Montenegro strongly supports the European Union's (EU) continued efforts aimed at simplifying procedures and reducing regulatory burdens, especially within the Single Market, representatives of the Ministry of Finance announced.
State Secretary, Bojana Bošković, participated in the EU's annual Economic and Financial Dialogue with the countries of the Western Balkans, Turkey, Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.
The Ministry announced that regular dialogue plays a key role in providing a commonly agreed policy aimed at supporting sustainable medium-term growth and gradual fulfillment of the economic criteria for EU accession.
The theme of this year's conference is improving the competitiveness of Europe and the region in the context of geopolitical changes, including through regulatory simplification and deregulation.
The Ministry said that Joint Conclusions with recommendations for conducting economic policy for each individual country were adopted, which define economic policy priorities for the next 12 months.
Representatives of the European Commission (EC) emphasized that economic and financial dialogue should contribute to the broader goals of good governance and economic prosperity.
"They encouraged the Western Balkan countries to fully utilize the Growth Plan, including implementing the socio-economic reforms envisaged in the Reform Agenda, all with the aim of accelerating economic convergence with the EU," the statement said.
Bošković added that from Montenegro's perspective, the main priorities should include improving user-friendly digital solutions and aligning regulations with the capacities of businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, in order to stimulate growth, innovation and full use of the Single Market.
She also pointed out to the EC representatives the current reforms in Montenegro, particularly emphasizing the reform of the Tax Administration (TA), the goal of which is the most efficient administration for citizens and the economy.
During the dialogue, the importance of Montenegro's accession to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) for improving payment transactions within the European Union and beyond was highlighted, and it was noted that Montenegro has made significant progress in the implementation of Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA), which directly contributes to improving the quality of public policies, increasing competitiveness and creating a predictable and transparent regulatory environment.
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