Montenegro
Subnational governments play a significant role in ensuring good public governance. The way that they are organised and function has a direct impact on the economic and social well-being of citizens and public trust in government. This report presents the system of multi-level government in the six Western Balkan economies, comparing them both with one another and in the context of broader international trends in multi-level governance. The report covers territorial and institutional organisation, competences of local governments, human resources and accountability, public financial management and vertical and horizontal co-ordination, in each case identifying key characteristics and recent trends.
Private investment by Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)1 is a key generator of economic growth and social change in OECD member country economies. In most countries world-wide over 90% of all enterprises are SMEs. It is now widely accepted that the contribution of SMEs to new jobs, exports, innovation, competitiveness and regional development is vital to national development. How to benefit from and maximise this contribution is a continuous challenge for all countries. It is a particular challenge for countries undertaking the transition to full market economies. This Enterprise Policy Performance Assessment seeks to help address that question for Montenegro and highlights issues that require attention and priority action.
Serbia has signed CEDAW and has taken steps to achieve the Convention’s objectives. The situation in the country remains complex, however, because the population is made up of several different ethnic groups, languages and religions. Serbia experienced a high level of conflict over the past 15 years. Whilst this affected the whole population, women were often more vulnerable than men; ethnic rape, for example, has been a particular problem.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are essential drivers of sustainable economic growth in the Western Balkans and Turkey, where they make up 99% of all firms, generate 65% value added and account for 75% of employment. Nevertheless, SMEs across the region continue to face obstacles such as difficulties accessing financing, low levels of digital uptake, regulatory barriers and relatively low participation in international trade. The situation has been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic: SMEs found themselves fighting for survival amidst reduced demand, lockdowns and travel restrictions, and supply chain disruptions.
This report provides an overview of the implementation of the Small Business Act for Europe during the period 2019-22. It is designed to help policy makers design, implement and monitor policies to support the recovery of SMEs from the pandemic, boost their competitiveness based on OECD and EU good practices, and further enhance the region’s economic growth and resilience.
Robust SME sectors are critical to the prosperity of the six Western Balkan economies and Turkey, accounting for over 70% of those employed in the business sector and generating 65% of value added in these seven economies. Yet their potential remains untapped, as SMEs across the region grapple with numerous challenges that hamper their growth and productivity. They are still under-represented in international trade, and their contributions to value-added remain comparatively low as they have difficulties in moving or expanding into high value-added activities.
This report provides a comprehensive overview of the implementation of the ten principles of the Small Business Act for Europe (SBA) in the seven EU pre-accession economies over the period 2016-18. It monitors progress against similar assessments performed over the past decade and identifies the outstanding challenges affecting SMEs. It also provides targeted recommendations to remove barriers to SME development and unleashing their potential for driving inclusive economic growth.
The SME Policy Index is a benchmarking tool designed for emerging economies to assess SME policy frameworks and monitor progress in policy implementation over time. The Index has been developed by the OECD in partnership with the European Commission (EC), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the European Training Foundation (ETF) in 2006 for the Western Balkans. The South East European Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (SEECEL) joined as an additional partner in 2014. The SME Policy Index has since 2006 been applied in four regions and nine assessment rounds overall.
The SME Policy Index: Western Balkans and Turkey 2016 presents the results of the fourth assessment of the Small Business Act for Europe in the Western Balkans and, since 2012, Turkey. The assessment framework is structured around the ten principles of the Small Business Act for Europe (SBA). It provides a wide-range of pro-enterprise measures to guide the design and implementation of SME policies based on good practices promoted by the EU and the OECD.
The Index identifies strengths and weaknesses in policy design, implementation and monitoring. It allows for comparison across countries and measures convergence towards good practices and relevant policy standards. It aims to support governments in setting targets for SME policy development and to identify strategic priorities to further improve the business environment. It also helps to engage governments in policy dialogue and exchange good practices within the region and with OECD and EU members.
