Abazovic: Bankruptcy does not threaten Montenegro

Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic said Montenegro is not facing bankruptcy, noting that the level of public debt is below the European average. Abazovic, speaking on the program "Okvir" on Montenegro Television, said that Montenegro is attractive for investors who want to buyreal estate. He emphasized that the economy should be open and that the rules for acquiring property should be simplified. "If we do not embark on major infrastructure projects, such as highways, expressways, airports, other countries will overtake us. First of all, I mean airports," Abazovic said.

He denied the threat of Montenegro's bankruptcy, RTCG reported. "The level of public debt is below the average level in Europe," Abazovic pointed out. Asked about his allegations that proposed Prime Minister and leader of the Party Europe Now (PES) Miloško Spajić plans to borrow a billion euros and plans to leave the country and sell Elektroprivreda (EPCG), Abazović said that these are not serious allegations and that he always stands behind his words.

"From the PES they should say how they are going to accomplish this loan. If we came to bankruptcy, let them explain why, and if we didn't, let them apologize to the citizens and say it was a bad assessment, no big deal," Abazovic said. He emphasized that they should say how they are going to make huge profits without owing the state.

"Money is available in the market, interest rates are high. This government can also borrow money. But what will that mean? It means that in a few years, we will be facing a Greek scenario, unless a new value follows," Abazovic added. He claims that Spajic said in a meeting with his colleagues that they are considering floating EPCG on the London Stock Exchange.

"I have not heard so far that Spajic has said that it is not true and that he did not say that," Abazovic added. He emphasized that if one wants to be prime minister, he must convince people of his public policy. "Public policy cannot be based on spreading lies. The state and the state budget must be treated differently. Let Spajic say openly what his plan is. He has repeated several times that he will leave Montenegro if he does not realize his plans," Abazovic added.

He said that the law on the origin of property had been undermined by MPs under pressure from non-governmental organizations. As he said, the state should have taken 10 million euros of criminally gained property from "scalars" and "kavčans" if the necessary legislative solutions existed.

According to Ђorђa Goranović, a representative of the Economic Chamber of Montenegro, companies and employees should come first for the Montenegrin executive. "When the company and employees are not there, there are no deputies, no salaries, no advisors, no people from the security sector, no doctors, no teachers. In my assessment, it is wrong that from the business sector these people are labeled because of the political market," says Goranovic.

Speaking about competition in the market, Goranovic said that all foreign consumers are welcome. "I am proud of our country that we have accepted a certain number of citizens who do not want to witness military events. Of course, in any case we have to be careful. We have to keep an eye on what will happen in the near future," Goranovic said.

He said that we should not forget about the category of the population that should be focused on - pensioners. Horanović emphasized that not even the Labor Code is needed between employer and employee. "We need serious analytical work and serious policy," Goranovic said.

President of the Association of Tourism of Montenegro (CTU) Zarko Radulovic said that 46,000 Russian citizens entered Montenegro in the first three months, but they contribute little to tourism. "In 2017, 2018 and 2019, there were 32,000 arrivals in total. So, these are Russians who came to live in Montenegro. They bring income to trade, and as for tourism, it is very weak," Radulovic believes.

He said, speaking about the ferry and returning the concession to the state, that it was not a good move by the state. "Little money, a lot of problems. We don't have medicines, citizens know what everything is missing because state procurement is lagging," Radulovic said and added that while this is happening, the state is allocating eight million to buy the ferry. Abazovic emphasized that it is as if someone thinks that two or three people should share the profits from this exclusive route and not all citizens.

"As far as medicines are concerned, public procurement has never been better. There are problems in healthcare, but this cannot be solved in a year," Abazovich said.

Analyst Oleg Filipovic, speaking about the program of the Party Europe now, said that he does not know the path of the program of this party, but that the sale of 10-15 percent of EPCG shares would not be a bad decision. "If there was an initial sale of new 10-15 percent of EPCG shares and if there was some doubt about money based on these shares, it would be a good thing because the controlling stake is in your hands. It is not a bad decision," Filipovic emphasized.

He said that he criticizes the failure to fulfill what they quietly promised: the issuance of local type obligations for Montenegrin citizens. Speaking about the tourist season, Filipovic said that it is worth seeing what the end of the year will be like.