The 3rd meeting of the Joint Monitoring Committee held on July 08, 2010

Date: July 12, 2010
Time: 13:00 - 13:00
Location: en
The 3rd meeting of the Joint Monitoring Committee was held in Podgorica on July 08, 2010 on the occasion of the evaluation of the project proposals submitted under the 1st Call for Proposals within the Cross-border Programme Serbia - Montenegro under the Instrument for Pre - accession Assistance (IPA). Ms. Gordana Djurovic,Minister for European Integration of Montenegro, while addressing the media, stressed the importance of the absorption of IPA funds within the Programme, which will contribute to the capacity building during the period of accession to the EU - a strategic goal for both countries. Applicants whose projects will be selected to be financed will sign a Grant Contract with the respective Delegation in September, 2010. The Cross-border Programme Serbia-Montenegro is very important in many ways - it will improve the life quality of the residents and of the local communities from the less developed areas of both Countries and it will also strengthen bilateral relations between the Countries. Application procedure, as she pointed out, was very complex and demanding, as the project proposals have been written in accordance with the standards of the European Union. However, the project proposals recommended for financing met sustainability and visibility criteria, said Djurovic. Institutional structure of Applicants is also very interesting, as they come from a variety of sectors, primarily from the local government and public enterprises. A Representative of the Delegation of the EU to Montenegro, Ms. Chiara Bocci, pointed out that the meeting in Podgorica was the last step of a long process that had begun a year before, with the launching of the 1st Call for Proposals. "We are very pleased with a great interest of applicants and with a high number of submitted applications", said Bocci. Ms. Sanda Simic, Head of CBC Unit in the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Serbia, stressed the importance of the meeting in Podgorica as a final step of the process of evaluation of the project proposals and their recommendation for financing. "These projects are very important for the territory covered by the Programme - poor depopulated municipalities which did not have an opportunity to get in touch with EU funds and EU implementation rules and to raise the capacities through promoting EU values and EU integration, both on local and on the level of central governments. IPA funds are just the beginning of structural funds worth much more, which will be available once we obtain the membership in the European Union", said Ms Simic. The meeting was organized by the Joint Technical Secretariat for the Cross-border cooperation Serbia - Montenegro with the support of Montenegrin Ministry for European Integration and Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Serbia.