Press release from the 98th Cabinet session

The Montenegrin Cabinet held its 98th session, chaired by Prime Minister Milojko Spajić. The Cabinet adopted the Decision Amending the Decision on Severance Pay for Employees in the Public Sector. On the proposal of the Ministry of Finance, following negotiations with representatives of representative trade unions, it was decided that upon retirement employees shall be entitled to severance pay in the amount of three minimum wages prescribed for employees in positions requiring level VI or higher educational qualifications.

The Cabinet adopted the Information on Unspent Funds within the 2025 Capital Budget of the Transport Administration, with a Proposal for Reallocation to Other Capital Projects. The Information notes that the Transport Administration informed the Ministry of Finance that, based on conducted analyses and established spending dynamics, several capital projects would not be fully implemented by year-end due to unforeseen circumstances, leaving unspent funds totalling € 7,365,000. Consequently, the Cabinet adopted conclusions to reallocate these unspent funds to other capital projects.

The Cabinet adopted decisions amending the decisions on the temporary visa exemption for nationals of the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Uzbekistan, and the Arab Republic of Egypt. In line with obligations under the Reform Agenda 2024 - 2027 and the closing benchmarks of EU accession Chapter 24, Montenegro continues to harmonise with EU visa policy. Accordingly, today's amendments suspend the application of previous decisions on temporary visa exemptions for citizens of the aforementioned countries, thereby sending a clear signal of Montenegro's firm commitment to full EU membership.

The Cabinet further adopted the Regulation Amending the Regulation on the Visa Regime. The amendments remove Kuwait from the list of countries whose citizens do not require a visa to enter Montenegro, while the Republic of Nauru has been added to the visa-free list. This represents another step towards alignment with EU visa policy and Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 of the European Parliament and of the Council, which sets out the list of third countries whose nationals must hold a visa when crossing the EU's external borders and those exempt from this requirement. Under this Regulation, nationals of Nauru may stay in the EU for up to 90 days visa-free. Additionally, Articles 7 and 12a of the Regulation have been amended, taking into account that, by Council Decision 2024/210 of 30 December 2023, the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania became full members of the Schengen Area, making it unnecessary to list them separately in the Regulation.

The Cabinet adopted decisions on opening new Embassies of Montenegro in the Republic of India, Japan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the State of Qatar, the Czech Republic, and the Slovak Republic, as well as establishing an Office of the Embassy of Montenegro in the Kingdom of Belgium, based in Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.