The United States of America and Montenegro are launching negotiations to reach a bilateral agreement aimed at strengthening trade, investment, and economic ties, the U.S. Embassy in Podgorica announced on December 10.
The negotiations will take place within the framework of the U.S.–Montenegro Economic Dialogue 2025.
“The United States is globally recognized for innovation and economic reliability, while American companies are showing increasing interest in business opportunities within Montenegro’s growing economy,” the Embassy statement said.
According to the Embassy, the purpose of these negotiations is to encourage greater private-sector investment from the United States in order to create new jobs in both the U.S. and Montenegro, to strengthen Montenegro’s role as a NATO ally, and to open new opportunities for prosperity for the U.S., Montenegro, and the wider region.
Over the past nine months, Montenegro has signed four interstate agreements—with France, Hungary, and two with the United Arab Emirates.
All of these agreements have an interstate character, allowing the selection of contractors without public tenders.
Marko Sošić from the Alternative Institute previously told Radio Free Europe that this rapid pace of signing agreements is a result of the government’s obligation that, starting from December 26, all Montenegro’s interstate agreements must comply with European Union rules in the field of public procurement.
This requirement is part of the reform agenda in Montenegro’s EU accession negotiations.
The agreements with the UAE relate to tourism, real estate, energy, and digital technologies. The agreement with Hungary focuses on transport, digital, and information technology infrastructure. Meanwhile, the agreement with France involves a combination of infrastructure, energy, and digital projects.
The Montenegrin government says these are strategic partnerships aimed at “faster development and attracting investment,” which should reduce bureaucracy and increase efficiency.
Montenegro’s Public Procurement Law allows the selection of business partners without a tender.
“These rules do not apply to public procurement carried out in accordance with the special provisions of an international agreement between Montenegro and one or more EU member states, or third countries,” when the agreement relates to projects of common interest.
It is also required that the Montenegrin government inform the European Commission about every such international agreement.
NGOs warn that this practice undermines the public procurement system, which is one of the key pillars of corruption oversight.
Marko Sošić from the Alternative Institute told RFE in November that these types of interstate agreements carry significant risks precisely because they bypass national legislation.
He assessed that the government is seeking shortcuts to investments, as implementing the capital budget or proposing projects for EU funding is complicated and difficult.
In the European Commission’s latest report, published in November this year, only the first agreement that Montenegro signed with the UAE is mentioned.
The report warns that Montenegro must ensure that the implementation of this and similar agreements does not conflict with EU public procurement laws.
It also states that the way the agreement will be interpreted, implemented, and carried out will be under close monitoring by the EU.
