Ćulafić: Every MERS obligation in the field of climate change will be completed within the scheduled deadlines

Every obligation of the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development (MERS) in the field of climate change will be completed within the stipulated deadlines, said the relevant Minister Damjan Ćulafić, during a meeting with the Deputy Head of Unit at the Directorate-General for Climate Action of the European Commission (DG CLIMA) Ana Maria Danilo and the Representative in charge of Chapter 27 - Environment and Climate Change at the Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood (DG ENEST) Ritijene Bonavia.

On that occasion, Montenegro's progress in the field of climate change was discussed, with a particular focus on strengthening administrative capacity and fulfilling the final benchmarks under Chapter 27.

"European Union representatives emphasized that progress is evident, but that it is necessary to further accelerate activities, especially in the area of ​​strengthening administrative capacities, for which there are no transitional periods," MERS announced.

Ćulafić announced that all by-laws will be submitted to the European Commission and the Ministry of Finance in the first quarter of this year. He pointed out that the administrative capacity of the Directorate for Climate Change remains a challenge, but that, despite this, "all planned tasks have been successfully implemented under the leadership of the State Secretary."

"Every obligation of the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development will be completed within the stipulated deadlines. We are open to all suggestions and comments, because I believe that this is the only way to manage the process transparently and responsibly," said the minister.

He recalled that European integration is a political and national issue, and that Chapter 27 is not the responsibility of MERS alone, but of a total of 25 institutions.

"European Union representatives expressed hope and confidence that MERS will fulfill all obligations within the set deadlines, noting that they are aware that much of the work should have started earlier, but that it is now important to accelerate the implementation of reforms," ​​the statement reads.

The meeting was also attended by Bernard Brune and Ana Stanišić Vrbica from the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro, as well as the State Secretary of MERS and Head of the negotiating Chapter 27 and Cluster 4, Nenad Vitomirović.