He stressed that the ambient landscape in Boka Kotorska must not be disturbed. The minister said that it is planned that all facilities in the so-called \"gray phase\" in Botun will be completed by the end of the year, followed by the installation of equipment and the execution of works in accordance with the planned dynamics, so that the project can be completed by mid-2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What are the biggest challenges related to the temporary closure of Chapter 27 at this moment?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When talking about the biggest challenges at the moment related to the provisional closure of Chapter 27, it is important to point out that this chapter represents one of the most demanding in the negotiations, both due to the scope of the acquis and the significant financial investments required for its full implementation. However, the challenges are not only administrative or financial in nature, but also involve implementing very concrete changes that citizens feel in their everyday lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the area of \u200b\u200bwaste management, the challenge is to establish a regulated system without illegal landfills, while increasing the level of recycling and reducing negative impacts on the environment. When it comes to water quality, the challenge is to provide safe and clean drinking water, as well as the preservation of rivers and the sea, which is important for both the health of citizens and the development of tourism. In the area of \u200b\u200bnoise protection, it is necessary to improve spatial planning and control of noise sources, in order to provide a better quality environment in urban areas. When it comes to chemicals, the challenge is to align with strict European Union standards, which implies better control of substances in products and industry, in order to protect the health of citizens. In the area of \u200b\u200bnature protection, one of the key challenges is to preserve biodiversity and natural habitats, while at the same time enabling sustainable economic development. A special challenge is also to align with the Environmental Crime Directive, as well as to improve the Criminal Code, in order to ensure that polluters are held accountable through stricter penalties and more efficient law enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development duly and within the stipulated deadlines submitted to the European Commission the necessary packages of laws, by-laws and strategic documents, which completely transpose the remaining necessary European Union legislation into our legal system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For several days now, there has been talk about opening an incinerator for infected animals in Nik\u0161i\u0107. What is your opinion on that? Is it more cost-effective to build an incinerator in Montenegro or to transport infected animals to incinerators in the region, if that is even safe?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The possibility of building a facility for the destruction of infected animals in the Nik\u0161i\u0107 Ironworks area is currently being considered as a realistic option, and it is important to emphasize that it would be a modern system that meets the highest standards of environmental protection and human health. Such an approach is crucial in order to eliminate any potential public concerns. From the perspective of long-term sustainability, the construction of an incinerator in Nik\u0161i\u0107 may represent a more efficient and cost-effective solution for Montenegro, bearing in mind that this would reduce transport costs, speed up response in crisis situations and ensure greater independence of the system. Transporting infected animals to facilities in the region may be a temporary measure, but it carries certain logistical and biosecurity challenges, especially in situations of increased risk of the spread of infectious diseases. At the same time, I understand the concerns of some residents due to possible insufficient information about the project itself, and therefore I have previously said that I think that the relevant Minister of Agriculture, the Mayor of the Municipality of Nik\u0161i\u0107 and representatives of EPCG should initiate a dialogue and find a sustainable solution that will be in the best interest of citizens and the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The World Bank recently approved a \u20ac40 million loan to Montenegro for waste management. The project includes the remediation of approximately 11 hectares of contaminated land at the former location of the Zeta Aluminum Plant (KAP). When can we expect the completion of this project, as well as the remediation of the red mud pond?<\/p>\n\n\n\n After lengthy but successful negotiations, a loan of 40 million euros was approved for Montenegro to improve its solid waste management system and improve the quality of life of our citizens. This is an important development step that begins a new phase of comprehensive modernization of the waste sector, in accordance with European Union standards. Through this project, a Regional Waste Management Center will be built in Nik\u0161i\u0107, which will provide modern waste treatment, recycling and composting for several municipalities. This will significantly reduce reliance on landfilling and create conditions for increasing recycling rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The project includes the rehabilitation of an existing landfill that covers approximately 11 hectares of land, at the former KAP location in Zeta, which begins a systematic solution to a decades-old environmental problem and neutralization of risks to the health of citizens and the environment. Taking into account the general current state of equipment in local utility companies in Montenegro, it is important that one of the project components also relates to the procurement of equipment for utility companies, so that local services have the capacity to respond to modern waste management requirements. With the State Waste Management Plan, we have ruled out the possibility of future hazardous waste disposal in the KAP zone, which has taken a concrete and decisive step towards improving the environment in Zeta. The ban on waste disposal at that location, along with the remediation of the existing landfill, means that we are permanently solving this inherited problem, which is the result of absolute negligence for the environment, and thus for health. After all, this is also one of the conclusions of the Government of Montenegro, which we are implementing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Preparatory works on the rehabilitation of the unregulated landfill at the location in the KAP zone are planned to begin in the fall of this year, and the project is planned to be completed within three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you have any information on the amount of revenue the Eco-Fund has received since the beginning of the year from fees paid by retailers for bags thicker than 50 microns? Is the use of bags still decreasing and are there fewer of them in the landfill?