Eighth Meeting of the IPARD III Monitoring Committee Held

The eighth meeting of the IPARD III Monitoring Committee was held at the Science and Technology Park in Podgorica, bringing together representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, other relevant institutions and the European Commission to discuss progress in implementing the IPARD III programme, results achieved so far and activities planned for the coming period. The meeting addressed the implementation of the IPARD III programme, cooperation between Montenegro and the European Commission in agriculture and rural development, and further steps to implement the programme and improve the use of available EU pre-accession assistance. The current state of programme implementation was reviewed, including the implementation of conclusions from the previous meeting and the first public calls under Measure 7, specifically sub-measures 7.1 and 7.2, Measure 1, Measure 3 and Measure 9 – Technical Assistance. Participants exchanged views on results achieved so far, implementation challenges and further activities aimed at efficiently carrying out investments and ensuring the transparent use of EU funds. Visit to IPARD beneficiaries – tangible results on the ground: As part of a three-day visit to Montenegro, representatives of the European Commission, together with representatives of the relevant institutions, visited IPARD beneficiaries in Nikšić, Danilovgrad and Podgorica to gain first-hand insight into the investments implemented and the practical effects of the support. The visits provided an opportunity for the European Commission representatives to see directly the investments being implemented with IPARD support, as well as the importance of these investments for modernising production, improving processing and product-marketing capacities, and strengthening the competitiveness of domestic agricultural producers and processors.