Montenegro and Albania advanced on their European integration path by becoming the first-ever enlargement countries to join the geographical scope of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) following the green light by the European Payments Council (EPC). This is a practical example of the impact of the Growth Plan, an EU initiative to accelerate the socio-economic integration of the Western Balkans into the EU, including through progressive access to certain areas of the EU single market based on alignment with the EU acquis Communautaire.
As a result of the European Payments Council decision, the payment service providers of these two countries will have the possibility to adhere to the various SEPA schemes, which is part of a separate process managed by the EPC.
This step paves the way to facilitate financial transfers in euro and reduce the cost of these transactions between the two countries and other SEPA members. The European Commission, through a project funded under the IPA instrument and implemented by the World Bank, will continue to support the preparation of Montenegro and Albania’s payments service providers, as well as the other Western Balkan countries aiming to join the geographical scope of SEPA in the near future.
