Podgorica, (MINA-BUSINESS) – Senior official of the United Reform Action (URA), MP Milos Konatar, said that higher fuel prices will lead to increased costs for transport, deliveries, food and other goods and services, directly undermining citizens’ living standards and raising business costs.

He recalled that fuel prices will increase again tomorrow.

Konatar said it is the responsibility of a government to protect citizens’ living standards and ensure the smooth functioning of the economy in such situations.

“That is precisely why the state must have a clear plan to mitigate the effects of rising prices, instead of addressing problems only once they become too acute,” Konatar said.

He added that Montenegro needs a package of measures to protect citizens’ living standards, starting with a €40 increase in pensions, which he said would not require additional budget funding, followed by the signing of a General Collective Agreement and improvements to working conditions, as well as savings through cuts to unnecessary expense accounts, business travel costs and other budget expenditures.