CNVP Netherlands opened a branch office in Montenegro on 28 December 2017 that is fully compliant with the country’s Law on Non-Governmental Organizations. Registration as a branch office of a foreign NGO does not give that organisation the status of a local legal entity. This separate exercise will come later.

The registration of a CNVP branch office in Montenegro has created conditions for opening a local bank account for regular business transactions, including the management of the 30 month EU-funded project Helping CSOs contribute more effectively to Montenegro’s rural development that started on 1 October 2017, and is being implemented by CNVP and its partners, the Regional Development Agency, BKP and the Union of Farmers, Montenegro.

CNVP representation in Montenegro will allow the organisation to increase its visibility in the country. It should also offer more business opportunities, and give greater possibility for CNVP to participate as lead partner or co-applicant in additional projects, whether in-country, cross-border or regional.

Registration of a CNVP branch office in Montenegro brings it into line with the other CNVP branch offices in Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia. Action is currently being undertaken in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina to achieve the same objective early in 2018.