The purpose of this project was to improve the legal and operational environment of public procurement and state aid in Montenegro. The overall objective of the project was to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of public finance management in Montenegro, in order to further harmonize legislation with the EU acquis by improving the legislation and institutional setup as well as by strengthening administrative capacities. Public procurement, including Public Private Partnership (PPP) /concessions and state aid are policies with significant impact on public finance. In particular, they were important for the fight against corruption and the application of EU rules in the single market. As a result, long-term oriented, the project paved the way for more functional institutions, enhanced human resources and overall better results in the area concerned.
More specifically, the project’s activities were organized into two components:
Component 1- State Aid
- Activity 1.1: Strengthening of the institutional set-up and harmonization of the legal framework for the implementation of state aid rules and procedures
- Activity 1.2: Support the negotiation process and fulfillment of obligations related to Chapter 8- Competition Policy
- Activity 1.3: Recording and analysis of national state aid cases and their comparison with EC case law
- Activity 1.4: Assessment of the functionality of the software “Information system of the state aid in Montenegro”, of the special register of de minimis state aid and of the web application for the state aid grantors
- Activity 1.5: Strengthening of administration capacities through training and exchange of practical experience
Component 2- Public Procurement
- Activity 2.1: Further harmonization of the Public Procurement Law and implementing acts with the relevant EU Directives.
- Activity 2.2: Production of manuals, guidelines and other instructions for the implementation of the new legislation
- Activity 2.3: Training in the public procurement field and support to the Public Procurement Administration
- Activity 2.4: Public Awareness Campaign
The project was funded by the EU (IPA II) and implemented by the consortium led by Eurosupport - Fineurop Support Srl (IT), in collaboration with ANCE (GR) and Crown Agents (UK).
The total budget of the project amounted to 870.000 EUR and lasted from September 2018 to April 2023.
