The 9th IPA Monitoring Committee Meeting was held today at the EU Info Centre in Podgorica. The meeting was co-chaired by the Director for Western Balkans at the EC Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, Jean-Eric Paquet and the State Secretary for European Integration and the National IPA Coordinator, Ambassador Aleksandar Andrija Pejovic.
In his introductory remarks, Ambassador Pejovic highlighted that Montenegro has used the available IPA funds very well so far. In the framework of the National Programme, 93% of funds were contracted and 78% were paid, while in the area of Cross-Border Cooperation, 70.7% funds were contracted and 63% were paid. Montenegro implemented the highest number of Cross-Border Cooperation projects compared to the countries in the region, i.e. 204 projects worth 35 million euros. Ambassador Pejovic said that in the 2014-2020 period Montenegro will have 270.5 million euros at its disposal from IPA funds, which is a 10% increase compared to the previous financial period. According to Ambassador Pejovic, this shows the success of the work done so far and the trust of the EU vis-à-vis Montenegro.
“By adopting the Action Plan for meeting the requirements in the area of Cohesion Policy, Montenegro has met the opening benchmark for opening negotiations in Chapter 22. In this way, preconditions have been established for Montenegro to indicatively use about 300 million in grants annually from the European Structural and Investment Funds”, said Pejovic.
Mr Paquet commended the smooth implementation of the IPA national programme in Montenegro in support of reforms necessary for European accession.
He highlighted that the European Commission is now focusing on key priorities of the negotiation process, including the Rule of Law, Public Administration Reform and Economic Governance. “IPA funds will be provided to Montenegro increasingly in the form of sector budget support, to help Montenegro meet its commitments in these areas. A first intervention will be in the area of integrated border management, to help Montenegro manage the flow of people and goods, cooperate with its neighbours, fight against trafficking and corruption at the border, and to deal with the increasing number of migrants and asylum seekers in the context of the current crisis in the Mediterranean region and across Europe”, said Mr Paquet.
He pointed out that, in addition, EU funding is also available through the IPA regional programme for the Western Balkans and its investment component. On that note, Mr Paquet recalled the outcome of the recent Western Balkans Summit in Vienna, where the EU has been in a position to commit significant support for interconnecting Montenegro’s electric power-gird and for developing Montenegro’s railway connection from the Port of Bar via Podgorica to neighbouring countries.
The meeting was an opportunity for representatives of Montenegro and the European Commission to take note of the progress achieved so far as well as of the lessons learnt, but also to discuss plans related to the financial perspective 2014-2020 (IPA II).