While Prime Minister Milojko Spajić claims that the economy in Montenegro is doing quite well - the figures show fewer overnight stays in the season, ever lower coverage of imports by exports, and a large deficit in the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund (PIO).
Are these warning signs ahead of autumn and winter, should we worry about the Montenegrin economy, or is the situation normal, Television Vijesti asked the MPs.
The opposition says there is reason for concern and calls for a consensus to save what can be saved. On the other hand, government MPs are on the sidelines of what the prime minister claims - everything is under control and there will be no cuts.
Economic indicators point to a very worrying situation in the Montenegrin economy, which is why the opposition believes that a consensus on its development in the next decade is urgently needed. However, the government has no room for complacency and claims that the existing economic strategy should not be deviated from.
"It's not a matter of election campaigns, a matter of billboards, a matter of short-term winning a certain number of votes, but we should have a long-term sustainable strategy for the development of the Montenegrin economy. Unfortunately, we don't have that in Montenegro," said Social Democrat MP Boris Mugoša.
"I believe in the Montenegrin economy, and the representatives of the authorities are here to make the Montenegrin economy better than it was yesterday. I really see no reason to worry about whether we will face any economic cuts or economic moments in the fall that would mean a deviation from the fiscal strategy or a deviation from the current economic policy," said Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Montenegro Mirsad Nurković (Bosniak Party).
And, data shows that gross domestic product (GDP) is recording the lowest growth in the last eight years, excluding the coronavirus years, and the foreign trade deficit is the largest in the last decade and a half. According to Monstat data, in the first seven months it amounted to 2,8 billion euros, which means that the coverage of imports by exports fell from 14 to 13 percent compared to the same period last year.
"The increase in imports may also be determined by the very fact that a certain number of people with sufficient purchasing power live in Montenegro today, and this has therefore generated, possibly, some greater consumption and the need for greater imports," said Nurković.
Mugoša, on the other hand, also points to problems in tourism, namely the reduced number of overnight stays in the first six months by 370 thousand, as well as the fact that the number of blocked companies has increased by 2.200 in five years, and that small businesses have been operating at a loss for the sixth year.
"You can see the state of our public finances in the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund, where the deficit will reach 400 million euros. We see that in certain categories, revenues are not at the planned level, primarily due to contributions. On the other hand, we have a drastic increase in prices. Inflation in Montenegro is more than twice as high as in the euro zone countries," said Mugoša.
The ruling Europe Now Movement (PES) agrees that prices have been rising uncontrollably. They blame the Competition Protection Agency for their growth in retail chains, whose reports on their work for the past two years did not pass the Economy Committee today.
"We diligently follow the rule on state aid control, but when it comes to market control and oligopolies, or monopolies, we have nothing there, we have no reaction. And what bothers me about your reports for last year is that we had an evident increase in prices in retail chains and the pharmaceutical industry, and in the reports I do not see that any control was related to that sector," said Vasilije Čarapić, a PES MP.
The opposition, which months earlier proposed introducing price correction measures, believes that this was not just the agency's job, but primarily the government's. We must not even think about reducing VAT on food, which Sweden is currently doing to support households, because, they say, the budget has been reduced to collecting taxes.
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