Representation

Councils, Boards of Directors and bodies
 in which the MEF participates

At the tripartite level, MEF participates in social dialogue and represents the interests of employers in relations with its social partners, the Government and trade unions. Through participation in national and local Social Councils, the Union directly participates in negotiations related to the drafting of labor legislation, the process of concluding General and branch collective agreements, and creating conditions for the development of entrepreneurship, business activity and economic growth. Currently (2021), the duty of the President of the Social Council is discharged by the President of the MEF, while the Vice Presidents are the Minister of Economic Development and the Secretary General of the Confederation of Trade Unions.
The MEF represents the interests of employers by participating in the work of bodies with different powers and functions at the national level, of which particularly important are as follows: Competitiveness Council, Privatization and Capital Projects Council, Statistical System Council of Montenegro, Council of the Fund for Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of persons with disabilities, the National Council for Education and the National Council for Sustainable Development. Furthermore, representatives of the MEF are members of different Boards of Directors (BoD), namely: BoD of the Labor Fund, BoD of the Health Insurance Fund, BoD of the Pension Fund, BoD of the Employment Agency of Montenegro, BoD of the Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labor Disputes, BoD of the Limited Liability Company “Rekra”. The MEF has its representatives in numerous working groups, commissions and bodies formed at the national and local level.

MEF activities
during the Covid-19 crisis

As a protector of the interests of the national economy, the MEF has implemented a number of concrete activities since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis and launched numerous initiatives to support business sustainability. Through its four position documents, MEF provided support to the Government and relevant institutions in creating solutions that should enable business continuity and job preservation.

4th Set of Proposed Measures by MEF

(approved and submitted to the Government of Montenegro on 18 December 2020)

3rd Set of Proposed Measures by MEF

(approved and submitted to the Government of Montenegro on 27 May 2020)

2nd Set of Proposed Measures by MEF

(approved and submitted to the Government of Montenegro on 2 April 2020)

1st Set of Proposed Measures by MEF

(approved and submitted to the Government of Montenegro on 17 March 2020)

Key items proposed by the MEF and adopted by the Government

A significant number of initiatives and proposals to support Montenegrin companies in the Covid-19 circumstances, which the MEF sent to the NCT and line ministries, were accepted by the Government and included in its packages of economic measures adopted during 2020/2021. Some of our proposals are listed below:

I - Adopted proposals of the MEF

Wage subsidies; Establishment of the Credit Guarantee Fund; Subsidies for procurement of fiscal devices for the introduction of electronic fiscalization; Increasing the limit from EUR 18,000 to EUR 30,000 of realized turnover as a condition for mandatory VAT registration;

II - Adopted proposals of the MEF

Reduced VAT rate to 7% on the turnover of certain services in the tourism and catering sector; Postponement of payment / reduction of local utility fees, fees for the use of the road for access to commercial facilities, membership fees for tourist organizations, fees for transportation and disposal of municipal waste, etc.; Reduction of the annual fee for the use of marine property;

III - Adopted proposals of the MEF

Extension of the customs guarantee limit for deferral payment of customs debt from 30 days to 60 days; Deferred payment of taxes and contributions; Exercising the right of economic entities with deferred payment of taxes and contributions, to the reimbursement of salary compensation for maternity or parental leave.

Surveys

Conducting surveys and polls among employers is a regular activity of the MEF. In the period 2020-2021, due to extraordinary circumstances caused by the COVID-19 crisis, the MEF intensified its work and conducted as many as five studies.

    * Second research: Response to the Covid-19 crisis – challenges, needs and expectations of the Montenegrin companies

    * First research: Impact of Covid-19 on the business activity of Montenegrin companies

    * Impact of Covid-19 on the business activity of women entrepreneurs in Montenegro

    * Survey on the success of the summer tourism season (2021) in Montenegro

    * Survey on the Non-working Sunday

Data on Covid 19

40%%

Companies in Montenegro ceased operations

35%%

Companies was partially operational

23%%

Companies were fully operational

13%%

Companies organized work from home

The Levy
Register

The levy register is a unique, centralized and electronically kept record of (fiscal and parafiscal) levies in Montenegro (javninameti.gov.me). Its establishment was aimed at centralizing data on levies charged in Montenegro, at the state and local levels, in the interest of simplifying business processes and increasing transparency.
MEF supported the development of the Levy Register by creating a register of state and local parafiscal charges in Montenegro in 2017, through a project implemented in cooperation with the ILO, which was then transferred to the SCC for further management, development and planned use.

The work on establishing the Register that exists today was coordinated by the SCC, with the support of the EBRD and in cooperation with the Government of the United Kingdom, as well as through a working group consisting of representatives of public institutions, business associations and the Union of Municipalities. The Registry is expected to be systematically identified as a tool business environment promotion.