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In accordance with the Law on Waste Management and the Regulation on the fee paid by the seller of lightweight plastic bags with a wall thickness of over 50 microns, sellers are obliged to calculate and pay a fee for the bags they put into circulation. This fee, based on the decisions issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, is paid into a special account of the Environmental Protection Fund (Eco-Fund), in accordance with applicable regulations. The measure has been applied since November 2024, as part of a broader policy to reduce the use of plastic and improve the waste management system, implemented by the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development. The Eco-Fund has data that the total amount of funds collected on this basis, for the period from November 2024 to 31 March 2026, amounts to 1,796,588.38 euros.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The current ambient landscape in Boka Kotorska must not be disturbed and I personally advocate that this area be preserved. I personally believe that in the case of such a project it would have been appropriate to require the preparation of an Environmental Impact Assessment Study, which I have recently publicly stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is important to emphasize that the Eco-Fund does not generate any original business income, profit, or earnings by charging fees on this basis. These are dedicated public funds that are used exclusively to finance activities of public interest - primarily campaigns, education, and measures aimed at reducing the use of plastic bags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some research shows that 100 plastic bags were previously used per capita in Montenegro, and now research shows that around 65 are used, which shows that MERS measures are already yielding the first and concrete results, although we are aware that plastic bags are still being used, and that in this sense, future decisions must be even stronger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u010cedomir Popovi\u0107 and his company \u201cCarine\u201d have filled nine meters of sea in Bao\u0161i\u0107i for the needs of a new hotel beach. Given that the Environmental Protection Agency has assessed that it is not necessary to prepare an Environmental Impact Assessment, will everything stop there or does the Ministry you head plan to take action on this matter, since it is logical that this move must have some impact on the marine environment?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to the works in Bao\u0161i\u0107i, every intervention in the coastal area must be viewed through the protection of public interest and the preservation of natural values. The current ambient landscape in Boka Kotorska must not be disturbed and I personally advocate for the preservation of this area. I personally believe that in the case of such a project it was appropriate to require the preparation of an Environmental Impact Assessment Study, which, incidentally, I recently publicly stated. However, the Environmental Protection Agency, as the first-instance body, assessed that in this case it was not necessary to prepare an Environmental Impact Assessment Study. This, of course, does not mean that the competent institutions, and especially the environmental inspection, will not monitor the situation on the ground. They have already done so and filed appropriate reports for non-compliance with the measures from the Environmental Protection Agency's decision. Therefore, the prescribed procedures must be respected, and they, by their very nature, in the field of the environment, go in the direction of preserving and protecting nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is Botun a finished story and can anything stop its construction? What dynamics of construction of similar facilities are expected in other cities?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I have spoken about the project in Botun on several occasions before, pointing out the need for timely dialogue with the local population and better communication about the project itself. I believe that it is precisely the lack of clear and continuous communication, along with frequent changes of positions, that has contributed to distrust and unnecessary tensions between citizens and the competent institutions. I have also warned about the risks associated with the guarantees that the state has taken on, because a possible abandonment of the project could have serious financial consequences for the budget of Montenegro. In this context, it is important to emphasize that the start of the project implementation within the planned deadlines contributed to the preservation of significant financial resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At this point, the project has started and is underway. As announced by the director of the Podgorica city company \"Waterworks and Sewerage\", Aleksandar Ni\u0161avi\u0107, the construction of the most important parts of the wastewater treatment system in Botun is underway and about 20 percent of the project has been completed so far. It is planned that all facilities in the so-called \"gray phase\" will be completed by the end of the year, followed by the installation of equipment and execution of works in accordance with the planned dynamics, so that the project will be completed by mid-2028. Wastewater treatment plants, when implemented in accordance with standards, aim to improve the environment, and positive examples from practice confirm this. In this regard, I expect the project in Botun to bring the same or better results, with strict compliance with all prescribed measures. The Government of Montenegro has committed to ensuring regular monitoring after construction, and if excessive negative impact on the environment is shown, the plant will not be in operation. When it comes to the possibility of stopping the work, at this stage of the project it would have serious legal and financial consequences, which is why it is crucial that the process continues with full transparency and control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some research shows that 100 plastic bags were previously used per capita in Montenegro, and now research shows that around 65 are used, which shows that MERS measures are already yielding the first and concrete results, although we are aware that plastic bags are still being used, and that in this sense, future decisions must be even stronger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As for the dynamics of building similar facilities in other cities, it will depend on the needs of local governments, available financial resources, and the community's willingness to participate in the dialogue, but it is clear that Montenegro must continue to develop such infrastructure in order to reach European standards in the field of environmental protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you have any new data on illegal gravel exploitation, how many criminal charges were filed in the past year, and what is the plan to combat the \"gravel mafia\"?