Montenegro competition watchdog to deny airline aid
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The Montenegrin Minister for Capital Investment, Mladen Bojanić, has said the Montenegrin Agency for the Protection of Competition will give a negative opinion on the law for the investment and consolidation of the national carrier, which was to see Montenegro Airlines handed 155 million euros over a six-year period and ensure its immediate survival. The implementation of the law, adopted last December, was blocked by the Agency in order for it to study whether it was in line with state aid rules. Montenegro Airlines said yesterday the law’s implementation was crucial for its survival. “I held another round of talks with the management. I concluded there is nothing that can lead to a positive and sustainable outcome for the national carrier. We are not giving up. We will seek for a solution with those who have some concrete proposals, with direct cooperation with representatives of the European Commission”, Mr Bojanić said. In its annual progress reports for those aspiring to join the European Union, the European Commission said this October, “The law granting 155 million euros of state funding to Montenegro Airlines was adopted without a prior decision from the State aid authority, even though this is provided for under national legislation and the Stabilisation and Association Agreement. Montenegro has not yet made payments on the basis of this law. The government, as the initiator of the aid, now needs to provide the State aid authority with the necessary information and time to take a qualified decision and thus to demonstrate its functioning and independence”.
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