The Central Bank (CBCG) is absolutely committed to the negotiation process and will continue to fulfill all obligations in order for Montenegro to join the European Union (EU) as soon as possible, said the governor of the supreme monetary institution, Irena Radović.
Today, she met with the head of the EU Delegation in Montenegro, Oana Kristina Popa, with whom she discussed the new Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, which aims to enable countries in the region to take advantage of EU membership before their official accession.
"Joining the Single Euro Payment Area (SEPA) is one of the priority activities from the Growth Plan, through which the economic integration of the region will be accelerated," said Popa.
Radović, presenting the CBCG's activities on the plan of preparing the application for Montenegro's accession to SEPA, as well as in the field of harmonizing Montenegrin regulations with SEPA requirements, expressed the expectation that the EU will recognize the progress achieved and support this process.
"Montenegro's accession to SEPA would represent one of the clearest signals of the concrete approach of our country to the European Union, while citizens and the economy would feel concrete benefits in the form of simpler, faster and cheaper transactions," said Radović.
Informing Popa about other plans of the CBCG, Radović stated that future activities will be focused on further harmonization of national regulations with EU directives.
Popa said that Montenegro should take advantage of the current momentum of the enlargement policy and continue implementing reforms in priority areas.
According to her, the EU recognizes the intensive activities of the CBCG aimed at preserving financial stability and harmonizing the domestic regulatory framework with EU directives, as well as the proactivity of that institution when it comes to preparing the application for SEPA.
Popa announced that the CBCG can count on the support of the EU in implementing reforms from the European agenda.
Radović thanked Popa for the support that the Union provides to Montenegro through the financing of the Western Balkan Payment Systems Modernization project, as well as through numerous other projects that helped the CBCG to build and strengthen its institutional, regulatory and administrative capacities.
The meeting also discussed Radović's participation in the upcoming Economic and Financial Dialogue of the EU, with candidate countries and potential candidates, which will be held in May in Brussels, on the occasion of the annual dialogue on economic policy.
"To implement the necessary reforms from the European agenda, strong coordination and cooperation are necessary, as well as full engagement of all relevant institutions in the country", the meeting concluded.
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