Members of the Committee on European Integration held consultations today with representatives of the Montenegrin municipalities on the topic of using IPA funds at the local level.
Keynote speakers on this subject were Mr Adrian Vuksanović, Chairperson of the Committee for European Integration, Mr Miodrag Račeta, Director of Directorate for European Territorial Cooperation at the Ministry of European Affairs, Mr Refik Bojadžić, Secretary General of the Union of Municipalities and Ms Vanja Starovlah, Secretary General for European Integration and International Cooperation of the Union of Municipalities.
The consultations were attended by representatives of 16 municipalities, the aim of the event was that members of the Committee of the 26th Convocation learned about the experiences in the implementation of IPA projects at the municipal level, especially about the challenges faced by municipalities in terms of opportunities for using EU funds. Representatives of municipalities as key challenges highlighted issues such as lack of funds for pre-financing and co-financing of projects, lack of specific training for writing projects, as well as the fluctuation and the attrition of human resources from the local administration. For this reason, participants expressed their satisfaction that the Parliament had recognised the need to engage in dialogue, especially with regard to the establishment of the revolving fund, which would address the issue of pre-financing and co-financing, particularly important to municipalities in the process of fiscal consolidation. Members of the Committee underlined the importance of exchanging views and experiences, and expressed their readiness to provide full support to municipalities for better implementation of IPA projects during their mandate, both through the mediation in communication with the Government and authorised ministries, and through direct legislative action in order to make high-quality system solutions.
Beside the Chairperson of the Committee, Mr Adrian Vuksanović, the consultations were attended by members of the Committee, Ms Daliborka Pejović, Ms Marija Ćatović, Ms Sanja Vlahović and Mr Mihailo Anđušić, and the event was held ahead of the Committee meeting, where information notes on support programs of the European Union to Montenegro for 2015 and 2016 would be considered.
