Millatović: Three key questions about the ‘Euro model’ still unanswered

Photo: Risto Božović

Montenegro’s President Jakov Millatović said the “Euro model” is being accompanied by a lack of clear data and sufficient public debate.

At the roundtable organised by his office, he raised three main issues that, in his view, still require answers: the programme’s sustainability, wage policy and the future of the pension system.

Millatović said the debate on the model should have been held before the Government approved the legal changes and criticised the absence of its representatives from the discussion.

On the programme’s sustainability, he asked for clearer data, while on wage policy he pointed to the small difference between the wages of employees with secondary education and those with higher education, warning that this could affect the motivation to invest in education.

As for the pension system, Millatović said the changes to contributions to the PIO Fund raise the question of how Montenegro’s pension system will function in the future, on which, he said, the public has the right to receive answers.

At the end of the discussion, concerns were raised about the model’s impact on the private sector and public finances.

According to the participants, small companies could face the greatest burden, while the wage changes could affect the labour market, public debt and the sustainability of finances.

Questions were also raised about the programme’s overall economic effect.