Montenegrin businessmen are calling for their voice to be heard – proposals, suggestions, needs, because it is precisely them and their businesses that will be affected by numerous laws that are in the process of being drawn up. According to economy representatives, as well as economic analysts who CdM spoke to, it is necessary to improve the business environment in Montenegro, and before the adoption of any law, the voice of those who fill the budget should be heard.
The first, which has been in the spotlight for a long time, is the long-announced but also long-awaited Fiscal Strategy, which should finally, among other things, resolve all dilemmas surrounding the reform of the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund and the implementation of the Europe Now 2 programme.
According to the Secretary General of the Montenegrin Union of Employers Rasko Konjevic, they sent a request to Prime Minister Milojko Spajic to open a dialogue on the Fiscal Strategy.
Whether and when the dialogue will take place is not known because the Government and the Ministry of Finance have not answered the CdM’s question.
Konjevic says that it is necessary for the Government to listen to both experts and the lay public in the process of preparing the Fiscal Strategy. That is why, he underlines, dialogue is necessary.
He underlines that the Government must leave the “big brother” position in relation to employers. He warns that it would not be good if any of the Government’s moves acted as imposition without dialogue or reasoned discussions. There is progress, but there are still a lot of challenges that need to be solved if we want to take a stronger step towards faster and more dynamic economic growth and development.
Economic analyst Mirza Muleskovic also tells CdM that the appeals of the economy cannot and must not be ignored.
Pointing out that their right to work is being constantly and systematically revoked, Montenegrin caterers expressed their displeasure at the fact that “every once in a while, their work is being called into question, without anyone asking them anything about it.”
Muleskovic stresses that the data from the White Book published by the Council of Foreign Investors for the year 2023 speak best about the business environment.
Namely, one data is indicative. The percentage of business involvement in the drafting of laws was analyzed, and it was determined that out of 93 observed laws, businessmen participated in the drafting of more than 37% of them. This process received a score of 6, so a change is recommended to make decision-making more transparent and inclusive.
