Simović in Brussels: Montenegro is making significant strides in the field of agriculture

Montenegro has made significant strides in the fields of agriculture, food safety and fisheries and will have strong support from the European Union in harmonizing with EU standards in those areas, it was assessed during the visit of the Deputy Prime Minister, Milutin Simović, to Brussels.

In the talks between Simović, who is also the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, with the European Commissioners for Agriculture, Food Safety and Fisheries, it was announced that the EU will continue to strongly support harmonization with EU policies and standards in these important areas, with the aim of further development and an even greater contribution of these sector for the growth of the national economy and improvement of the standard of living of the citizens of Montenegro.

As announced by the Ministry, Simović thanked the EU partners for their continued support, pointing out the Montenegrin Government's commitment to the quality of the accession process.

Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan, welcomed the start of the implementation of the IPARD program in Montenegro and said that he hopes that Montenegrin farmers will use the available funds to their full capacity, which will bring them significantly closer to the status of European farmers. He especially congratulated the results achieved in the area of ​​quality policy.

Simović informed Hogan that at the beginning of this week, the first public call for grant of non-reimbursed support to agricultural producers, through the IPARD program, related to primary production, and that the call for the processing sector will be announced soon.

"Simović stated that this is the result of the hard work of Montenegrin institutions to fulfill the conditions for the start of IPARD, as well as the strong and continuous support of the competent European institutions," said the Ministry.

Simović said that during this year two more support measures will be nominated for accreditation through the IPARD program, which relate to technical assistance and diversification of economic activities in rural areas. On this occasion, he said that he expects the auditors of the European Commission (EC) to speed up the procedure for approving those measures, in order to provide additional opportunities for Montenegrin farmers.

Hogan said that an additional good perspective for the further development of Montenegrin agriculture should also be seen in the context of the current reform of the Common European Agricultural Policy for the period 2020-2027.

"The reform is aimed at additional support for small farms, which is a key determinant of Montenegrin agriculture, with additional incentives for young farmers. "Hogan encouraged Montenegro to continue working on the final benchmarks in the negotiating chapter 11 - Agriculture and Rural Development," the statement said.

In the conversation with the European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmen Vella, the efforts that Montenegro invests in the development of that sector and harmonization with the policy and standards of the EU Common Fisheries Policy were highlighted.

Simović informed Vella about all activities to strengthen the fishing sector, which has the potential to contribute significantly more to the national economy.

As a confirmation of a stronger focus on that sector, Simović spoke about activities to strengthen administrative capacities, through the formation of a special Directorate, and the creation of assumptions for providing additional support through projects whose implementation should begin soon.

Simović particularly pointed to activities to strengthen inspection and control capacities, as well as to combat illegal activities at sea, which, he said, are already yielding positive results.

Vella praised Montenegro's significant progress in the field of fisheries, both in terms of strengthening administrative and inspection capacities, as well as the fight against illegal fishing.

He said that the EC will provide support for the further development of the fisheries sector and called for Montenegro to continue actively participating in the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) and in EC-financed projects such as ADRIAMED.

Simović thanked Vella for the support so far, with the expectation that it will continue, especially in the part of equipping and training the inspection, building an efficient system for monitoring and supervising fishing activities, as well as supporting the association of professional fishermen and improving the traceability and health safety of fishery and aquaculture products.

In the conversation with Vella, Simović said that he expects that the EC and the GFCM, when making recommendations and marine resource management plans, will take into account the size and current level of development of the Montenegrin fisheries sector, so that it is treated differently compared to the fisheries sectors in the countries where it exists excessive fishing effort and negative impact on the state of marine resources.

In a conversation with the Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Vytenis Andriukaitis, Simović said that the joint work of the Montenegrin and Brussels administrations in the field of establishing a food safety system in Montenegro, according to EU standards, is yielding good results.

Simović thanked Andriukaitis for the continuous support of the EC in the negotiation chapter 12, as well as for the recognition of all the efforts that Montenegro is carrying out in that very demanding area.

According to Simović, the implemented activities represent a path towards the establishment of a stable and reliable food safety system, for the benefit of consumers and producers in Montenegro, but also a European perspective, in terms of reaching standards and opening the market for our producers. In this context, Simović mentioned obtaining EU export numbers for Montenegrin meat industry producers as one of the important results achieved.

Simović thanked the EC for the ongoing and announced support, in the part of further strengthening of administrative capacities and personnel education. He particularly pointed out the importance of the support that Montenegro had and continues to have in the fight against lumpy skin disease.

Andriukaitis praised Montenegro's efforts in that area, stressing that as a small country, with available administrative capacities, it manages to complete all its obligations in the negotiations with the planned dynamics, and is thus the best example for other candidate countries.

Andriukaitis particularly highlighted the effort and success that Montenegro is achieving in the fight against dangerous animal diseases and announced the continuation of full support from the EC and all relevant directorates, with the aim of providing common responses to common challenges in that area.

Andriukaitis said that Montenegro is definitely a success story and added that he expects that he will personally be able to welcome its entry into the EU, as the leader of the upcoming enlargement process.

In Brussels, Simović also met with the chairman of the Committee for Agriculture in the European Parliament, Czeslaw Adam Siekierski, who praised Montenegro's progress in the field of agriculture and said that he expected Montenegro to be the first member of the EU. During the conversation, he shared Poland's experiences from the negotiation process with the EU and pointed to numerous benefits from the pre-accession period, and especially after membership.

The interlocutors, as concluded, said that they are satisfied that the new Common Agricultural Policy will be simplified for farmers and more focused on supporting rural areas and young farmers.