The handover ceremony for six specialised firefighting vehicles intended for strengthening the operational capacities of local protection and rescue services was held at the National Training Centre for Protection and Rescue in Podgorica.
The vehicles were provided within the project “Strengthening Climate Change Resilience in the Southern Adriatic” – RESILIENCE, funded by the European Union through the Interreg IPA South Adriatic Programme 2021–2027, and allocated to the municipalities of Bar, Danilovgrad, Ulcinj, and the Old Royal Capital Cetinje, while two vehicles were temporarily assigned to the Capital City Podgorica, as the administrative and technical user, until the formal establishment of protection services in the municipalities of Zeta and Tuzi.
The total value of the vehicles amounts to € 399,154.80, and all are equipped with purpose-built high-pressure firefighting modules, water tanks, signalling systems, and equipment for interventions in hard-to-reach terrain.
The procurement of specialised vehicles is one of the project’s key results and contributes to strengthening municipalities’ preparedness to respond to wildfires, natural disasters, and other emergencies. The new vehicles will enable faster intervention times, greater accessibility in rugged terrain, and more efficient action by local protection and rescue units.
At the beginning of the event, the attendees were welcomed by the State Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior, Dragana Kažanegra Stanišić, who emphasised:
“Investing in equipment and service capacities is not merely a financial investment. It is an investment in people’s lives, in the safety of our communities, in the state’s ability to respond to challenges. The Government and the Ministry of the Interior remain fully committed to further strengthening the protection and rescue system.”
The Director-General of the Directorate for Protection and Rescue, Miodrag Bešović, stated that this is not an isolated activity; it is part of a broader vision and strategy for developing the protection and rescue system. Bešović also announced another project already underway through which additional firefighting vehicles will be procured for the municipalities included in the initiative.
Radomir Šćepanović, Head of the Directorate for Operational Affairs, and Slađana Pešić, National Programme Coordinator at the Ministry of European Affairs, highlighted the importance of cross-border cooperation and the contribution of the European Union to the modernisation of response capacities.
On behalf of the municipalities, the vehicles were received by Aleksandar Grgurović, Mayor of Danilovgrad; Genci Nimanbegu, Mayor of Ulcinj; Ana Novović, Deputy Mayor of the Old Royal Capital Cetinje; Aco Vulević, Commander of the Bar Protection Service; and Nikola Bojanović, Commander of the Protection and Rescue Service of the Capital City Podgorica.
The RESILIENCE project is a strategic initiative aimed at enhancing the capacities of protection and rescue services in the cross-border area of Albania, Montenegro, and Italy. It includes equipment modernisation, joint operational protocols, specialised training, and the development of regional procedures for emergency response. In Montenegro, the project is implemented by the Ministry of the Interior’s Directorate for Protection and Rescue, and the total project budget for Montenegro is € 761,796, of which the European Union finances 85%.
The Ministry of the Interior will continue working on strengthening the capacities of all local self-government units through training, professional development, and further equipment procurement.