaco. Let the "Montenegrin House" be the place of the union of all the citizens of the Saenz Pena, and another solid link with the homeland, but also for the cooperation of our friendly nations and countries,” the President concluded.

The foundation stone for the “Montenegrin House“ was put in on a plot of over 4000 square meters in the presence of a large number of descendants of Montenegrin emigrants in the Chaco province, Sáenz Peña on 26th of March, 2017. This event was made into a ceremony, attended by the president of the Montenegrin community King Nikola I, Pablo Nikčević, the community’s vice president Walter Pavićević, member of the Argentina’s Council for Cooperation with Expatriates Ms Jelena Simović, Vice-Consul of Montenegro in the Santa Fe province Klaudijo Petrićević and the president of the Montenegrin community in Buenos Aires Emilio Ognjenović.

Before the “Montenegrin House“ opening, President Đukanović visited the Montenegrin colony “La Montenegrina”, built one century ago, as well as a joint monument to its seven founders and a local Montenegrin cemetery. He also visited the "Durmitor" home, built by Montenegrin emigrants in 1926, renovated five years ago, where he signed in the guest book.

10 December 2018 - Montenegro officially opened negotiations in Chapter 27 - Environment and Climate Change at the Intergovernmental Conference in Brussels earlier today.

At the conference, it was stressed that the opening of this chapter is another success for Montenegro and recognition for the intensive work on harmonising domestic legislation with EU regulations and building the necessary administrative capacity.

In his address to the representatives of the member states and the European Commission, Head of the Montenegrin delegation, Foreign Minister Srđan Darmanović, said that Montenegro has opened 32 chapters to date, of which three are closed. Darmanović added that the effort the country is putting in the alignment with the Acquis communautaire testifies to its continued and strong commitment to the European integration process. He believes that by opening the last negotiating chapter in the months ahead, Montenegro will once again confirm its leadership position, but also give a new impetus to the integration process, not only in the country but also in the countries of the region. The goal is to confirm the credibility of the European perspective of the Western Balkans.

Darmanović noted that the opening of Chapter 27 is very important, as the Constitution of 2007 defined Montenegro as an ecological state, dedicated to environmental protection and development based on sustainability principles. He highlighted that the process of European integration is the only framework that guarantees stability in the region and thus in Europe. “That is why we are sure that the presence of the EU in the region and the continuity of the enlargement policy are of fundamental importance for stability, further economic development and the competitiveness of the European continent at a global level," Darmanović concluded.

Minister of Sustainable Development and Tourism Pavle Radulović stressed that the State is committed to protecting the environment. He said that the Government of Montenegro established the Environmental Protection Fund (Eco Fund) in late November in order to create the legal framework for future investments in the field of environment and climate change.

European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn also spoke at the opening of negotiations in Chapter 27, saying that Montenegro is making a significant step forward on its “European path”. He also welcomed the progress in the rule of law and said that the focus, in the coming period, should be placed on the activities under negotiating chapters 23 and 24. Commissioner Hahn reiterated that the European Commission will continue to support the integration of Montenegro into the EU in terms.

December 9, 2018 - A special police team working with the Special State Prosecutor's Office has asked the Kotor Municipality to submit the complete documentation regarding the procedures of local government in connection with the issuance of building permits for investors, the company "A-Y Montenegro" from Kotor.

"Dragan Radonjić, leader of the team as per the instructions by SDT on November 15^th, requested from the Municipality of Kotor insight into the complete documentation and files of the cases related to the administrative procedure in relation to the application for issuing construction permits to the company “A-Y Montenegro”. "From this, I assume that this investor filed a criminal complaint against me to SDT because these permits have not been issued to them till today," said the Mayor of Kotor Vladimir Jokić (Democrats).

"AY Montenegro" submitted in September or November 2016 a total of eight requests to the Kotor municipality for the issuance of construction permits on the plots owned by that company in Kostanjica, and requested the approval to construct as many as thirty new residential tourist and auxiliary facilities, a total area of almost 8,700 square meters. They asked for this, referring to the controversial, amended DUP Kostanjica from 2009, which on the then untouched area from the Turkish cap to Kostanjica, is registered dozen of new objects of "tourist purpose". This DUP was brought to the time when Kotor was the ruled by the local DPS-SDP authority for the mandate of Mayor Marija Ćatović.

