Contracting Authority Montenegro

The contracting authority for the IPA Cross-Border Cooperation Programme Montenegro-Albania 2014-2020 is the Ministry of Finance, namely the Directorate for Finance and Contracting of the EU assistance.

Operating Structures

The Montenegrin Operating Structure is comprised of the Cross-Border Cooperation Body (CBC Body) and Contracting Authority. The first is located at Ministry of European Affairs and the last in the Ministry of Finance of Montenegro, Directorate for Finance and Contracting of the EU assistance Funds (CFCU). The role of the Head of Operating Structure is performed by the Directorate General for European Funds in the Ministry of European Affairs.

The Albanian Operating Structure is comprised of the CBC Body in the State Agency for Strategic Planning and Aid Coordination (SASPAC), while the role of the Head of the Operating Structure is performed by the Director of the Directorate of the Administration of EU Financial Assistance at the SASPAC, of the Republic of Albania. The Control Body is an integral part of the management and control system and his duties are discharged by the Ministry of Finance and Economy of the Republic of Albania.

The Joint Technical Secretariat (JTS)

The Joint Technical Secretariat (JTS) is the administrative body responsible for day-to-day management of the Cross-border Cooperation (CBC) Programme Montenegro-Albania. The JTS is responsible for assisting potential applicants in partner search, building their capacities in project development (i.e. organising Partner Search Forums, organising Project Cycle Management trainings), support the Contracting Authority in the work of the evaluation committees, ensure close cooperation of Operating Structures (OS), assist the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) through its secretariat role, monitoring, support and advise to grant beneficiaries, perform information campaigns and other activities aimed at raising public awareness on the CBC programme.

The main office of the JTS is located in Podgorica, while the Antenna is located in Shkodra.

Project Steering Committee (PSC)

The role of the Project Steering Committee (PSC) consists of supervising the implementation of the service contract, including monitoring the progress of the projects’ activities, ensuring overall coordination of project implementation and assessing the quality of the project outputs. Cooperation with the PSC members and their feedback will provide direction and technical guidance for the implementation of the project and will secure proper coordination between involved stakeholders.

Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC)

The Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) is in charge of monitoring the overall implementation of the programme and it consists of representatives of two beneficiary countries, Montenegro and Albania who have an equal status in the JMC.