In collaboration with the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro, the Ministry of Finance initiated the realisation of the project "Establishment of the EU’s Own Resources Management System in Montenegro" in May last year, valued at €225,000. The progress made in establishing the system was presented at the final conference of the project implementation, where representatives of the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro and the Ministry of Finance addressed the audience.

The project was implemented by the consulting firm "ADE" with the aim of establishing an efficient structure, coordination, and management of the EU’s own resources, in line with the requirements for fulfilling the closing benchmark for negotiating Chapter 33. The conference represents the culmination of one year of work, with the results bringing Montenegro closer to the set goal.

"As Montenegro progresses on its European path, we can proudly say that the results achieved within this project will directly contribute to improving the standard of living, connectivity, and prosperity of citizens. From the first day of membership, Montenegro will make the necessary contributions to the budget of the European Union while also being able to use funds for regional development, economic improvement, social and environmental conditions, as well as infrastructure projects through cohesion and structural funds," stated Nina Marković, Programme Manager at the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro.

The improvement of the own resources system, as part of the project activities, was successfully carried out through the parallel development of three components:

• Capacity building of all institutions responsible for establishing the EU’s Own Resources Management System in Montenegro
• Establishment of necessary procedures and strengthening of the institutional framework
• Alignment of the legislation, which includes an analysis of existing legislative deficiencies and recommendations for further alignment.

In addition to the above, joint activities with the beneficiaries have led to a higher level of understanding of relevant EC regulations, EC requirements, and the expectation that payments and reporting must fully comply with EU requirements. The conference also presented a roadmap for the further alignment of the legal framework and operational procedures.

"The results achieved through active cooperation between the Ministry of Finance, Revenue and Customs Administration, and MONSTAT, with full support from the EU Delegation to Montenegro, have significantly contributed to fulfilling the requirements of the closing benchmark for Chapter 33 – Financial and Budgetary Provisions. Montenegro will make every effort to reach the level of readiness to be a net beneficiary of these funds, which means that the revenues from EU funds will exceed Montenegro's contributions to the EU budget," stated Bojan Paunović, Director General of the Budget Directorate at the Ministry of Finance.

The EU’s Own Resources system, which is the main source of revenue for the EU budget 2021-2027, is based on four main sources of revenue: traditional own resources (customs duties), contributions based on value-added tax (VAT), own resources based on gross national income (GNI), and, more recently, non-recycled waste from plastic packaging.

In addition to the Head of the Directorate for the Establishment of the EU’s Own Resources Management System in Montenegro and the Head of the Working Group for negotiating Chapter 33 – Financial and Budgetary Provisions, Tanja Musterović, the event was attended by expert teams from the Ministry of Finance and relevant institutions involved in the project implementation.