The EU Twinning project "Strengthening Capacities in Agricultural and Rural Development Sector for Common Agricultural Policy Implementation" opened at Villa Gorica.

The EU Twinning project "Strengthening Capacities in Agricultural and Rural Development Sector for Common Agricultural Policy Implementation" opened at Villa Gorica.

To mark the occasion, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Water Management, Vladimir Joković, the Ambassador of the European Union to Montenegro, Oana Cristina Popa, as well as diplomatic representatives of the participating countries in the project, namely, the Ambassador of the Republic of Austria, Karl Müller, the Ambassador of the Republic of France Anne-Marie Maskay, the Ambassador of the Republic of Hungary József Négyesi, and the Deputy Ambassador of the of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Valenčić, addressed the attendees of the event.

Representatives of the relevant ministry and experts from the member countries involved in the project also addressed the attendees.

The project is set to last for 30 months, or more specifically until July 2026, with a total budget reserved for the implementation of project activities financed by the European Union amounting to € 1.9 million.

During his introductory speech, Minister Joković emphasised the importance of the new Twinning project for the improvement of institutions, which will enable the creation of a more competitive agriculture and rural development sector in line with EU standards.

"I want to highlight the importance of the availability of EU funds aimed at achieving compliance with European standards. The IPARD programme represents invaluable support to our agricultural sector, enabling us to modernise, improve practices, and enhance competitiveness. We are in the process of finalising the implementation of the IPARD II programme, and this year we have begun implementing the IPARD III programme. This programme will make approximately €128 million available for the Montenegrin agriculture sector. Of those €128 million, €63 million are from EU funds. This is a 62% increase compared to the previous IPARD II programme.

Also, within the EU pre-accession funds for 2021, the ministry has been granted €9 million of support from the European Union for all three negotiation chapters. Today, we are opening the first contracted activity, which is precisely this Twinning project worth €1.9 million," Minister Joković emphasised.

The importance of the public administration's institutional capacities for achieving progress was highlighted as well. The reforms conducted through this project aim to improve conditions for agricultural producers, contributing to the more efficient work and use of best practices.

“The preparations for the EU Common Agricultural Policy are a demanding process for an accession country. The closing of Chapter 11 occurs in the advanced stages of the negotiation process, since EU standards not only require adjustments to production and processing capacities, but farmers also need time to adjust to the elevated production and marketing standards and adapt existing facilities accordingly. This is why the EU is funding this significant Twinning project which will support Montenegro’s efforts in finalising its preparedness for the EU Agricultural Policy. We have high expectations when it comes to the results to be achieved and encourage the Ministry to capitalise on the invaluable experience our Member State partners will share,” emphasised Oana Cristina Popa, Ambassador of the European Union to Montenegro.

The general objective of the project is to increase the competitiveness of the agriculture and rural development sector in Montenegro through gradual alignment with the Common Agricultural Policy and the EU legislative framework in the field of agriculture and rural development, with the aim of creating a more market-competitive sector. The purpose of the project is to strengthen the institutional capacities of the public administration of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Water Management and to support the main participants in the agriculture and rural development sector to significantly approach the closing of Chapter 11 legal provisions of the European Union and to provide conditions for a fully functional Payments Agency.

The project is implemented by the Payments Agency of the Republic of Austria—AgrarMarkt Austria, in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Regions, and Water Management of the Republic of Austria, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty of the Republic of France, the Regional Chamber of Agriculture of Normandy—FranceAgriMer, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Hungary and the Payments Agency of the Republic of Hungary - Treasury, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Food of the Republic of Slovenia, and the Agency for Agricultural Markets and Rural Development of the Republic of Slovenia.