Montenegro is expected to provisionally close Chapter 8 – Competition at the Intergovernmental Conference in July, marking another important step on its path towards European Union membership. Chapter 8 covers competition policy and State aid control – areas that ensure all market participants operate under the same rules and prevent practices that distort fair competition. This means that all companies should have equal conditions for doing business and compete in the market through quality, innovation and good ideas.
Competition policy ensures that the market is protected from agreements that restrict competition, such as price-fixing, the creation of monopolies or the abuse of a dominant position by individual companies. It also involves the control of major company mergers to prevent them from reducing choice and opportunities for other market participants.
“A specific part of this chapter concerns State aid. This means that support provided by the State to companies must be transparent and carefully controlled, so that individual firms are not unfairly favoured and thereby put other companies operating in the market at a disadvantage,” said Nebojša Jovović, Head of the Negotiating Working Group from the Agency for the Protection of Competition.
What does closing Chapter 8 mean for citizens?
When the market operates under clear and equal rules, citizens benefit in a number of ways. Greater competition encourages companies to offer better-quality products and services, more competitive prices and new solutions. For the economy, this means a more secure business environment and more predictable conditions for growth. Companies looking to invest and create new jobs can make decisions more easily when they know that the same rules apply to everyone.
“For Montenegro, this means creating a business environment that is closer to European Union standards – an environment that encourages innovation, the development of new companies and the creation of new jobs,” Jovović said.
Closing Chapter 8 also sends an important message to potential investors: Montenegro is building a market with clear rules and equal conditions for all. Investors are more likely to choose countries where they know they can operate in a stable and predictable environment, without discrimination or preferential treatment for individual companies.
The closing of Chapter 8 is the result of years of work to align Montenegro’s legislation and institutions with European rules, but it also marks the beginning of a new phase – their full and consistent implementation in practice. In the period ahead, it will be important to continue strengthening institutions responsible for protecting competition, improve State aid control and ensure that the rules apply equally to all market participants.