December 15 (SeeNews) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Friday it is promoting a capacity building project for the Montenegrin Agency for the Protection of Competition to encourage the fair and competitive business environment in the country.
The project includes training for staff and judges on merger and antitrust cases, the introduction of econometric software to analyse competition cases and activities to raise public awareness about competition rules among businesses, the EBRD said in a statement.
"This undertaking could not be more timely as Montenegro aims to open the chapter on competition policy in its EU accession negotiations. The EBRD's project, generously funded by Luxembourg, will help the country fulfil the necessary requirements to start the talks," the head of the EBRD's Office in Podgorica, Jaap Sprey, said.
The project will be implemented by the International Development Law Organisation (IDLO), dedicated to the promotion of the rule of law, the EBRD noted.
"We deem the EBRD's technical assistance project is of great importance, considering the need to further strengthen the administrative capacities of the agency and the judiciary, as identified in the European Commission's annual reports on Montenegro," the director of Montenegro's Agency for the Protection of Competition, Miodrag Vujovic, said in the statement.
To date, the EBRD has invested some 550 million euro ($649.3 million) in over 50 projects in Montenegro.