Gorčević: Montenegro has achieved the best results in the use of EU funds in the past three years

In the past three years, Montenegro has achieved the best results in the use of European Union (EU) funds since the beginning of the European integration process, announced Minister of European Affairs Maida Gorčević.

"Last year alone, Montenegro withdrew a record amount of over 245 million euros, which is more funds withdrawn from EU funds than during the four-year period from 2016 to 2019," said Gorčević.

As she stated, from 2023 to today, a strong step forward has been made in the withdrawal of funds, and it was during that period that our country exceeded the annual amount of 100 million euros for the first time.

"These results confirm that reform processes are producing concrete effects and that today we have significantly greater capacity for the preparation and implementation of European projects," said Gorčević.

She emphasized that in the previous period, the Ministry of European Affairs, in cooperation with other government institutions, had worked intensively on strengthening coordination and improving capacities for the use of available support funds, which contributed to the record results that Montenegro is achieving today.

"All this confirms that European reforms are very much translatable into the language of citizens' everyday lives, because hundreds of millions of euros are being invested today in the construction of schools and kindergartens, the modernization of roads and transport infrastructure, energy, digitalization, environmental protection and the development of local communities throughout Montenegro," said Gorčević.

The data includes the dominant instruments of EU financial support: IPA funds, the Western Balkans Investment Framework and the Reform Agenda, whose funds have been available to Montenegro since last year, while additional funds are being drawn down through numerous other European Union programs and initiatives.

Gorčević assessed that the responsible and courageous decisions made by the Government in the previous period have enabled us to be recognized today as the most advanced country in the European integration process, assessing that the achieved results are only an introduction to what awaits our country after EU membership and access to cohesion funds.

"That is why we have set ambitious goals, because we know that membership brings even stronger development potential and many times greater investments for Montenegro. The goal is to become the 28th member of the European Union by 2028 and to be ready to take advantage of all the opportunities," concluded Gorčević.

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