Brussels, 10/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 9 September, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced that it was cooperating with the Central Bank of Montenegro to help the institution meet European standards - a condition that is necessary for Montenegro to join the EU. “The programme is aimed at assisting the Central Bank of Montenegro in their preparations for joining the European System of Central Banks”, the ECB stated in a press release. The ECB is due to bring its expertise over the next seven months in order to identify the main efforts to be made by the Central Bank of Montenegro for it to meet the EU's central banking standards.
The programme is being implemented by the ECB in partnership with ten national central banks of the Eurosystem (Deutsche Bundesbank, Eesti Pank, Banque de France, Bank of Greece, Banca d'Italia, De Nederlandsche Bank, Oesterreichische Nationalbank, Banco de Portugal, Banka Slovenije and Narodna banka Slovenska). The European Commission has allocated nearly €300,000 from its pre-accession aid instrument to finance the programme. (CG)