“The Ministry of European Affairs will continue to support projects at the local level, especially through cross-border cooperation and further infrastructure development. We need greater visibility of European projects and better communication between local self-governments and ministries, in order to effectively respond to the needs of the citizens of Bijelo Polje”, said Minister of European Affairs Maida Gorčević during her visit to that city.
At the meeting with the President of the Municipality, Petar Smolović, and his associates, opinions were exchanged regarding current projects and plans for the further development of Bijelo Polje. The interlocutors discussed the possibilities for withdrawing new funds for projects in the field of the environment, related to the completion of the collector for the purification of waste water, the establishment of the Recycling Center and the regional landfill.
The President of the Municipality of Smolović expressed his satisfaction with the important EU projects that were implemented on the territory of that municipality, including investments of over 6.5 million euros, of which 4 million are for infrastructure, and the other 2.5 million for the realization of cross-border projects. He outlined the possibilities for investing in the heating of the city, the development of mountain tourism, as well as technical support for farmers for the diversification of cheeses.
“Our goal is for Bijelo Polje to become a tourist center, especially through the development of winter tourism and through the promotion of culture and tradition,” said Smolović.
During her visit to Bijela Polje, Minister Gorčević, together with Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue Naida Nišić, Ambassador of France to Montenegro Anne-Marie Maskay and Head of the Political Section in the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro Laura Zampetti, visited the Day Center for Children and Youth with disabilities and “Pavle Žižić” Primary School in Njegnjevo.
Director of the Tisa Day Center for Children and Youth with Developmental Disabilities, Ensad Omerović, said that the center represents a comprehensive service for the protection of children with developmental disabilities, that more than 120 children with developmental disabilities have used its services so far, and that currently benefits 42 children.
“Thanks to EU projects, and especially to the Serbia-Montenegro cross-border program, JU Center Tisa has improved its services so that we can say that we have the best and most modern equipment for working with children with developmental disabilities. Through EU projects, we built a hydromassage pool, a salt room, equipped a cabinet with neurofeedback equipment, equipped a cabinet with assistive technology, increased the number of occupational workshops, launched the “Second Shift” pilot project with users over 27 years old, additionally equipped a physiotherapy room and launched a support program parents”, Omerović said.
During her visit to the “Pavle Žižić” Elementary School in Njegnjevo, Minister Gorčević handed over a donation from the Ministry of European Affairs – 8 sets of reading books for all grades of elementary school (from the first to the ninth grade), as well as five encyclopedias. This donation was made possible by the Interreg IPA program South Adriatic, which is co-financed by the European Union.
“One of the specific goals of this cooperation program between Italy, Albania and Montenegro is equal access to education for everyone, so this donation is a step in that direction. I believe that books will be of great importance both for the teaching process and for the development of students, especially in times when we read less and less,” said Minister Gorčević.
School director Danijel Veličković thanked the Ministry of European Affairs and Minister Gorčević for the valuable donation.
“Knowledge is the most valuable and irreplaceable power. With this donation, the book has become much more accessible to our little ones, and we know very well that investing in knowledge means investing in our future”, said Veličković.
At the Tribune, “Membership of Montenegro in the EU – the near future or an unfulfilled dream” organized by the NGO Bjelopoljski Democratic Center and the NGO Multimedial Montenegro, the results of the survey “Attitudes of young people from Bjelo Polje and Beran on the process of accession of Montenegro to the EU” were presented.
Presenting the results of the survey, the director of the NGO “Multimedijal Montenegro” Željko Đukić said that the survey included 633 young respondents, and that it showed that 79.6 percent of young people support Montenegro’s membership in the EU.
He said that the main expectations of young people from the process of European integration are related to increasing economic growth, reducing unemployment, improving the education system, strengthening the rule of law and increasing foreign investments.
The executive director of the NGO Bijelo Polje Democratic Center, Zdravko Janjušević, said that European integration applies equally to Bijelo Polje and Rožaje, Gusinje and Podgorica, as well as Budva and Ulcinj, and that it is important to include people from all levels in the process.
“We are aware of the fact that by implementing one project we cannot solve the problems we face and fulfill the obligations required of us by our European partners, but we can inform citizens and bring the integration process closer to them. It is necessary to include NGOs from the local level in the process of integration, which strengthens and creates invaluable capital for future generations”, said Janjušević.
The Ambassador of France, Anne-Marie Masque, expressed her satisfaction that, at the invitation of the Minister of European Affairs, she visited Bijelo Polje today in order to promote the European path of Montenegro at all levels. She pointed out the benefits of joining the EU, the perspective of bilateral cooperation and participation in existing European projects
Minister Gorčević said that she was pleased with the high level of support of young people for Montenegro’s membership in the EU.
“It is an encouragement and an incentive for the Government, the negotiating structure and the administration to work even better on reforms in order to improve all those segments pointed out by young people in this research and which are important to all citizens of Montenegro. Therefore, better education conditions, greater opportunities for training abroad, reduced unemployment and European standards in all areas are a guarantee of a better life, and that is why we will do our best to fulfill our promise to close all chapters by 2026, and become the next in 2028 a member of the EU”, said Gorčević.