Boka Kotorska – photo Boka News 2018.

In 2009, the Regional Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments gave a negative opinion on the proposal of amendments to the DUP Kostanjica, but the opinion, however, was expressed after the deadline of 15 days of how long the institutions have to send their approval on the proposed planning document. Therefore, the Municipality of Kotor, managed by Ćatović at that time, adopted DUP Kostanjica, formally declaring that the Institute did not pronounce its opinion within the deadline, which is considered to be a tacit consent. In the meantime, according to this planning document, several tens of thousands of square meters of housing facilities in Kostanjica have already been built, which has already destroyed the image on the islands of Our Lady of the Rocks and St. George from Perast. UNESCO warned that further construction in this area would certainly jeopardize the survival of Kotor in the list of protected sites of the world's natural and cultural heritage under the UNESCO patronage.

Kotor – photo Boka News

The current ruling coalition made by the Democrats-DF-URA-SDP, with the parliamentary support of the SNP, was put in an unenviable position because the government allegedly trying to keep Kotor on the UNESCO list, and a year ago introduced a moratorium on a new construction in Kotor Bay, but simultaneously, through the mouth of Minister of Sustainable Development and Tourism Pavle Radulovic (DPS), told the local authorities to "act by law" and issue all the building permits for which the requests were submitted before the entry into force of the moratorium. Among them are the demands for some very controversial projects that, according to the UNESCO expert's viewpoint, could jeopardize the status of Kotor as natural and cultural heritage, especially in the area of Kostanjica, Dobrota, and Glavati.

"The purpose of all this with the SDT is now to put pressure on me to issue these building permits to this investor," Jokic said, reminding that in the meantime, Minister Radulovic recommended Jokic in several public appearances "that these permissions should be rejected", and such opinion was signed even publicly in front of RTCG cameras by the then director of the Directorate for the Protection of Cultural Property Anastazija Miranovic, when the Mayor of Kotor offered it to her.

None of the leaders of the state, except Radulovic who officially said that he "acted according to the law," did not respond to the letter of the mayor Vladimir Jokic, who in December 2017, from Prime Minister Dusko Markovic, the president of the Assembly, Ivan Brajovic, the then president of the state, Filip Vujanovic, and several other competent state institutions, demanded that the state takes a stand on the issue of further construction on the locations identified as critical ones by UNESCO, including Kostanjica. The government also ignored the invitation to the Council for the Management of the Natural and Cultural-Historical District of Kotor, which in January asked the Government to urgently, at its next session, to take a position what the Municipality of Kotor should do regarding the application for issuing construction permits for the new mammoth construction in the area of Kostanjica. The same request to the Government in March was also unsuccessful, sent by SO Kotor. The approval of such construction would definitely bring Kotor out of the list of protected heritage, which would have unreasonable negative consequences for both the town of Kotor and the state of Montenegro.

Vladimir Jokić – photo Boka News

"We are asking the state and all competent institutions to get involved in resolving the issue of Kostanjica. This is not a question of today's coalition government in Kotor, nor the authorities that will come tomorrow. This is the issue of preserving the space that we have to keep, this is the issue of preserving Kotor on the UNESCO list. The "permanent silence" of the state is astounding. I think it is time that we in this town finally get an answer to the question of whether the state of Montenegro intends to preserve the status of Kotor on the UNESCO list or not. Both of them are legitimate, but we need to know where we are "- mayor Jokic said at a session of the SO in March this year. He called on the state to "stand by its authority and power" on behalf of the town.

"What I assure you is that even if the state remains silent if the legal procedure does not change drastically, the Municipality of Kotor, while I am at its head and while this team is in the local executive power, will not allow such a devastation of space. We will not allow someone to mock at what has remained in the heritage of this generation to be protected," Jokic concluded. 

Gospa od Škrpjela (Lady of the Rocks) and Kostanjica March 2018.

The 'fruits' of his decision to not allow the further continuation of the destruction of Kostanjica, and to preserve Kotor for UNESCO, Jokic brought in front of SDT led by Milivoje Katnic, who sent a special police team to Kotor to inspect all the documents regarding the requests by the company “A-Y Montenegro”. In the meantime, this company appealed first to the Chief Administrator of the Municipality, and then to the Administrative Court, which ordered the Municipality to "decide upon the request" for building permits. Since the permits have not been received even to this day, "A-Y Montenegro" has addressed Katnić.

