Dear reader,
The Instrument of Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) is designed to provide financial, technical, and expert assistance to EU candidate countries and potential candidate countries. The main characteristic of the 2007-2013 IPA I was the five-component implementation: Transition Assistance and Institution Building, also known as the National Programme; Cross-Border Cooperation; Regional Development: Human Resources Development; and Rural Development.
Montenegro has been using the IPA funds since 2007 and it could be said that we have learned plenty through this process, we have worked on developing skills and practical know-how, and the lessons learned can serve as a good basis for the increasingly demanding work we are now facing.
After seven years of using IPA I am proud to say that we have managed to plan the spending of all the available funds through the projects and programmes. This is corroborated by the data showing that within 2007-2013 Component I programmes the European Commission granted 102 national projects and over 165 million EUR of financial assistance.
When it comes to IPA Component II, within bilateral and transnational cooperation frameworks in 2007-2013 we have implemented or are still implementing 174 projects worth 31 million EUR in Montenegro. The operational programme for Component III envisaged 23 million EUR of financial assistance, whereas 6 million have been allocated for Component IV.
It is worth noting that Montenegro has actively participated in regional projects supported through the multi-beneficiary IPA, within which 125 regional projects have been implemented for all beneficiary countries. In addition, Montenegro is conducting 24 national projects and is participating in 10 regional projects within the Western Balkans Investment Framework.
Unlike IPA I and IPA II, the focus for 2014-2020 will change and instead of components, the Commission will support actions in eight sectors that are closely related to the enlargement strategy: Democracy and governance; Rule of law and fundamental rights; Environment and Climate Action; Transport; Competitiveness and Innovation; Education, employment, and social policies; Agriculture and rural development; Regional cooperation and territorial cooperation.
From the funds available for the new IPA 2014-2020 financial perspective, the EU has allocated 270.5 million EUR for Montenegro, which is a 10 per cent increase in comparison to 2007-2013, when we had 245 million at our disposal, and this is an important upgrade to the negotiating process support.
On this page, you have the opportunity to follow current developments related to EU assistance programmes to Montenegro, as well as to find relevant information of available programmes, projects, beneficiaries, financial allocations, etc.
I believe that this way of communication will contribute to a better understanding and knowledge of IPA as a very important segment of Montenegro’s EU accession.
