Council Decision of 22 January 2007 on the principles, priorities and conditions contained in the European Partnership with Montenegro (2007/49/EC)

Sectoral policies

Industry and SMEs

• Continue implementing the European Charter for Small Enterprises.

• Strengthen the investment promotion agency. Improve business advocacy and consultation.

• Adopt a law on harmonisation and acceleration of licensing and systems for issuing permits; implement legislation in close cooperation with local government authorities; and, adopt and implement an action plan on the reduction of business barriers.

• Accelerate the setting up and implementation of a national guarantee fund for SMEs.

Agriculture and fisheries

• Continue strengthening administrative capacity for agricultural and rural development policy formulation and implementation.

• Adopt the food safety law, a law on animal welfare and a new veterinary law and strengthen the veterinary and phytosanitary services, including control and laboratory capacities.

• Continue efforts to align legislation with the EU veterinary and phytosanitary acquis including the setting up of an integrated food safety system aiming at avoiding overlapping, and increasing food safety. Prepare a system of animal identification and registration for bovines in line with EU requirements.

• Finalise the fisheries strategy and upgrade the capacity of Montenegro to conduct a fisheries policy in line with EU standards, including those concerning international cooperation.

• Ensure protection of the geographical indications and designations of origin registered in the Community pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006(1).

Environment

• Continue approximating Montenegrin legislation to EU legislation and standards, notably environmental protection framework legislation. Develop the administrative capacity to implement and enforce adopted legislation.

• Develop an overall environment protection strategy (water, waste, air). Adopt the land use plan; adopt the sustainable development strategy and sectoral strategies (integrated coastal zone management, biodiversity, climate change). Strengthen environmental management administrative capacity.

Transport policy

• Continue to align aviation legislation, including air traffic control, with the acquis, in line with the commitments undertaken by signing the European Common Aviation Area Agreement.

• Strengthen the civil aviation authority, and appoint an operationally independent aviation accident investigation body, a national supervisory body for the air navigation service provider, and a body responsible for the enforcement of air passenger rights.

• Continue implementing the Memorandum of Understanding on the Development of the South East Europe Core Regional Transport Network, including cooperation in the South East Europe Transport Observatory.

• Implement the road transport law (including establishment of the relevant implementation structures). Ensure sufficient resources for the maintenance of transport infrastructures and institutions.

Energy

• Ratify and continue implementing the commitments undertaken in the framework of the signed Energy Community Treaty.

• Complete and implement the energy development strategy, and the energy efficiency strategy; strengthen the administrative capacity of the Ministry of Economy in the field of energy.

• Put in place a regulatory body and adopt appropriate legislation in the field of nuclear safety and radiation protection.

• Ensure law enforcement and transparency in the energy market.

Information society and media

• Strengthen the agency for telecommunications to foster competition in the market by applying the relevant legislation, in particular in relation to the introduction of the necessary competitive safeguards in the market.

• Improve the administrative capacity of the Ministry of Economy in the area of electronic communications. Take further steps in tariff balancing, further address the terms and conditions of interconnection tariffs, and address the issue of licence fees.

• Guarantee the operational independence of the broadcasting authority.

• Ensure a smooth transformation of Montenegrin radio and television into a public service provider, and ensure means for its efficient functioning.

Financial control

• Upgrade the public internal financial control strategy with references to short- and medium-term objectives and with corresponding IT system support; enhance internal audit capacity.

• Further strengthen the State audit office and provide for the appropriate constitutional guarantees.

Statistics

• Collect and transmit statistical information in compliance with statistical requirements related to the economic, trade, monetary and financial areas, consistent with current EU practices.

• Revise and adopt the master plan on statistics with a view to enhancing the quality and broadening the scope of statistics. Reinforce the collection and processing of agriculture statistics in line with EU standards and methodology; implement HS nomenclature 2007.

(1)

Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 of 20 March 2006 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs (OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12).