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Montenegro recognizes environmental crime and is committed to combating it through improving legislation, strengthening institutional capacities, forming specialized teams, international cooperation and active involvement of citizens in the protection of natural resources. I would like to highlight the initiative of Deputy Prime Minister Aleksa Be\u010di\u0107 to form an organizational unit, or rather a specialized team, within the Sector for Combating Crime that will exclusively deal with the fight against environmental crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the European Union level, in May 2024, a new Directive on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law was adopted, which significantly expands the list of environmental crimes and introduces stricter mechanisms for sanctioning perpetrators. As a result of cooperation with international partners, a Communication on the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of judicial and environmental cooperation between the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development, Expertise France and the French Development Agency was adopted. An important institutional step was also the decision of the Supreme State Prosecutor from September last year to form an Operational Team for the Fight against Environmental Crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The goal is to fight all forms of eco-crime, because each of them harms Montenegro to the same extent. I just have to repeat that the Montenegrin budget has been damaged by over a billion euros due to gravel exploitation, and about two billion euros due to forest exploitation. Let's just imagine if that money had remained in the budget: there would be no need to borrow and activate loans for infrastructure projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Decades of illegal exploitation of gravel from the Mora\u010da riverbed have significantly endangered the Bolje sestre spring, which has led to a multiple reduction in its yield. All analyses financed by the \u201cRegional Water Supply of the Montenegrin Coast\u201d in the past ten years, and conducted by renowned experts from Montenegro, the region and the European Union, have confirmed a clear cause-and-effect relationship between uncontrolled gravel extraction and the decline in the yield of this spring. During 2025, around one million euros were invested in activities that enabled the regular water supply of all municipalities on the Montenegrin coast, in accordance with the expressed needs. In the coming period, the priority will be to provide additional quantities of water, in order to respond to the expected increase in demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We had a problem with chemical spills from Velipolje to Bojana. Has that problem been resolved and what do you plan to do if it happens again?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The problem of liquid spills from Velipolje into the Bojana River has been recognized and seriously considered. According to available information, field research and water sampling were conducted back in August 2024, confirming the presence of increased levels of organic pollution and phosphates. Since then, the situation has been continuously monitored by the competent national and regional authorities, and certain measures have already been taken to remediate and control the pollution. However, the process of resolving this problem is still ongoing and cannot be considered fully completed. This is precisely why it has been proposed to form a joint investigative team of Montenegro and Albania, which will enable more detailed monitoring, data exchange and more efficient response. Also, a visit to Tirana is planned for the beginning of next month, during which these issues will also be put on the agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How do you assess the state of air and water quality in Montenegro?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Based on the analysis of data from the State Air Quality Monitoring Network for the period 2020\u20132024, the state of air quality in Montenegro is characterized by pronounced spatial differentiation by zones, with clearly identified problems in the northern and, partly, central zones, while the southern zone is generally in line with current and future standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Continuous and methodologically harmonized air quality monitoring has been established in all zones, covering a wide range of pollutants, which allows for a reliable assessment of the state and trends. In addition to pollutants, the concentrations of which are measured in the air and for which data are available in real time on the website of the Environmental Protection Agency, the content of heavy metals and benzo(a)pyrene in suspended particles is determined by reference analytical methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this sense, the general assessment by zones would be: the northern air quality zone represents the most burdened area, the central air quality zone shows a medium level of burden, while the southern air quality zone has a generally favorable air quality state, without exceeding the limit values \u200b\u200bfor key pollutants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n MERS has prepared a new Air Protection Law, which is fully aligned with Directive (EU) 2024\/2881 of the European Parliament and of the Council on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe. Also, the Air Quality Management Strategy for the period 2026\u20132029 is in the final stage of the adoption procedure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In terms of water quality, I could not provide more precise data, because this is an area that falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The environmental inspection will monitor whether environmental protection procedures are being followed when it comes to works on the construction of the hotel beach in Bao\u0161i\u0107i, said Minister of Sustainable Development and Northern Development Damjan \u0106ulafi\u0107 in an interview with the RTCG Portal.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":940744,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8],"tags":[9520,177],"naslovna":[910],"class_list":["post-962558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ekonomija","tag-boka-kotorska-2","tag-damjan-culafic-2","naslovna-preporuceno"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gradski.me\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/962558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gradski.me\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gradski.me\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gradski.me\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gradski.me\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=962558"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gradski.me\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/962558\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":962559,"href":"https:\/\/gradski.me\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/962558\/revisions\/962559"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gradski.me\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/940744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gradski.me\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=962558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gradski.me\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=962558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gradski.me\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=962558"},{"taxonomy":"naslovna","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gradski.me\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naslovna?post=962558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Montenegro is aware of the scope of the technical and financial obligations arising from it. Estimates indicate that full implementation requires investments exceeding three billion euros, while a detailed financial analysis is underway to precisely define the total amount. It is precisely these financial and technical requirements that represent one of the key challenges in the process of closing Chapter 27.<\/p>\n\n\n\n