The first meeting to take stock of the joint programme of the European Union and Council of Europe “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey” (Horizontal Facility) will take place in the Montenegro Old Government Building in Podgorica on 10 May 2017.

This meeting will bring together the partners and beneficiaries of the actions in the areas of ensuring justice; fighting corruption, economic crime and organized crime; promoting anti-discrimination that have been developed under the Horizontal Facility. Among the key participants, there will be Mr Dragoljub Drašković, President of the Constitutional Court and Ms Vesna Medenica, President of the Supreme Court. The interim results will be reviewed and guidance will be provided for the period ahead. The total envelope for the country under the Horizontal Facility amounts to 3.1 million euros.

The event will be opened by the introductory addresses of Ambassador Zoran Janković, Acting State Secretary for Political Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro; Ms Verena Taylor, Director of the Office of the Directorate General of Programmes, Council of Europe and Ambassador Aivo Orav, Head of Delegation of the European Union in Montenegro.

The event will officially start at 09.30h, while the registration of the participants and journalists would commence half an hour beforehand. The meeting will be in English and Montenegrin, with simultaneous interpretation being provided. The public part of the event will end at 10.15h, after which there will be press opportunities, allowing the journalists to discuss with the key note speakers.

The Agenda of the Horizontal Facility Steering Committee is attached. For all organisational and media inquiries please feel free to contact Mr Boris Ristovic, Council of Europe Programme Office in Podgorica (+382 69 31 77 91), or Mr Stefan Vukotic, Delegation of the European Union ( +382 69 12 66 06). Separate interviews can be arranged upon requests.