CBCG Contributes to Montenegro’s Accelerated Integration into the EU
07/05/2024
In anticipation of the Economic and Financial Dialogue of the European Union with the Candidate Countries, which will be held next week in Brussels, the recently established Coordination Body for Monitoring Negotiations with the European Union within the CBCG Competence and the Perspective of Integration into the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) held a meeting. At the invitation of the European Commissioner for the Economy, Mr Paolo Gentiloni, a Montenegrin delegation led by the CBCG Governor, Ms Irena Radović, will attend the event in Brussels on 14 May.
One of the topics of the meeting of the newly formed Coordination body for monitoring negotiations with the European Union was the continuation of payment systems modernisation, with an emphasis on Montenegro’s joining the Single Euro Payment Area (SEPA), a priority activity from the European Commission’s Growth Plan for the Western Balkans.
Over the past period, the CBCG has fully aligned the regulations governing payment operations with the acquis communautaire, paving the way for Montenegro to be the first Western Balkans country to prepare and submit a draft application for joining SEPA to the European Commission. On 22 March of this year, the CBCG sent the draft application for the expansion of the SEPA geographical area to Montenegro to the European Commission for its opinion. Awaiting further guidelines, the CBCG will continue enhancing internal capacities and facilitating banks’ transition to SEPA payment schemes. Moreover, it has intensive cooperation with the World Bank and the Bank of Italy in preparing to implement the instant payment system.
During the meeting, the upcoming obligations within the three chapters that the CBCG manages (4 - Free movement of capital, 9 - Financial services and 17 - Economic and monetary policy), as well as the remaining six in which it participates, were discussed. It was agreed to intensify activities to realise the obligations for the closure of benchmarks within these negotiation chapters. The Governor reiterated the CBCG’s unwavering commitment to the accession process, focusing on the EU agenda and the intention to complete most obligations during 2024 and 2025. She highlighted the expressed European Commission’s openness to enter a new phase of negotiations with Montenegro, which means the beginning of the process of closing the negotiation chapters, further motivating the CBCG to make its activities even more active.
The green agenda and climate change management remain high on the CBCG’s list of priorities, as confirmed by adopting the Central Bank of Montenegro Policy Related to Climate Change Challenges and the Action Plan for its implementation in a three-year period, and the CBCG’s membership in the Network for Greening the Financial System System (NGFS). Activities for the CBCG’s joining the Sustainable Banking and Finance Network (SBFN) are also underway.