An info workshop held within the LIFE programme: Montenegrin municipalities showed strong interest in launching projects in the field of environmental protection.
The strong interest of Montenegrin municipalities in implementing projects in the field of environmental protection was confirmed through participation in an online info workshop dedicated to the LIFE programme. The workshop was held within the project “Municipalities for EU – Empowering local communities in the process of European integration of Montenegro” (M4EU), which is financed by the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro and implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Public Administration and the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro.
The workshop was dedicated to the open call of the LIFE programme, which since June this year has also been available to users from Montenegro. LIFE is the leading instrument of the European Union for financing projects in the field of environmental protection, nature, and climate action, and represents a great opportunity for institutions, including municipalities, private companies, and non-governmental organizations, to contribute to the green transition and sustainable development.
Representatives of municipalities presented their project ideas, which, with expert comments and suggestions, were further developed by the external expert for providing support to municipalities in project preparation, Mario Ringov, and Sanela Metjahić, the national contact person for the LIFE programme in Montenegro. In this way, municipalities were provided with direct support in developing quality project concepts with the potential for successful application.
A special contribution to the workshop was also made by the capacity building expert on the M4EU project, Goran Đurović, and it was also significant that the NGO Center for Protection and Research of Birds (CZIP) participated, who presented to the participants their experiences in applying for and implementing projects financed through the LIFE programme. Their participation enabled local self-governments to become better acquainted with the practical steps of applying and the ways of using the funds that this programme offers.
The significant interest of local self-governments, among which are Podgorica, Plav, Rožaje, Gusinje, Kolašin, Budva, Ulcinj and Tuzi, shows the growing readiness of local self-governments to get involved in European processes and to develop projects that contribute to the preservation of nature, protection of biodiversity and climate actions.
The LIFE Programme 2021–2027 is an EU programme fully dedicated to environmental, climate, and energy goals. The European Commission, in April this year, announced a call for project proposals within LIFE for 2025, which allocated 600 million for financing actions in the field of environment and climate. Project proposals can be submitted by various types of organizations: from public institutions, through private companies, to non-profit organizations (NGOs).
