📣 We are delighted to announce that DALIR law firm’s founding partner, Dr Irena Dajkovic, is a key part of the team who won the European Commission’s tender on the ‘Gap analysis of Montenegro’s legal and regulatory framework compared to the SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) Regulation’. SEPA’s goal is to make sending and receiving cashless euro payments as easy and as cost-effective as domestic payments within the SEPA geographic on the basis of the same set of rules irrespective of whether it is about domestic or cross-border payments.
We look forward to our collaboration with our partners AARC (Management Consultants) and Hartmut Seibel Law on the delivery of this project, as well as working with the European Commission and the Central Bank of Montenegro.
Dr Irena Dajkovic, as Clifford Chance’s secondee to the European Payments Council (EPC), was instrumental when the first non-EU country, Switzerland, joined SEPA. Together with Clifford Chance’s partner Dermot Turing and the EPC’s Legal Support Group, she was involved in the drafting of the very first SEPA participation criteria for non-EU countries.
Mr Hartmut Seibel, as the former General Counsel of EPC, was instrumental in further evolving these participation criteria together with the EPC’s Legal Support Group and drafting the current version of the applicable SEPA participation criteria. During Mr Seibel’s time as the EPC’s General Counsel numerous non-EU countries joined SEPA (Monaco, San Marino, the UK Crown Dependencies, the Vatican City State/Holy See and the Principality of Andorra). The UK had to apply in 2019 in order to remain within the geographical scope after leaving the EU post-Brexit.
This is a significant milestone for Montenegro. Montenegro adopted the euro as its de facto domestic currency back in 2002. Currently, it is a candidate country to become a member of the EU. This means that Montenegro’s potential joining of SEPA before it becomes an EU member is subject to the above-mentioned SEPA participation criteria.
If you would like to find out more about SEPA, SEPA countries and/or how to join SEPA Schemes do not hesitate to contact us at lawfirm@dalir.co.uk
