The right to a subsidy for passing through the "Sozina" tunnel in 2026 was granted to 24 new users, and the Municipality of Bar and the state-owned company "Monteput" each allocate 100 thousand euros annually for this purpose.
A total of 32 users submitted applications for the Public Call for the Distribution of Subsidies for Passage through the Sozina Tunnel in 2026.
The Commission unanimously awarded 24 subsidies. For seven applicants, the Commission extended the deadline for completing documentation until January 31, 2026, and one application was rejected due to failure to meet the prescribed conditions for the award of subsidies.
This is stated in the Decision on the distribution of subsidies for passage through the Sozina tunnel for 2026.
There were five citizens in the first category of users, those who can pass through the tunnel 44 times a month, while only one user in the second category was entitled to the subsidy - 26 passes per month.
In the fourth, fifth and seventh categories, which provide for 10 passes per month, 16 beneficiaries received subsidies, while two citizens received the right to 20 passes per month in the sixth category.
Based on the submitted credible documentation, i.e. after monitoring the real situation and the number of passes, the Distribution Commission will approve a larger number of passes to certain users in relation to the increased level of need, or determine a smaller number of passes, all in accordance with the management of available funds.
"Users who, in 2024 and 2025, acquired the right to a subsidy for free passage through the Sozina tunnel, will continue to exercise that right until the factual situation changes, i.e. the basis on which they acquired that right, of which they are obliged to promptly notify the Commission," the decision states.
Subsidies are distributed to beneficiaries in a way that car owners with registered license plates are paid quarterly with financial funds approved by the Decision on the Distribution of Subsidies for Passage through the Sozina Tunnel, according to the number of approved passages.
The residents of Crmnica have repeatedly blocked traffic to the Sozina tunnel, demanding that their journey through the tunnel be free. They have asked the Municipality, the Government and "Monteput" for an unlimited number of passages for the residents of Crmnica and surrounding villages, at least one free passage per day for the Barani people on the south side of the ramp who work, take care of their family or property in Crmnica.
Director of "Monteput" Milan Ljiljanic and the President of the Municipality Dušan Raičević previously announced a 100 percent increase in subsidies for passage through the tunnel. The locals said at the time that they remain of the opinion that the subsidies and their increase to 200 thousand euros by "Monteput" and the Municipality of Bar are not a permanent solution, that they want to be legally enabled to pass through the Sozina tunnel for free, and that the money intended for subsidies be invested in Crmnica in a different way, in a school, kindergarten, pharmacy...
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