While Montenegro’s judiciary appeals to functional immunity of prosecutors and judges when criticised for lousy work, the experts believe it’s about time to pay attention to the cases which have dearly cost the state treasury. However they admit that personal responsibility followed by resignation is still something unthinkable. No one in Montenegro’s judiciary is held responsible […]

Montenegro’ s public debt is on trajectory to a whopping 80% of GDP due to excessive and uncontrolled spending and capital projects which  are largely non-transparent including the construction of first highway  in Montenegro’s history. The Budget and Fiscal Responsibility Law  defines how the government and the parliament should act in case the  public debt […]

The medieval fortified town of Kotor in Montenegro risks losing UNESCO world  heritage site ranking as the rivers of tourists gush out of cruise ships and flow through the gates of the old town. Environmentalists and experts sound alarm bells for the Bay of Kotor’s delicate ecosystem. Dusan Varda recalls strolling through the old town of […]

As funds granted by the World Bank remain unused the government is unmoved by some 7.5 million tonnes of hazardous waste that loom over the country. On the other hand the authorities' response to environmental incidents is merely symbolic whereas ordinary people have to bear the brunt of enormous environmental damage. The Brussels administration is […]

The World Health Organisation data show that 6 % of deaths in Podgorica, 12 % in Niksic and 22 % in Pljevlja are caused by air pollution. The authorities and polluters keep delaying actions which would help reverse the situation   At the end of January the alarm bells rang in Skopje due to dramatic […]

BANNED IN MONTENEGRO BUT BELOVED IN ALBANIA, TRADITIONAL "DALJANI”, OR FISH WEIRS, ARE BEING BLAMED FOR A DRAMATIC FALL IN FISH STOCKS IN LAKE SKADAR. Dzelal Hodzic fondly remembers the biggest catch of his life. “You could feel it by the noise,” said the veteran Montenegrin fisherman. “It was night, and they just said ‘lift!’ […]

Nature’s delicate balance disrupted by development spree, Montenegro risks losing an iconic island of 515 hectares and kilometres of sandy beaches. The shrinking of Ada Bojana threatens its unique ecosystem. Shyqyri Kahari was once sailing the world for living – until his marriage in 1979 brought him back to his hometown of Ulcinj in Montenegro […]

Not only did Dusko Knezevic pay for enormous bills in luxurious hotels and cover Milo Djukanovic’s credit card debts, but he also carried out the most confidential bank transactions for Djukanovic and his family. Knezevic put down a deposit of one and a half million euros as cash collateral for a loan which Djukanovic took […]

Zeljko Mihailovic and Dusan Ban are Milo Djukanovic’s mysterious friends who had formally provided a cash collateral of a million and a half so that he could get a loan from London branch office of Piraeus Bank. They issued a statement wherein they admitted their "help" and sent it to several media outlets. The statement […]

Not only did Dusko Knezevic pay for enormous bills in luxurious hotels and cover Milo Djukanovic’s credit card debts, but he also carried out the most confidential bank transactions for Djukanovic and his family. Knezevic put down a deposit of one and a half million euros as cash collateral for a loan which Djukanovic took […]

On Christmas Eve 2018 Montenegro’s finance minister Darko Radunovic received a PBG2 document from the World Bank. The document defined the terms and obligations that the country must comply with before getting favourable loans under World Bank guarantees. Montenegro is in dire need of those loans as they help the public finances and service the country’s […]

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates show that some 20 million people are infected each year by hepatitis B, C and HIV due to improper medical waste handling. Montenegro keeps no such records. However, more than a thousand tonnes of such waste is beyond any supervision. “When my mother died of cancer I didn’t know […]

Even though more than 70m € have been invested in the wastewater treatment  the applied technology is still inadequate and without sludge disposal plans. The local authorities find it easier to ship the sludge off to Albania at the expense of tax payers’ money which goes into hundreds of thousands of Euros. The city councils […]

We know it all too well. The role of media in creating and disseminating lies and propaganda as tools for promoting and perpetuating conflict during the 1990s Yugoslav wars of secession is so well documented, that examples of it made it to the textbooks, documentary films, and courts in the Hague. According to Marija Šajkaš, […]

On Judiciary and Media Freedom in Montenegro Brussels, 19.11.18 Dear Commissioner Hahn, In the light of the 16th EU-Montenegro SAPC, which took place in Strasbourg from 14 - 15 November, I as member of the European Parliamentary Delegation to Montenegro, hereby express my concerns regarding media freedom in Montenegro. As Commissioner for regional policy and […]

Things have got worse since the government imposed moratorium on gravel extraction and the so called strict control of riverbeds. Sharks in the construction business make millions in dredging the Moraca River. On the other hand, the treasury of Podgorica City Council benefited fewer then four Euros from the concession fees in 2016.    The […]

Dear Commissioner Hahn, Hereby we write to you upon our brief encounter with the RSF Balkans bureau chief at the EU-Western Balkans Media Days 2018 in Skopje last month. We continue to be gravely concerned with the media situation in Montenegro and the sheer impunity for attacks on journalists, whether by words or physical force. […]

It seems that nothing can deter the government to milk extra millions of Euros out of its tax payers through bloated electricity bills. The proposed small hydro plants are minuscule in tackling the country's current power deficit while looming environmental damage is a way too costly.  The Balkan countries have been known for long time […]

The so called Tumour of the Mediterranean- a noxious seaweed, keeps spreading along the coast of Montenegro, venomous fish end up in fishing nets, and by a stroke of luck, they still haven't made it to the dining table, giant crayfish pop up, huge bluefish and dangerous mako sharks are on the horizon... while on […]

Unlike other regional and European countries Montenegro has no legal protection of venomous snake species which makes them exposed to trade and smuggling. Biologists warn of looming hemorrhagic fever due to excessive nose-horned viper hunting Each year more than 200 nose-horned vipers are exported from Montenegro to Serbia thus putting at risk this reptile species […]

“As soon as migrants give their passport for money, they face the highest risk of becoming victims of trafficking in human beings. There are examples on the route of illegal migrants from Greece to Macedonia and Macedonia to Serbia, but we have not had such cases so far in Montenegro”, said Vojislav Dragović, Head of […]

Inspectors turn a blind eye to a number of cases of labour exploitation where women don’t get paid, or are forced to do extra jobs or are blackmailed Although international organizations warn about the phenomenon of forced labour and labour exploitation, only two verdicts have been reached, and that was a decade ago. In the […]

Despite his excellent English, Montenegrin Businessman Dragan Buric has been having trouble explaining to his American partners and friends why – until recently – he had been unable to start a project in which he invested 13 million euros in Montenegro. It was because of – electricity. The project, to build stables and dairies was […]

Young Roma activist Fana Delija, her family and colleagues face serious problems in their community while they are fighting for human and child rights. I was physically attacked three times. “My colleague was stoned in her own house. My brother was injured in the head. But these are the risks we have counted on”, Fana […]

On Tuesday 21 February 2018, Centre for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG) organized a conference Investigative Journalism and Code of Ethics - Obstacles, Challenges and How to Reach Professional Standards, as a part of the EU funded project Investigate for ME and EU, implemented in cooperation with Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN). The goal of the project is to strengthen […]

Igor was an excellent student of medicine and specialized in obstetrics. Although his skills seemed in demand in his hometown in the north of Montenegro, he could not get a full-time job at the local hospital.