23 November 2018 - The judgments of the European Court of Human Rights about Montenegro represent a real treasury of legal knowledge that guides us and illuminates the directions in which the Montenegrin legal system should be developed, Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Pažin noted.

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22 November 2018 - Freedom of expression is not an absolute right but is limited by the rights and freedoms of others; therefore the safety of journalists must be complete, Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Pažin emphasised at the opening of the conference on the freedom of the media and the protection of journalists in the Western Balkans in Podgorica. 

Besides the safety of the journalists, which represents the principal responsibility of the state, there are three critical preconditions for the full freedom of the media, which are the responsibility of the media community, the Deputy Prime Minister noted. 

The first condition is the level of professional competence of journalists and compliance with journalistic standards. In this context, DPM Pažin pointed out that a lack of effective media self-regulation is present in Montenegrin society to a considerable extent. He said that the media community could count on the full support of the Government in the establishment of unique self-regulation. 

He added that the Government is willing to provide means and efforts to help the principle of unified, independent self-regulation. "I have learned that dialogue within the media community is ongoing and I want to believe that we will soon have encouraging messages within the media community and that this principle of unique independent self-regulation will come to life and give the results that Montenegrin society needs," the Deputy Prime Minister stressed. 

The second important condition of media freedom is the independence of journalists within the media, i.e. the freedom of journalists to report in a professional manner without pressure from editors, managers and media owners. "The research data of the Trade Union of Media is really worrying. About 80% of the members of the journalistic profession point to the pressure they suffer from within the media, from the editors in the first place, about 80%, and then about 50% are pressed by the manager and then media owners. This, in some way, points to the lack of perception that has been present in society so far, that this pressure arises predominantly from politicians or government representatives. This research indicates that this is only a marginal phenomenon," DPM Pažin highlighted. 

Speaking about the socioeconomic status of journalists, as the third significant condition for free journalism, he noted that it is worrying that about 800 Montenegrin journalists have personal income below the national average, while every third journalist earns less than EUR 400 a month. "The Government will support the establishment of the Media Fund in the new media law, in order to encourage the freedom of the media, in order for the media to have their place in society and be sustainable, but at the same time we expect the media to take into account the existential status of journalists and to raise it far higher than the current level." 

The Deputy Prime Minister stressed that the safety of journalists is the dominant responsibility of the state. "If freedom of expression is not an absolute right, the safety of journalists must be absolute. And that's uncompromising." 

He recalled that four cases of violence against journalists were registered this year. In three of these four cases, perpetrators were identified and proceedings were initiated. "The most painful one, the attack on Ms. Olivera Lakić has not been fully investigated yet and it still arouses justifiable concern within the whole society. The success and the result of this investigation will be a criterion in assessing the outcome of the people who are responsible for solving these cases, and on the other hand it is also a test of trust that a society should have in these institutions." 

The Deputy Prime Minister recalled that the Government had accepted all recommendations of the Commission for monitoring the investigation of attacks on journalists and media assets, adding that the Government fully supports the work of this Commission.

22 November 2018 - The OSCE Mission to Montenegro, in partnership with the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights and the Department for Gender Equality, delivered three two-day workshops during October and November 2018 to gender equality focal points from 12 Montenegrin municipalities on how to train their colleagues on understanding gender equality and gender mainstreaming.

The workshops, held in Podgorica on 24-26 October, 1-2 November and 13-14 November 2018, provided participants with an opportunity to learn how to plan and deliver training courses and organize awareness-raising events within their respective municipalities. Through an interactive approach, the experts strengthened the participants’ knowledge of gender mainstreaming, explained the legal framework about gender equality, and presented training techniques and skills.

The OSCE Mission, in cooperation with the Parliamentary Committee for Gender Equality in Montenegro, held the training courses on gender mainstreaming to ensure that gender equality is a core component in legislative drafting. Members of Parliament and parliamentary committee staff discussed how to analyse legislation from a gender perspective, strategize to mainstream gender in state institutions and develop gender equality policy consistent with international standards.

