Montenegro, PM claims state budget is secured despite crisis impact

Published on 15. November 2022., News

The state treasury currently has EUR 200 million in deposits, announced Prime Minister Dritan Abazović and added that citizens can be relaxed.

“What is foreseen as a loan, if there is any, and it will probably be necessary during the next year to intervene, it will also go into deposits, because before the whole of Europe, including Montenegro, an uncertain year, when it’s about the energy and food crisis”, Abazović told reporters in Budva, where the meeting of the ministers of agriculture of Southeast Europe is being held.

He said that the Government hopes that everything will pass without any shocks.

“However, the Government’s idea is very responsible, which is that we have money in the state coffers to service all the needs of the citizens if some unforeseen shocks occur. If these shocks are avoided, it will ease the situation in the Montenegrin economy”, said Abazović.

Commenting on the budget for the next year, which was determined by the Government on Monday, Abazović announced that they are satisfied and that it is the biggest budget that Montenegro has seen so far.

“The novelties in the budget are that, for the first time, salaries will be increased for educators and for people employed in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, that is, the Police Directorate.” “Also, pensions will be increased and all children will receive an allowance from January 1”, specified Abazović.

Also, the capital budget, if we exclude the highway that opened on July 13, will be the largest so far.

“When it comes to capital projects, we used the logic that we don’t want things in the budget to be a dead letter. Everything can be put in the budget, but we gave priority to projects for which there is documentation ready for their implementation. “The idea is that next year, those projects that are foreseen in the capital budget, will start to be implemented”, Abazović added.

He stated that there is a reason for optimism, because the economy is improving, and this year it will grow by 7.7 percent, and the next year it will grow less.

“We need to create an environment in which the implementation of large capital projects will be able to begin next year, and that is the ambition of the Government”, concluded Abazović, local media writes.