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On 14 April 2021, the two Co-Chairs of the Joint Consultative Committee between the CoR and Montenegro (JCC Montenegro), Roberto Ciambetti (IT/ECR) and Aleksandar Kašćelan, Mayor of Cetinje, had a bilateral videoconference meeting. Representatives of the European Conservatives and Reformers (ECR) political group in the CoR, CIVEX Secretariat, and the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro (UOM).

The two Co-Chairs spoke about combatting coronavirus pandemic in their communities, possibilities to establish peer-to-peer cooperation between Mr Ciambetti's Region of Veneto and Montenegrin municipalities, in particular connection with the use of the EU pre-accession funds, and the topic for the next JCC Montenegro meeting, scheduled for 15 June 2021, in a fully remote format. The Co-Chairs agreed that the main topic for the next JCC Montenegro meeting should be the relaunch of tourism after the coronavirus crisis.

"I hope that both sides of the Adriatic Sea could have a smooth recovery from the Covid-19 crisis and that our economies could promptly benefit from this restart. In the coming months we will have the opportunity to meet in Venice to discuss concretely on the EU integration process of Montenegro," said Mr Ciambetti at the meeting.           Mr Kašćelan accepted Mr Ciambetti's invitation to a group of mayors and experts from Montenegro to visit Veneto, most probably at the beginning of September.