MONTENEGRO
Changes of government have taken their toll in Moldova as they are preceded and followed by periods of relative uncertainty during which decisions are often postponed, or plans and activities that had been long in preparation dropped. A new government can also mean a loss in institutional memory and of experience. This may have been a factor in the apparent current lack of coherence in relation to e-services and the e-government Portal. At present, the official Portal is lying unused, awaiting clear guidelines on whose has authority over each of the services; who should invest in developing the Portal, and some relatively minor legal changes.
On the basis of a referendum, Montenegro declared independence from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro on 3 June 2006. Montenegro is an official candidate for membership in NATO, having been offered a Membership Action Plan (MAP) by the alliance in 2009. Montenegro applied to join the European Union on 15 December 2008, and having delivered its answers to the European Commission questionnaire in end 2009, the Commission’s opinion will be submitted to the Council in the course of 2010.
4. Conclusions 1. Progress with the Information Society Important milestones have been reached in the implementation of e-government such as the creation of key e-registers fully interoperable, as well as the design of unique Information Systems. Citizens and businesses are starting to benefit from the fruits of such efforts and more applications are being developed. Whether the political momentum will be able to sustain the effort and counter the effects of the economic crisis will be crucial to the development of the Information Society in Moldova.
BASIC STRUCTURES The start of the process of reforming the ICT sector in Montenegro can be pinpointed to the year 2000. In 2001 Montenegro introduced a new Telecommunication Law, amended in 2008 and adjusted to EU directives under the name ˝Law on Electronic Communications˝. Since 2001, Montenegro has adopted several significant pieces of legislation such as the E-commerce Law; Intellectual protection Law; and the Central Register Law, all aligned to EU legislation 169. The Government of Montenegro adopted its first strategy on the Information Society in 2004, recognising as key priorities the development of the Information Society and electronic services for the public and the private sector. Realizing the need for further improvements in the utilization of ICTs, and in line with e-SEE Initiative processes, at the end of December in 2008 the Government created the Ministry for Information Society 170. The responsibility for ICT development had previously been part of the Republic’s Secretariat for Development mandate. The present Ministry is responsible for the coordination of Information Society development and implementation of the Strategy for Information Society Development of Montenegro 2009 – 2013 171. The Minister for Information Society is also Deputy Prime Minister, and thus in a position to influence and coordinate other ministries and entities in implementing the e-SEE Agenda+ objectives.
169 http://www.wbc-inco.net/attach/Montenegrofinal.pdf 170 http://www.gov.me/eng/rsr/ 171 http://www.gov.me/eng/rsr/vijesti.php?akcija=vijesti&id=169877
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