In the first six months of this year, out of 30 legal entities, ten municipalities, the same number of ministries and state-owned companies, selected using a random sample method, the Ministry of Defense, the Municipality of Tivat and the HG "Budvanska rivijera" spent the most on representation costs.
All three groups together paid 192.317 euros on this basis, and the most frugal, with 57.326,91 euros spent, were businessmen, followed by ministers with 62.403,24 euros, and the most from the state coffers on food and drinks were allocated by mayors, whose total expenses for representation amounted to 72.586,85 euros.
It is certainly interesting to note that the Capital City, for example, spent four times less money for these purposes than the Municipality of Bijelo Polje, and that one of the largest items in the Podgorica budget is sandwiches for councilors.
The "Budvanska rivijera" hotel group, in the period from January 1 to July 1, 2025, booked 17.486,73 euros into the representation account. Food and beverage consumption took place at the "Budvanska rivijera" facilities - Gradska kafana, Aperit Bar, Americano bar, Raspućin Snack bar... Of the total amount, the "Budvanska rivijera" management accounted for more than half of the costs - 9.355,96 euros.
The Port of Bar spent 11.795,69 euros on representation in the indicated period, with the note that copies of invoices on the basis of which payments were made on this basis, according to the position of this state-owned company, constitute a business secret.
Montecargo AD spent 6.776,10 euros on representation in the first half of the year. Among the items are those for purchases of coffee, water, honey, juices and snacks for office use, such as bayadero and raffaello balls, but also tavern bills that show what employees and their guests prefer. Among the brandies, there is “worthy plum” and “worthy quince”, among the wines, “Arsenijević souvignon” and “graševina” dominate. As for the food, the tastes are different. People ordered everything from “karađorđeva”, “chicken quatro formagi”, to squid and octopus, to gourmet pljeskavica.
In the Railway Rolling Stock Maintenance (OŽVS), for the first six months of this year, they spent 1.075,28 euros on the national team. The largest bill in one of the Podgorica restaurants was 687,90 euros, but the attached documentation does not show what was on this obviously rich table.
The Public Company for National Parks allocated 2.475,71 euros for entertainment during this period. These are mostly "small" bills, and the one of 365,40 euros includes 23 group menus for 15 euros each, as well as coffee, juices and one "Jameson".
Post office without tavern guilds
The Montenegrin Post Office spent 1.180,12 euros on representation in the first half of this year. There is no cafe bill among the bills, it is mostly about purchasing office supplies.
The Pljevlja Coal Mine calculates external bills and the salary of waiters in the company buffet for the national team. 9.754,14 euros were spent on these two items from January 1 to July 1, but the invoices on the basis of which the payments were made were not submitted. However, the cabinet of the Board of Directors and the cabinet of the Executive Director account for 3.154,66 euros of the total amount.
In the mentioned period, Montenegrin ski resorts spent 3.731,33 euros on the national team. This was mostly for purchasing groceries from the market, and among the documentation there is only one tavern bill in the amount of 66 euros.
EPCG Solar gradnja had only one bill for representation in the first six months, from a local wholesaler in the amount of 877,55 euros. Juices, tea, coffee and mineral water were purchased.
In six months, TO Montegro paid three restaurant bills through the national team, totaling 946,30 euros.
Ulcinj Riviera allocated 1.438,76 euros for the team in Montenegro in the first half of the year. However, this state-owned company also had expenses on this basis in the immediate vicinity. In Serbia, 86.293 dinars or about 730 euros were spent, and in Albania 550 lek, which is about 5,5 euros.
EPCG Željezara Nikšić spent 183,30 euros on the representation, and the Railway Infrastructure of Montenegro (ŽICG) paid 3.079,08 euros for this purpose in the first six months of this year. The cost of the cafeteria, hot drinks for all ŽICG employees amounted to 1.859,52 euros, and the Board of Directors and management of ZICG accounted for the remaining 1.219,56 euros.
From tagliatelle to pork specialties
The Ministry of Diaspora, headed by Mirsad Azemović (BS), in the first six months of this year, spent 4.325,25 euros on the national team. Among the bills are those for purchasing coffee, juices and other office supplies, as well as cafe bills. A classic ministerial lunch menu worth 173,90 euros starts with, of course, espresso, plain and sparkling water, and includes steak in olive oil, beef rump steak, chicken fingers with sesame, avocado chicken caprese and chicken tagliatelle.
The Department of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development, headed by Damjan Ćulafić (Democrats), spent 2.112,08 euros on representation during this period.
The Ministry of Energy, headed by Admir Šahmanović, from January to July 1, he had only four bills paid for a total of 1.174,60 euros.
The Ministry of Defense spent 24.523,57 euros on representation in the first half of the year. In the military canteen, 2.782,50 euros were paid in this period, and most of the other expenses, based on invoices, were incurred as a result of international military cooperation, such as the Conference on Harmonization of Activities from the Strategic Partnership Program with representatives of the NG Maine (822,80 euros), the visit of members of the NATO Mountain Warfare Center NATO MW COE (561,44), for the IPC/MPC XXX ADRION seminar for the ADRION CAX/UVEX 25 Exercise (1234,20), for the visit of the KFOR Commander (987,36)...
