Government of Montenegro adopts action plans for EU negotiating Chapters 23 and 24, eGovernment 2016

Podgorica, Montenegro (10 October 2013) – At its yesterday’s sitting, the Government of Montenegro adopted action plans for EU negotiating Chapters 23 and 24 and concluded that requirements are now met for commencing accession negotiations on those two chapters.

The Government also adopted the eGovernment 2016 development action plan envisaging improved e-services for citizens and better business cooperation between the Government and partner organisations, offices, and agencies.

Action plans for Chapters 23 and 24 are very important strategic reform-oriented documents providing an overview of Montenegro’s future activities in meeting EU accession commitments in the areas of judiciary, fundamental rights, justice, freedom and security, which have been labelled the most important areas of the EU acquis communautaire for accession countries.

The action plans enable for a proactive approach to pursuing the country’s EU agenda by meeting a set of clearly defined objectives. They were drafted on the basis of EU Commission guidelines given in the Screening Report and the analytical overview of the harmonisation of Montenegrin and EU legislation. The documents outline requirements and identify stakeholders for implementing the proposed measures, as well as success and impact indicators needed for monitoring the implementation process.

The eGovernment 2016 action plan defines measures and activities to be undertaken in the future with the view to fostering e-business in the public sector, thus enabling Montenegro, as a candidate country, to meet the current standards in EU member-states needed for equal participation in pursuing shared goals in this area.