DG NEAR’s Director General Koopman visits CBCG
23/08/2024
The CBCG Governor, Ms Irena Radović, and her team met with the delegation of the European Commission led by the Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), Mr Gert-Jan Koopman, in the CBCG premises.
During the meeting, Governor Radović thanked Director Koopman for the continuous European Commission’s support through regular dialogues and numerous technical support programmes. She particularly highlighted the importance of this support in achieving a high level of harmonisation with EU regulations and improving the CBCG’s institutional framework following the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) standards and guidelines.
Governor Radović also pointed to the activities of the CBCG as part of preparations for the institution’s consolidation and organisational transformation, creating preconditions for future integration into the Eurosystem. She informed Mr Koopman about the implemented and planned activities in the negotiation chapters under the competence of the CBCG (Chapter 4 - Free movement of capital, Chapter 9 - Financial services, and Chapter 17 - Economic and monetary policy) so that Montenegro would fulfil its obligations following the EU agenda’s timeline. In this context, the importance of the joint institutional acting of the CBCG, the Government and the Parliament in speeding the activities of harmonising domestic legislation with the EU acquis was commended and highlighted.
One of the key topics of the meeting was the submission of the official application for Montenegro’s accession to the Single Euro Payment Area (SEPA). Joining the SEPA system will represent one of the most important steps towards further Montenegro’s approximation to the European Union and implementing the European Commission Growth Plan for the Western Balkans.
Mr Koopman commended the CBCG’s results and expressed the European Commission’s support for Montenegro’s entry into the new phase of negotiations, which includes starting the process of closing negotiation chapters. In this context, he particularly highlighted the importance of the CBCG’s independence as a foundation for preserving macroeconomic stability and the successful implementation of comprehensive reforms. According to him, the CBCG’s independence is key in closing the economic chapters because it ensures transparency, responsibility and trust in the financial system and represents a key pillar on which Montenegro’s further progress on its path to full membership in the EU is based.
Both sides agreed that mutual cooperation is key to speeding up Montenegro’s European path. The CBCG is encouraged to continue intensive work on fulfilling its obligations within the stipulated timeline, which will further contribute to the fulfilment of Montenegro’s strategic goal - membership in the EU.