The Ministry of Justice spent 8.146,55 euros in the first half of the year, of which the department headed by Bojan Božović He paid 2.269,66 euros for representation expenses abroad.
The Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property spent 4.077,73 on entertainment from January 1 to July 1. A classic entertainment meal for this ministry headed by Slaven Radunović, contains, for example, from Nikšić draft and non-alcoholic beverages, mixed salad and wheat porridge, to pork specialties.
The semi-annual balance of the Ministry of Education regarding representation amounts to 8.899,08 euros. Significant funds were spent in the Ministry's Buffet. The bill for April 2025 for using the services of the Ministry of Education's Buffet amounted to 1.072,34 euros, in March the bill was 1.140,25 euros, and in January and February 605,40 and 631,70 euros were spent in the Buffet, respectively.
In the Ministry of Transport, entertainment expenses were incurred within the jurisdiction of the Directorate for Road Traffic and Motor Vehicles and the Directorate for State Roads. 442,10 euros were spent, and on June 6, a simple procurement of entertainment services for the needs of employees of the Ministry of Transport was launched, with an estimated value of 4,838,79 euros including VAT.
The Ministry of Social Welfare, Family Care and Demography is one of the more modest in terms of spending on representation. This department spent 1.560,88 euros in the period from January 1 to July 1.
The Ministry of Tourism had only three invoices for representation during this period, for which 1.645,83 euros were paid.
The Ministry of Public Administration paid out 1.590,32 euros for representation in the first half of the year.
T-shirts, umbrellas and mixed grilled meat
The Municipality of Bar spent a total of 8.602,93 euros on representation in the first six months of 2025. A significant item in this type of expenditure is consumption in the municipal buffet, where 980,30 euros were spent in February, 727,40 euros in March, and 915,70 euros in April... According to one of the tavern bills, paid for 308 euros, the Bar municipality and their guests opted for the fish menu. Along with “vranac garnet” and “chardoanay garnet”, the table featured carp “besac”, carp with prunes and quince, fish platter “Putevi Virpazara” and rolled trout “Aromatici ukus Virpazara”. For dessert, the Bar residents chose date cake, fig cake and Montenegrin pancakes.
Representation in the Municipality of Bijelo Polje, from January 1 to July 1, amounted to 14.535,89 euros. The Protection and Rescue Service spent the most, with 7.489,87 euros, followed by the Office of the Mayor with 2.701,60 euros spent, and the Assembly Service, which allocated 1.763,28 euros for representation.
The Royal Capital of Cetinje spent 7.423,70 euros for the national team in the first half of the year, mostly on the purchase of wine and promotional T-shirts. The printing of T-shirts with the Cetinje logo cost 3.146,25 euros, and they will be used, as stated, as a "symbolic gift during protocol activities organized by the Mayor's Office, including ceremonial receptions of sports teams, senior and junior selections and individuals who have contributed to the development of the Royal Capital". As for wine, red "Pečalbar", "Smokovac" and "Depeša" were purchased.
Danilovgrad spent 719,40 euros on the national team from January to July, significantly less than Gusinje, whose municipal administration paid 4.715,95 euros for this purpose in the same period.
A total of 192.317 euros were paid for representation in 10 municipalities and the same number of ministries and state-owned companies in the first six months of this year.
Guest appearance for “Mala Slavija” as well
The Gusinje residents stand out with two hefty bills, amounting to 727,50 and 863 euros. This money included, in addition to soft drinks, kebabs, chicken fillets, goulash, mixed grilled meat, stuffed burgers, homemade cheese and cream, and beef prosciutto.
The Municipality of Herceg Novi spent 6.839,60 euros on the national team in the first six months, of which 1.113,20 euros were invested in promotional material: from umbrellas, titanium pens, yard pads for mice to "naturel" bags.
The local government of Kolašin allocated 3.735,68 euros for the team during this period, and the largest tavern bill was 378,20. Along with everything else that goes with such occasions, the specialty was meat in a peasant way, and the wine “vladika” and plum brandy were drunk.
The people of Pljevlja were somewhat more generous than the people of Kolašin, spending 8.333,85 euros on the national team, but they were also good hosts to guests from Belgrade, Prijepolje, Novi Sad, Nikšić, Tivat, Žabljak, Podgorica, and the delegation from Užice was especially appreciated, for whose hospitality they spent first 469,40 euros, and then another 328,80 euros. The famous opening of the “Mala Slavija” roundabout cost 521,60 euros, and the meeting of the directors of the Mine and the Electric Power Company cost the people of Pljevlja 381 euros.
The capital paid 3.477,451 euros for the national team for the first six months. An important item in the expenses were sandwiches for councilors, for which a total of 829,10 euros were paid. Podgorica also organized an iftar in honor of the holy month of Ramadan and representatives of the Islamic Community in Podgorica, for which 2.000,30 euros were paid from the budget. There are no tavern guilds among the accounts in the capital.
In a sample of 10 municipalities, the Tivat local government is unmatched with 18.479,85 euros spent. However, among the expenses are lunch for a delegation from the city of Petange from Luxembourg, which was on a multi-day visit to Tivat, which was paid for 1.430 euros, along with accommodation for guests for which another 3.215,50 euros were allocated. Among the larger expenses is the cost of the visit of the Minister of Defense Dragan Krapović Tivat which amounted to 2.242,25 euros.
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