Educational work is a key element for both human capital formation and the promotion of peace and democratic values. It has therefore been identified as one of the priorities of the Stability Pact. The OECD was asked to be Co-ordinator for “General Education Policy and System Change” within the Education and Youth Task Force, and to carry out “Thematic Reviews of Education Policy” in the countries of the region. The main outcome of this project is a series of reports which provide both country overviews and a regional overview. These reports offer an analysis of the education system and address issues and barriers to reform and recommendations. The recommendations are designed to be of use for national policy-makers and to assist Stability Pact partner countries and institutions target regional assistance in order to achieve the goal of supporting South Eastern Europe towards European integration. These reports are part of the OECD’s ongoing co-operation with non-member economies around the world.
Educational work is a key element for both human capital formation and the promotion of peace and democratic values. It has therefore been identified as one of the priorities of the Stability Pact. The OECD was asked to be Co-ordinator for “General Education Policy and System Change” within the Education and Youth Task Force, and to carry out “Thematic Reviews of Education Policy” in the countries of the region. The main outcome of this project is a series of reports which provide both country overviews and a regional overview. These reports offer an analysis of the education system and address issues and barriers to reform and recommendations. The recommendations are designed to be of use for national policy-makers and to assist Stability Pact partner countries and institutions target regional assistance in order to achieve the goal of supporting South Eastern Europe towards European integration. These reports are part of the OECD’s ongoing co-operation with non-member economies around the world.
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of Western Balkan economies but until recently received relatively little attention from policy makers. Governments focused on consolidating macroeconomic stabilisation and the restructuring and privatisation of large companies. The adoption in 2003 of the European Charter for Small Enterprises contributed to a change in policy perspective.
The SME Policy Index 2007 presents the first comprehensive and comparative assessment of progress made in implementing the Charter. The assessment is based on the SME Policy Index, an analytical tool designed by the OECD Investment Compact and the European Commission, and uses collaborative benchmarking to measure progress in the ten dimensions of the Charter:
• Education and training for entrepreneurship
• Cheaper and faster start-up
• Better legislation and regulation
• Availability of skills
• Improving online access for tax filing and company registration
• Getting more out of the single market
• Taxation and financial matters
• Strengthening the technological capacity of small enterprises
• Successful e-business models and top class business support
• Developing stronger, more effective representation of small enterprises
Governments of the region have already started to take action based on the results of the report through the creation in April 2007 of a South East European Investment Committee which aims to develop detailed guidelines on how to implement reforms in priority areas including the SME environment.
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and UNMIK/Kosovo are assessed in this report. A second SME Policy evaluation will be conducted and published in 2009.
This report discusses the costs and benefits of the transition from cash to accrual accounting in the public sector for SIGMA partners in the Western Balkans and the European Neighbourhood. The countries are attracted by the promises of accrual accounting and the corresponding IPSAS standards that it will improve transparency, accountability and financial decision-making. This report investigates whether the reform towards accrual accounting is indeed recommendable given that the reform towards IPSAS-based financial statements also carries a higher administrative burden and often requires government-wide adaptation or adjustment of the financial information systems. In this report, evidence from case studies of five EU Member States and four SIGMA partners is combined with a review of the academic literature to understand the balance of the benefits versus the costs of the reform.
competition, tax, trade policy, regulatory reform and human capital.
This review examines how policy making is undertaken in Montenegro, looking at both the Government and Parliament. It covers the central co-ordination and horizontal planning systems, including the planning of co-ordination systems for European integration affairs, as well as the arrangements for policy analysis and monitoring in line ministries. It analyses key aspects of Montenegro’s public governance capacities in policy making, highlights areas of good practice and suggests areas where focused improvements could be made in the context of European integration.
