Montenegro is not only ecological, but a country that bases its development on an economic branch for which environmental protection is key, announced the Minister of Sustainable Development and Tourism, Pavle Radulović.
He said that regarding Chapter 27, Montenegro met the initial benchmark in 2016, when it adopted a national strategy for the transposition, implementation and application of the real acquis of the European Union (EU) in the field of environmental protection and climate change with an action plan.
"The negotiating position has been submitted to the European Commission, and now that document is in the process of approval by the Council of Ministers," said Radulović at the round table "Support of French experts to Montenegro in the opening of Chapter 27", which was organized in the Chamber of Commerce (PKCG).
He said that Podgorica has one of the most modern landfills in Europe and that ten days ago a device for purifying waste water from the landfill was opened.
"We also created a regional sanitary landfill in Bar, and with the newly adopted strategy for the development of municipal waste treatment in 2030, we have foreseen locations for four regional landfills," said Radulović.
According to him, several sorting stations of recycling centers have been built, and currently there are eight devices for wastewater treatment.
"It is important to continue with the design and construction of these devices, because water is one of the greatest assets that Montenegro has", he believes.
The president of PKCG, Vastimir Golubović, said that Montenegro established a state relationship with nature by adopting the Declaration on an Ecological State in 1991.
He said that environmental protection is a current topic today, so chapter 27 is one of the most complex and demanding in the negotiation process.
As he stated, Montenegro needs significant financial resources to realize its obligations and reach European standards in the field of environmental protection.
"The first estimates show that investments will amount to 2035 billion euros by 1,4, so Montenegro, as a small economy, must use all available means of financing, international loans, IPA funds, donations, state and local budgets, in order to realize the aforementioned obligations," he explained. is Golubović.
As he said, local administrations will have a special challenge on this path when implementing projects in the field of communal infrastructure, as well as industrial companies in the part of reaching technological standards related to environmental protection.
Speaking about economic cooperation between Montenegro and France, Golubović assessed that it does not correspond to real possibilities and needs.
"Last year, Montenegro and France achieved a total exchange of 56,1 million euros, which is 23,6 percent more than in 2016," Golubović said.
Montenegrin exports to France, as he explained, amounted to 3,5 million euros, which is seven percent less than the previous year, while imports amounted to 52,6 million euros, which is 26,1 percent higher.
The Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, Nikola Medenica, said that the opportunities provided, in terms of exchanging experiences with French experts, are valuable at the moment when one of the most challenging and difficult chapters in the negotiation process for Montenegro's entry into the EU opens.
"With the opening of Chapter 27, Montenegro will at the same time begin a very extensive implementation of numerous activities on the way to fulfilling obligations and reaching the necessary standards, as well as implementing domestic regulations in the field of the environment, which to the greatest extent are already harmonized with EU laws," said Medenica.
As he stated, the experiences that Valgo has, as well as other French companies that are realized through their business in that area, will be extremely valuable for what is expected in the coming period, as well as for the implementation of investments that Montenegro must realize in order to fulfill necessary conditions for accession.
Medenica said that the completion of the project to rehabilitate black ecological spots has just begun with the contract they signed with Valga, and that the remediation of four more locations is to come.
"We are still waiting for significant investments in the establishment of a modern system for the management of all types of waste, especially solid communal waste, which for now we only have on paper, but not in reality," said Medenica.
According to him, these include the municipal wastewater management system, reconstruction and modernization with regard to the environmental standards of large industries, the connection of energy with the management of raw materials and waste, as well as further steps towards the introduction of energy efficiency, transport issues and the regulation of all types of emissions into the environment. .
"The doors of Montenegro have always been open for business cooperation and exchange of experiences, and especially for friends and allies in the fight for the preservation of the environment and the overall fight for the survival of humanity," concluded Medenica.
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