The Government of Montenegro has adopted the final Negotiating Position and the Report on the fulfilment of the closing benchmarks for Chapter 22 – Regional Policy and Coordination of Structural Instruments, thereby fulfilling the key conditions under all six closing benchmarks and creating the prerequisites for its closure. Chapter 22 will be among the final chapters that Montenegro will close in December, at the very end of the accession negotiations.
The fulfilment of the closing benchmarks in this chapter is the result of joint work by the Ministry of European Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the entire structure of the Working Group for this negotiating chapter, while the adopted documents also define the specific steps that Montenegro needs to implement before accession to the European Union.
Chapter 22 is particularly important because it prepares Montenegro for the EU cohesion policy and a significantly larger volume of European funding after membership. According to the estimates presented as part of the accession financial package, the total estimated budgetary effect of Montenegro’s accession for the period 2028–2034 amounts to approximately EUR 3.2 billion.
This means significantly greater opportunities for investment in transport and municipal infrastructure, energy and environmental protection, as well as education, employment, social policy, innovation and the competitiveness of the economy. Through the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund Plus, funding will be able to be directed towards concrete projects: from roads, railways, water supply and sewage networks and waste management, to schools, kindergartens, healthcare and social infrastructure, employment programmes, training and skills development.
At the same time, Chapter 22 is already laying the foundations for the institutional system that will manage these funds after membership. The Ministry of European Affairs will have a central coordinating role in the preparation and implementation of the National and Regional Partnership Plan, the coordination of institutions involved in the system, monitoring implementation and communication with the European Commission, while at the same time managing territorial cooperation programmes.
The future system will include managing authorities responsible for different programme areas, as well as an independent Audit Authority. Administrative capacities are also being strengthened in parallel, with 100 new positions planned within the EU funds management system, so that Montenegro will be capable of efficiently using a significantly larger volume of funds from the first day of membership.
The programming basis for future investments is also being prepared. Through the Strategic Planning Document, 15 public policy areas have been analysed and 105 development challenges identified, providing the basis for preparing the National and Regional Partnership Plan and directing European funds towards Montenegro’s actual development needs.
That is why Chapter 22 is not merely a technical negotiating chapter or a question of how much money will be available to Montenegro after membership. It defines how we will plan those funds, who will manage them and how we will turn them into concrete projects, investments and results for citizens.