Parliaments have a unique role in ensuring that adopted laws, regardless of who initiated them, are evidence-based and fit-for-purpose. For the executive branch, laws are vital instruments through which they deliver public policy. Governments therefore rely on parliaments to scrutinise and adopt legislation in a timely, well-planned and co-ordinated manner. Parliamentary scrutiny of government lawmaking and its role in ex post evaluation of law implementation helps the legislature hold the executive to account. Evidence-based lawmaking is especially critical to EU integration processes as they involve adoption of many new laws. This paper reviews how laws are planned, initiated, prepared, scrutinised and evaluated by the parliaments of six Western Balkan administrations. The report discusses the concept of lawmaking within a parliamentary system of government. It considers how parliaments and governments co-operate and co-ordinate their legislative activities throughout the lawmaking cycle, providing a comparative analysis of existing rules and procedures as well as lawmaking practices. A set of key findings and policy recommendations are provided to support the Western Balkan administrations to plan and implement future reforms.
Good governance of public agencies requires the application of a set of regulatory and managerial tools to find the right balance between autonomy of agencies and adequate oversight from portfolio ministries and other actors. This paper provides insights from EU and OECD good practices, with a detailed analysis of EU acquis requirements for national regulatory agencies. New empirical evidence shows that public administrations in the Western Balkans and European Neighbourhood area lack clear policies and regulations for agency governance and misinterpret the EU acquis. This leads to a proliferation of agencies, duplication of functions and waste of public resources, a lack of accountability to portfolio ministries and generally a governance vacuum. Implementation of government policy is blocked and democratic accountability generally undermined. Finally, recommendations for better organisation of public administration are provided, based on the empirical analysis and lessons learned from SIGMA's engagement in such reforms.
This issue of the OECD Journal on Budgeting includes articles on the Dutch fiscal consolidation package, public-private partnerships in Canadian health care, budgeting in Montenegro, and fiscal rules and regime-dependent fiscal reaction functions in South Africa.
Belarus
Act on the Use of Atomic Energy (2008)
France
Safety guideline on final disposal of radioactive waste in a deep geological repository (2008)
Decree concerning the procedures applicable to foreign spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste reprocessing (2008)
Germany
Amendment to the 1986 Act on Preventive Protection of the Public Against Radiation (2008)
Order on the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail (2008)
Act on the 2004 Protocols to Amend the Paris Convention and the Brussels Supplementary Convention;
Act to Amend the Atomic Energy Act (2008)
Hungary
Energy Policy 2007-2020 Framework Strategy (2008)
Indonesia
Regulation on licensing of uses of ionizing radiation sources and nuclear materials (2008)
Italy
Implementing law on urgent provisions for economic development etc. (2008)
Montenegro
Law on the Environment (2008)
Romania
Decision on the organisational structure of the Nuclear Agency (2008)
Decision on the selection of the investors of Units 3 and 4 of Cernavoda NPP (2008)
Consolidated version the Civil Protection Law (2008)
National strategy for preventing emergency situations (2008)
National strategy for information sharing and communication in the event of an emergency (2008)
Russian Federation
Decree transferring responsibilities to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology (2008)
Slovak Republic
Transposition of Council Directive 2006/117/Euratom (2008)
Ukraine
Decree creating the state enterprise “Nuclear Fuel” (2008)
Amendment to the law on radioactive waste management (2008)
United Kingdom
New Ministry for Energy and Climate Change (2008)
United States
Next generation nuclear plant licensing strategy (2008)
Public health and environmental radiation protection standards for Yucca Mountain, Nevada (2008)
Inflation adjustment to the Price-Anderson Act (2008)
The first SEA pilot generated a lot of interest, and showed good receptiveness to SEA in Montenegro, but also demonstrated that there is limited SEA expertise available within the country. The SEA pilot provided useful practical illustrations of what an SEA can contribute. Perhaps most importantly, this case study shows how a successful SEA process can provide a better understanding of the cumulative impacts of a series of smaller projects, thus preventing costly mistakes as well as providing better insight in the trade-offs between environmental, economic and social issues.