Press release from the 118th Cabinet session

The Montenegrin Cabinet held its 118^th session, chaired by Prime Minister Milojko Spajić. The Cabinet adopted the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Environmental Impact Assessment, with the goal of fully aligning with the European Union's legal acquis. The proposed amendment stipulates that the competent authority may, on a case-by-case basis, decide that the impact assessment procedure does not apply to projects or parts of projects that have exclusively defensive purposes, as well as to projects whose sole purpose is responding to emergency situations, such as projects in the areas of protection and rescue or disaster risk reduction, if it is assessed that applying the procedure could negatively affect the achievement of these objectives.

The Cabinet adopted the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Courts. The amendments aim to fulfill the measures from the Judicial Reform Strategy adopted in May 2025, as well as the measures from the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Judicial Reform Strategy 2024-2027, which foresees the optimization of small courts. According to the latest report from the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ), Montenegro is still significantly above the European average in terms of the accepted standards for determining the court network, such as the number of courts and their geographical distribution per 100,000 inhabitants, as well as the number of prosecutors and other employees in courts and state prosecutors' offices. This suggests the need for rationalizing the judicial network over a longer period. This document defines specific activities, outcome indicators, deadlines, and competent authorities for the implementation of the judicial network rationalization. The plan includes the abolition of unsustainable basic courts. The proposed law envisages a reorganization of the Basic Court in Pljevlja, which will absorb employees from the Basic Court in Žabljak, and they will continue their work in the Žabljak Branch Office. The change will have no impact on citizens, as they will still have access to the court in the Branch Office. Formally, it will no longer be necessary to delegate cases from the jurisdiction of the Basic Court in Žabljak to the Basic Court in Pljevlja, as was done in the last two years. Additionally, it has been proposed that the Basic Court in Nikšić, which was previously responsible for the municipalities of Nikšić and Plužine, will also be responsible for the territory of the municipality of Šavnik.

The Cabinet adopted the Decision on the introduction of international restrictive measures established by decisions of the Council of the European Union and EU regulations for the fight against terrorism, the repeal of Articles 2, 3, and 3.a of the Common Position of the Council 2001/931/CFSP on the application of special measures in the fight against terrorism, and the repeal of Decisions (CFSP) 2025/1577 and (CFSP) 2026/421. By adopting this decision, Montenegro will fully align with the European Union in relation to the regime for combating terrorism, which is being transposed into our legal system for the first time.

The European Union introduced this decision with the aim of strengthening the fight against terrorism at the Union level, preventing the financing of terrorism, as well as in response to current security threats. It is part of the EU's ongoing system for countering terrorism based on frameworks established in 2001.

The measures provided under this regime relate to the freezing of financial assets and property of designated individuals, making resources available to designated persons, as well as prohibiting the financing and economic support for designated persons. The measures also include restrictions on movement, such as bans on entry or transit through the territory of the European Union or Montenegro.

The Cabinet also adopted a Decree on the Conditions and Criteria for Group Exemptions of Horizontal Agreements on Specialization from Prohibition, continuing the alignment of national legislation with EU law. This regulation fulfills one of the necessary obligations for closing Chapter 8 - Competition in Montenegro's EU accession process. It creates a regulatory framework that supports a more efficient market economy, protects competition, and contributes to the interests of consumers and the economy.

Following the proposal of the Ministry of Sports and Youth, the Government approved the purchase of sports equipment and supplies for the outfitting of several sports fields and gymnasiums, with a budget of up to €47,495.