Montenegro recognizes and appreciates the role of the European Group for Territorial Cooperation (EGTC), as well as the benefits that the country would receive by joining, said the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Ana Raičević.
She assessed that the increase in the number of participating countries speaks of the importance of the EGTC, especially considering the various financing options that the group provides, such as the Interreg program, cohesion funds and others.
Raičević, who is also a national authorized officer for financial management of IPA funds (NAO), participated in the first conference of the Lower Adriatic, held in Bari.
“In addition to the exceptional long-term bilateral cooperation and friendly relations between neighbors, the partnership of Italy and Montenegro is also reflected in the participation in the IPA program Interreg, financed by the European Union (EU), within which Italy transfers many years of experience as a member state of the Union and a beneficiary of EU funds.” , it is stated.
In the spirit of strengthening territorial cooperation, the possibility of Montenegro‘s inclusion in the EGTC, through the so-called Corridor VIII initiative, was presented at the conference.
“The aforementioned initiative aims to strengthen economic, social and territorial cohesion and as such promotes cooperation between member states, and there is openness to a certain type of inclusion of Montenegro in the EGTC group of countries,” the Ministry’s announcement states.
The Corridor VIII initiative would mean a new form of financing for Montenegro that has not been used so far, and among other things, it would enable the further development of the country’s territorial and traffic connections with the Adriatic countries.
Raičević, during the panel discussion, pointed out that Montenegro recognizes and appreciates the role of the European Group for Territorial Cooperation, as well as the benefits that our country would receive from its inclusion.
“Participation in the Corridor VIII initiative is conditioned by the fulfillment of the prerequisites prescribed by the European Commission (EC), first of all by establishing a legal basis through the introduction of rules and procedures through national legal acts, which is a process that requires time and which must be started as soon as possible deadline if Montenegro decided to participate in the mentioned initiative”, explained the Ministry.
