Montenegro has successfully implemented most of the planned steps within the Reform Agenda and thus secured a significant portion of the funds from the first payment tranche, said Minister of European Affairs Maida Gorčević at a Government session.
As announced by the Ministry of European Affairs (MEP), Gorčević verbally informed members of the Government about the status of the implementation of this European Union (EU) financial support instrument.
The government department said that the deadline for completing the first 14 steps of the Reform Agenda expired on February 28th.
"The current assessment is that Montenegro has fully fulfilled ten steps, while four have been partially fulfilled, which will be subsequently evaluated by the European Commission (EC)," the statement said.
Speaking about the results achieved within the ten reform steps, Gorčević recalled that the President of the Supreme Court was elected at the end of November.
"We have introduced standard operating procedures for the prosecution's actions in cases of sexual and gender-based violence, the register of state-owned enterprises has been made publicly available, transparency in the area of public procurement has been increased, and the integrity system in tax and customs inspection has been improved," Gorčević stated.
She added that the area of cybersecurity has also been improved with the adoption of the National Broadband Infrastructure Plan and the enactment of the Information Security Law.
"In the area of energy, we have worked intensively on harmonizing legislation with the EU energy package, including reforms regarding energy efficiency," said Gorčević.
She said that there are certain procedural delays in the four partially completed steps at this stage, primarily when it comes to legal solutions that require a broader consultative process and coordination with the relevant EC services, such as the new Energy Law, or the legal basis for adopting the new Spatial Plan.
She explained that a broader dialogue with the EC is also being conducted in the implementation of measures in the field of visa policy and the impact on the Government's economic policy, which has partially delayed the implementation of that reform step.
"In terms of financial impact, the first 14 reform steps are subject to a maximum available amount of 29,5 million euros, reduced proportionally by seven percent of pre-financing," the statement said.
It is stated that in the case of partially completed steps, Montenegro will take advantage of the possibility that results for those steps can be achieved after the end of the reporting period within 24 months, without affecting the disbursement of funds.
"As these are steps whose implementation is underway and whose results are expected by the middle of this year, the funds related to these four reform steps will be disbursed upon their completion," said the MEP.
They said that, if the EC confirms such a financial assessment, it is expected that EUR 18 million will be paid for ten reform steps, while the payment of EUR 11,5 million for four partially completed steps will be postponed and made with the payment for the next reporting period, which expires at the end of June.
"We would like to remind you that, of the total of EUR 383,5 million allocated to Montenegro, the first tranche is fixed and intended for pre-financing, in the amount of seven percent of the total available funds," the statement says.
It is stated that its implementation, in the amount of EUR 26,85 million, is expected at the beginning of April.
"Seven regular semi-annual tranches are paid based on the fulfillment of specific quantitative and qualitative steps, which are described in detail in the Reform Agenda, about which the Government informs the EC in the format of semi-annual reports," the MEP said.
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