Centre for Civic Education (CCE) warns of a concerning continuity of poor results by the Government of Montenegro in fulfilling obligations from Montenegro’s Reform Agenda 2024–2027, a key strategic document within the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. Such dynamics not only slow down reforms, namely the implementation of undertaken obligations, but also create a serious risk of the permanent loss of part of the financial resources envisaged by this European Union instrument.
After the Government of Montenegro adopted the Third Semi-Annual Report on the Implementation of the Reform Agenda during a telephone session, an evaluation by the European Commission followed, on which the amount of funds available to Montenegro based on achieved results directly depends.
CCE has already pointed out that the Government’s report included an assessment of the implementation of a total of 45 reform steps – 13 carried-over obligations from previous periods and 32 from the most recent, also the most comprehensive reporting cycle. Unfortunately, there is now an established practice of significant discrepancy between the Government’s self-assessment and the final evaluation of the European Commission.
Namely, the Government assessed that 24 out of a total of 45 reform steps had been fully implemented, which in itself is quite a modest result. However, the evaluation of the European Commission further revises that number, with only 20 measures receiving a positive assessment.
Among them are three out of five outstanding steps from the first reporting period, three out of eight remaining from the second, and only 14 out of a total of 32 reform steps from the latest period. Based on the implementation of those 20 steps, Montenegro unlocked around 44.2 million euros (from the total value of the reform steps, approximately 7% was deducted on account of advance payments already disbursed, which is the case with every payment). We remind that part of these funds refers to non-repayable support, while another part is disbursed through loans with exceptionally favourable interest rates.
It is concerning that, instead of reducing the backlog, Montenegro continuously records an increase in the number of unfulfilled obligations, which is directly reflected in the amount of withdrawn funds, significantly lower than originally planned. Following the latest evaluation of the European Commission, Montenegro has fulfilled 32 out of a total of 57 reform steps envisaged for the period so far, namely only 56% of the planned obligations.
Of particular concern is that, even after the regular reporting period and two “resit opportunities”, not all obligations whose deadline expired back in February 2025 have been fulfilled. These concern two reform steps in the area of energy and green transition, relating to further harmonisation of domestic legislation with EU rules. The European Commission notes that key secondary legislation has still not been adopted and that the process of full harmonisation is still ongoing.
This places the release of more than 4.5 million euros linked to these two reform steps under serious question, should their full implementation not be secured by the end of the year. At the same time, the same final deadline also applies to the remaining 18 unfulfilled steps from the latest reporting period, whose total value amounts to as much as 48.7 million euros.
The risk is even more pronounced when it comes to the five unfulfilled steps from the second reporting period, as their “grace period” expires on 30 June 2026, namely in just over a month’s time. Should that opportunity also be missed, Montenegro could remain without more than 15 million euros in financial support.
Overall, Montenegro has so far secured the disbursement of approximately 67.2 million euros, although 135.6 million euros had been available to it through this instrument during the same period, meaning that only 49.5% of the available funds have been utilised, namely more than 68 million less than what had been available. At the same time, the state is entering a challenging race against time, as, alongside a large number of unfulfilled steps whose deadlines have already been missed, the Government is expected to face an additional 38 new reform measures by the end of the year.
CCE considers such an attitude of the executive and legislative authorities towards obligations from the Reform Agenda unacceptable, especially for a state that simultaneously politically projects the ambition to conclude accession negotiations with the European Union by the end of the year.
The results so far within this instrument emphasise a serious discrepancy between politically projected ambitions and the actual capacities of the authorities to implement them, but also an absence of accountability.Particularly problematic is the fact that deadlines and obligations were not imposed externally -they were defined through agreement between the Government of Montenegro and the European Union. Therefore, such dynamics do not represent merely a delay in reforms, but also a breach of undertaken obligations towards European partners.
CCE also reminds that the Reform Agenda itself was prepared through a non-transparent and insufficiently inclusive process, with limited involvement of civil society organisations, which is now evidently reflected in the quality and pace of its implementation.
The need for a different approach is also indicated by the recently adopted Opinion of the Section for External Relations of the European Economic and Social Committee, which emphasises the importance of a continuous, active, structured and institutionalised role of social partners and civil society organisations in the implementation of reforms financed through EU instruments.
European integration cannot be a closed process reserved for a narrow political circle, because the price of such an approach is ultimately paid by citizens – through lost time, missed reforms and tens of millions of euros that remain beyond the reach of the state.
Time for “resit opportunities” is rapidly running out, and reforms cannot be substituted with political optimism and speeches. If the authorities do not change their approach, Montenegro will not only lose European money, but also the credibility of a state claiming to be ready for the final stage of the European path.
Ivan Kašćelan, Project Assistant