“We want to support the parliament in its efforts to translate its legislative commitments into good practices, to become more and more a gender-sensitive parliament,” says Ana Krušić, Senior Programme Assistant at the OSCE Mission to Montenegro. The OSCE Mission to Montenegro has been working in partnership with the parliament for many years on projects which, in addition to the promotion of gender mainstreaming, have included capacity building of committees, working with administrative staff and supporting exchanges of regional experiences. Gender expert Karolina Leaković, who led the training course, said: “Cooperation with the parliament and its service is important because the parliament is at the centre of the legislative process and has an important role in developing gender-sensitive legislation and promoting principles of gender equality.”

The training course is a part of the education on gender equality and gender mainstreaming envisaged by the Action Plan for a Gender Sensitive Parliament, which was developed and adopted by the Committee with the support of the Mission and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. The first course was organized in April this year.

Read more about OSCE mission here.

20 November 2018 - Prime Minister Duško Marković hosted an inaugural visit by the newly appointed Ambassador of Saudi Arabia Abdul Momin bin Mohammed Sharaf. At this meeting, the two officials concluded that Montenegro and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will strengthen bilateral relations that will be further built by enhanced economic cooperation. 

Ambassador Sharaf said that Saudi Arabia has a clear economic vision by 2030, focusing on trade and investment. He added that he hopes to build a partnership with Montenegro, as well as with other Western Balkan countries. 

Prime Minister Marković said that Montenegro has created important preconditions for the future and a better life of citizens and that it showed its seriousness and credibility in the past year and a half as a full-fledged member of NATO, as well as during six years of negotiations with the European Union. 

The Prime Minister pointed out that Montenegro has a lot of development potential in tourism, energy, as well as in agriculture and food production. Prime Minister Marković emphasized that Montenegro is a safe and secure country with incentive tax policy. He added that the Montenegrin economy recorded significant economic growth in the last two years. 

Both sides agreed that it would be a good idea to organise a presentation of potentials for businessmen and investors from Saudi Arabia, and the Ambassador expressed particular interest in the field of agriculture.

20 November 2018 - Prime Minister Duško Marković expressed satisfaction with the results that the Government has achieved in the first half of its mandate, adding that the Government will continue this way in the upcoming period. 

At the meeting of the Foreign Investors Council in Podgorica, the Prime Minister emphasised that all of Montenegro picked up the momentum that leads to prosperity and the future. Public finances are stabilized, we have macroeconomic stability, and investment activity has increased. The achieved economic growth rates of 4.8% in the first half of the year are among the highest in the region and in Europe – the Prime Minister said. 

Recalling the unfavourable conditions in which the 41st Government of Montenegro began its mandate – the high budget deficit and public debt, unfavourable regional and wider environment – the Prime Minister said that the success was not likely to happen. 

He said that when he took over as the Prime Minister, there were more reasons to believe we won’t succeed to overcome problems, but we managed. We provided a positive trend, we took the opportunity given to us and responded seriously to all the challenges. 

Prime Minister Marković referred to progress in the field of European integrations and added that in December we will have a total of 32 open chapters because we have received information that Chapter 27 on environmental protection will be opened in December. He also pointed out the fact that as a NATO member we have shown that we are able to fulfill the Alliance's obligations. 

Montenegro, PM Marković noted, is an exporter of overall stability. 

The Prime Minister said that the Government's policies resulted in high economic growth, adding that the growth estimates for 2018 cannot be below 4.1%. 

PM Marković emphasised that foreign direct investments, which increased in the first nine months of this year by 48% compared to the same period last year, and the creation of new jobs also represent a successful result. 

"These achievements of the Government's work have resulted in the creation of 9,000 jobs. Until recently, we couldn't speak about the creation of new jobs at all, not to mention this number of new jobs. This is a fantastic result. This is a decrease in the unemployment rate of 4% according to the Employment Agency of Montenegro, which is not very reliable because it contains data that do not give a real picture, and a decrease of 4.6% in the unemployment rate according to the survey. Now, unemployment is at the level of 14.4%, and in December 2017, it was over 21%, according to both records," Prime Minister Marković noted.

