Podgorica, (MINA) – Montenegro has made limited progress in ​​environmental protection and climate change, while in the energy sector it has recorded good progress, primarily in aligning its legislation with European Union (EU) standards, the shadow reports on chapters 27 and 15, prepared by the Coalition 27, showed.

 

Executive director of the NGO Green Home and representative of Coalition 27, Azra Vukovic, said that the report shows that Montenegro is in an important but sensitive stage of European integration in the field of environmental protection.

 

“Although we are in an accelerated process of meeting our obligations, we believe that Montenegro has made limited progress in Chapter 27, despite moderate progress has been achieved in several sub-areas”, said Vukovic.

 

She added that although a large number of normative acts were prepared and sent to the European Commission during the previous years, the adoption process has not been fully completed.

“The reform process must result in legally valid and applicable regulations that are consistently implemented in practice. Otherwise, progress remains limited to formal fulfillment of obligations without substantial results in practice and without visible improvements in alignment with European standards”, said Vukovic.

 

According to her, the biggest challenges remain in the areas of air quality, nature protection, waste and water management, where it is necessary to speed up the adoption and implementation of strategic documents and by-laws.

 

Speaking about Chapter 15 – Energy, Vukovic said that Montenegro has reached a good level of preparedness in that area and made progress during the reporting period, especially in the area of ​​legislative alignment with the EU acquis and the establishment of a strategic framework for the energy transition.

 

“The main challenges are no longer primarily related to the adoption of new legislation, but to their functional implementation”, said Vukovic.

 

Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Development of the North Damjan Culafic assessed that the report represents an objective assessment of the state of the environment and climate change.

 

 

“I am very pleased that we have a report that recognizes limited progress, but nevertheless progress. Taking into account the size of Chapter 27, the current situation and the road still ahead of us, every step forward is very important”, said Culafic.

 

Montenegro’s Chief EU Negotiator Predrag Zenovic said that chapters 15 and 27 represent an important part of Cluster 4 and that significant progress has been made recently, especially in the legislative and strategic framework.