Text by S.L., on December 8th, 2018, read more at Boka news

07 December 2018 - "The Government of Montenegro does not envisage any additional measures of fiscal consolidation other than those established in 2017, but next year we will focus on improving tax environment, further economic growth and employment increase," Minister of Finance Darko Radunović said introducing the 2019 Draft Budget Law, which was adopted last night by the Government. 

By presenting the budget for the next year, the Minister reminded that the Government of Montenegro started the fiscal policy in the past two years with the implementation of the Plan for reduction of the budget deficit and the public debt, supplemented by the Government's 2017-2020 Fiscal Strategy, taking care that they do not slow down the economic growth, nor endanger the socially most sensitive segments of society. 

"The following indicators show that the measures were well balanced: a strong economic growth of 4.7 percent in 2017, and 4.8 percent in the first half of 2018, with a projection of 4.1 percent by the end of the year, an increase in Montenegrin GDP per capita to 46 percent of the EU average and an increase in the number of employees by nearly 11,000 in relation to 2016, the regularity of payment of wages, pensions, social benefits (with the growth of certain categories), strengthening of the international investment position of Montenegro reflected through the improvement of the credit rating and the most successful issue of eurobonds aimed at refinancing part of the public debt, as well as obtaining the World Bank Policy-Based Guarantee, which is also important for refinancing the part of the public debt and establishing its declining trend," the Minister of Finance said.

The Minister of Finance expressed the belief that every Montenegrin family had the opportunity to see and feel something from the numerous activities that the Government undertook in an effort to improve the quality of life - either through subsidies from agriculture, scholarship or free education for thousands of students, through the possibility for citizens to take medicine for free that they may have had to pay earlier or more easily travel with time and fuel savings, some of the reconstructed roads through Montenegro. 

Speaking of the proposed budget for 2019, the Minister of Finance and acting General Director of the State Budget Directorate Bojan Paunović stated that budget revenues increased by around 190.7 million as estimated for 2018 (or 12.2 percent compared to 2017); that the budget deficit was reduced from 5.5 percent of GDP in 2017 to an estimated 3.8 percent of GDP in 2018 and that a surplus of current consumption was achieved.

The Minister emphasised that this year we have the largest capital budget in Montenegro since the renewal of independence – 320.93 million EUR and that most of that money is foreseen for the Northern region. 

"The 2018 Draft Budget Law envisages the total amount of receipts and expenditures of EUR 2,384 billion or 50% of GDP. This is less about the rebalance for 2018. The budget for 2019 is characterized by faster revenue growth than expenditures (i.e. controlled expenditure growth and further changes in their structure), thereby reducing the deficit to 142.3 million euros or 2.97 percent of GDP. The current budget spending in 2019 will be fully financed from the original income, and a current consumption surplus of 197 million euros will be generated. This meets one of the basic requirements for fiscal policy planning. Continuing a rational attitude towards budget spending is important. We have achieved an excellent surplus of current consumption this year; I think that we have the opportunity to achieve an even better result next year," Finance Minister Darko Radunović said. 

The Minister, concluding the presentation of the proposed budget for 2019, assessed that its main characteristics are: 

• The growth of original income by 71 million EUR about 2018; 
• Optimization of current budget spending 
• Increasing investments in infrastructure projects through the most significant amount of the Capital Budget since gaining independence (320 million EUR); 
• Increasing allocations for education, sports, agriculture, entrepreneurship; 
• Reducing the need for loans, i.e. reducing the missing funds to 556 million EUR (out of which 180 million EUR refers to deposits already available); 
• The regularity of performing all public functions of the state (payments of pensions, social benefits, etc., with increase according to legal harmonization); 
• Payroll regularity, with an increase in salaries of current public sector employees by 10.9 million EUR. 

"Therefore, the 2019 Draft Budget Law is an expression of economic policy measures aimed at strengthening fiscal stability by implementing fiscal consolidation measures; support of competitiveness and development, as well as the regularity of performing all public functions in order to ensure sustainable growth of the economy, which helps further increase of the living standard of citizens" Minister Radunović concluded.