Governor Radović Meets with ECB President Lagarde
13/12/2024
Dr. Irena Radović, Governor of the Central Bank of Montenegro (CBCG), met today with Ms Christine Lagarde, the President of the European Central Bank (ECB) at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt. The meeting highlighted continued collaboration aimed at aligning Montenegro’s central banking practices with European standards.
Governor Radović highlighted Montenegro's significant progress in strengthening its financial infrastructure, focusing on its recent membership into the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) and ongoing preparations for implementing a Target Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) clone in collaboration with the Bank of Italy, in line with the ECB Governing Council's decision. Governor Radović emphasized Montenegro's SEPA accession as a key milestone, enhancing payment system efficiency, resilience, and alignment with EU standards while delivering substantial benefits to citizens and the economy through faster, more secure, and cost-effective transactions.
The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss Montenegro’s broader EU accession commitments, with a focus on banking supervision, payment systems, and financial governance reforms. Governor Radović presented the CBCG’s proactive efforts to enhance financial and monetary standards and outlined plans for the organizational transformation of the CBCG to achieve compatibility with the ESCB/Eurosystem framework.
Governor Radović and President Lagarde also exchanged views on key European initiatives, including developments related to the digital euro and strategies for addressing climate-related financial risks. Governor Radović reaffirmed Montenegro’s commitment to aligning with EU benchmarks and adopting best practices to ensure a robust and sustainable financial system.
“The ECB remains committed to working with the central banks of EU candidate countries. We support them on the accession path in our areas of competence,” said ECB President Lagarde.
“We highly appreciate the ECB’s cooperation in our journey toward European financial integration,” Governor Radović stated. “Today’s discussions reaffirmed our dedication to advancing Montenegro’s financial modernization and integration within the European framework, an essential component of our EU accession agenda”– said Governor Radović.
This meeting is part of the ongoing and regular dialogue between the CBCG and the ECB, underscoring Montenegro’s steadfast commitment to aligning its financial systems with European norms and contributing to the stability and resilience of the broader European financial landscape.