The Prime Minister said that the Government will continue to work in the same way in the following period: "I want to continue with such results," PM Marković said, adding that the next year's budget will be developmental. 

The Prime Minister said that the Government would persevere in order to adopt the Law on Fiscalization in the trade of goods and services, but it will consider all the objections coming from stakeholders. He thanked for understanding and support expressed by the Foreign Investors Council towards this legal solution. He added that he expects the law to become effective next year, while its full implementation is foreseen for 2021. 

Commenting on the country's decline in the Doing Business list, PM Marković said that in the previous period we had adopted laws that should improve the business, facilitate business and eliminate barriers. However, he said that the problem is likely in the implementation of the law and that it must be solved. 

In that context, the Law on Spatial Planning and Building Construction has been mentioned, whose effects are still being examined. 

"I still do not see what I expected and I was told that we will get a new law. They warn me that wild construction is growing, that we have few inspections, that the plans are being adopted slower than before," the Prime Minister concluded.

19 November 2018 - On the sidelines of the conference "European Values, Rule of Law and Security", which took place in Vienna on November 19, Interior Minister of Montenegro Mevludin Nuhodžić met with his Austrian counterpart Herbert Kickl.

Minister Kickl praised the results Montenegro has achieved in the negotiation process with the European Union, especially regarding chapters 23 and 24. 

"Montenegro is EU's extremely important strategic partner in the field of security. Montenegro's place, as well as of the region as a whole, is in the EU," stressed Minister Kickl. He added that Austria will continue to strongly support Montenegro's EU bid by providing concrete assistance to capacity building and harmonisation with European standards in the fields of justice, freedom and security.

Minister Nuhodžić thanked the Government of Austria for the continued efforts to keep the European perspective of the Western Balkans high on the agenda of the EU, and in particular for supporting Montenegro.

It was noted that there is room for further improvement of bilateral police cooperation in combating organised crime and terrorism.

"The situation on the continent is unique in recent history when it comes to security challenges: we all face the same or almost the same threats. Only their intensity varies Therefore, we need to use this fact in a way to cooperate even more intensively and, without exception, to implement what we have agreed as quickly as possible, with the highest quality and commitment. Only then can we be effective. There must be nothing of greater priority than what directly affects the security of our countries and our citizens," said Minister Nuhodžić, but also noted that global security challenges countries worldwide face every day request world's unity in tackling them.

"We need to act together in order to stop trafficking in human beings, drugs or weapons, or potential terrorists. The answer to these challenges can only be in the cooperation between the states. Challenges are such that if only one link fails - it then becomes the problem of not only one country, but much broader. First of all, Montenegro is a responsible state, consistent in meeting all undertaken obligations. By doing that not only do we protect ourselves but others as well," the Interior Minister of Montenegro concluded.

19 November 2018 - Minister of Foreign Affairs, Srđan Darmanović, said again that Montenegro would vote for membership of Kosovo in Interpol. He also said that the relations with Serbia have become more stable ever since Montenegro regained its independence.

Darmanović said clearly that Montenegro cannot influence the agreement Kosovo and Serbia reach regarding the exchange of territories.

“We wish all the best to both of our neighbors. We have always supported their dialogue, but Montenegro cannot be the promoter of the solution. Montenegro does not want crisis and tensions in the region,” said Darmanović.

He pointed out that relations with Serbia are good regardless of some political disagreements that have always been there.

Darmanović also commented on the Nikola Gruevski passing through Montenegro and said he didn’t see anything wrong with that.

“At that time, Gruevski was not at the Interpol’s list of Wanted Persons and Macedonia never gave any signals that he was a person out of the law,” says Darmanović.

He also thinks that tense relations between Montenegro and Russia are passed.

“It would be nice if Russia could understand that their policy in the Balkans has finished in Montenegro. It is NATO member now and the issue is resolved,” said Darmanović.

Text by CdM, on November 19, 2018, read more at CdM.