During the 68th Cabinet session today, led by Deputy Prime Minister Aleksa Bečić, the Government Work Programme for 2025 was approved alongside the Report on the Implementation of the Medium-Term Government Work Programme 2024–2027 for the year 2024. This Government Work Programme is a crucial tool for executing the objectives defined in the Medium-Term Government Work Programme 2024–2027. It is grounded in medium-term strategic priorities, annual economic policy actions, and obligations stemming from national laws, strategic documents, and Montenegro’s EU accession path. Each priority and aim specified in the medium-term programme is detailed in annual work programmes, which outline specific initiatives within strategic and legislative frameworks. The success of these obligations is evaluated both independently and through their impact on achieving designated performance indicators. The Government Work Programme for 2025 outlines a total of 414 planned activities, comprising 238 related to thematic priorities and 176 pertaining to legislative measures.

The Cabinet also approved the Report on the Implementation of Montenegro’s Accession Programme to the European Union for the years 2024-2027 for 2024, along with the Accession Programme for 2025–2026. Key plans for 2025 and 2026 feature 409 acts scheduled for 2025, which include 78 strategic documents, 152 laws, and 179 bylaws, and 230 acts intended for 2026, consisting of 35 strategic documents, 29 laws, and 166 bylaws. The majority of obligations for 2025 focus on food safety, veterinary, and phytosanitary policy (103), transport policy (78), free movement of goods (42), judiciary and fundamental rights (38), and environment and climate change (37). The draft 2025–2026 Programme underwent public consultation from January 3 to 23, 2025, ensuring transparency and cohesion with the Government’s 2025 Work Plan. Highlights from 2024 indicate that 160 out of 282 planned obligations were fulfilled (57%), marking a significant increase from 33% in 2023; 112 out of 220 planned legislative measures (51%) were completed, which includes 58 laws (53%) and 54 bylaws (49%); and 48 of 62 strategic documents (77%) were adopted. Performance was tracked quarterly: Q1 (100%), Q2 (84%), Q3 (57%), Q4 (34%), with delays in Q4 attributed to parliamentary inactivity. The Government’s ambitious EU accession agenda aims to finalize all negotiation chapters by the end of 2026, necessitating increased parliamentary engagement in 2025 to ensure the comprehensive implementation of planned reforms.

The Cabinet approved the Action Plan for the Implementation of Recommendations from the European Commission’s 2024 Report on Montenegro. The European Commission (EC) Report on Montenegro, released in October 2024, acts as a pivotal monitoring tool for evaluating the nation’s progress towards EU accession. It provides definitive guidelines and recommendations to expedite the integration process, particularly as the Government commits to fulfilling all EU accession-related obligations by the conclusion of 2026, including Barometer 26—a platform detailing commitments necessary for finalizing negotiations with the European Union. The Ministry of European Affairs thoroughly assessed the EC Report and organized its recommendations into a cohesive strategic document, addressing reforms in public administration and covering 31 chapters of the EU acquis, excluding Chapters 23 (Judiciary and fundamental rights) and 24 (Justice, freedom, and security), which will have dedicated action plans. The Report noted substantial advancements in Montenegro’s rule of law reforms, as illustrated by receiving the Interim Benchmark Assessment Report (IBAR), the successful adoption of the Reform Agenda, and marked progress in Chapter 7 (Intellectual Property Law), Chapter 10 (Information Society and Media), and Chapter 20 (Enterprise and Industrial Policy). These chapters were provisionally closed during the Intergovernmental Conference held in Brussels on December 16, 2024. The Action Plan will provide a roadmap for fulfilling remaining obligations, bolstering EU accession efforts, and tracking progress across six negotiation clusters, with public availability to ensure transparency, allowing citizens, civil society, and stakeholders to observe developments.

The Cabinet adopted the Draft Law on the Ratification of the Agreement on the Central European Exchange Programme for University Studies (CEEPUS IV). This agreement is designed to foster regional academic mobility and sustain long-term collaboration by facilitating student exchanges and mutual recognition of study periods and qualifications in higher education among involved universities. The CEEPUS IV Agreement, comprising 13 articles, outlines the framework for academic cooperation, encompassing student and faculty exchanges, scholarships, and joint research initiatives. The Central CEEPUS Office in Vienna will oversee compliance and implementation, ensuring a streamlined coordination process. Montenegro is facilitated through 165 months of academic exchanges, offering students scholarships that cover living costs, laboratory research, accommodation, and basic health insurance. The agreement will come into effect on May 1, 2025, upon ratification by the signatory states.

The Cabinet approved an Information on Participation in Accommodation and Meal Costs for Medical Faculty Students pursuing the Applied Physiotherapy Programme in Igalo. Recognizing students’ financial burdens, the Government, in collaboration with the University of Montenegro, has sanctioned a monthly subsidy of €100 per student for accommodation and meals, effective from March 1 to July 1, 2025. The total funding allocated amounts to €47,000, with equal contributions from the University of Montenegro. This initiative aims to enhance educational accessibility and support students studying medicine away from their place of residence.

The Cabinet endorsed the initiation of a public recruitment campaign for 96 Police Academy graduates from the Higher Vocational School “Police Academy” in Danilovgrad. Given the strategic necessity of maintaining a sufficiently staffed police force, the Government underscored the urgency of ensuring the immediate employment of these graduates, facilitating continuous law enforcement and national security operations. The recruitment includes 91 graduates from the 16th generation and 5 from the 15th generation.

The Cabinet also adopted the Action Plan for Meeting the Closing Benchmarks in Chapter 8 – Competition Policy. This Action Plan lays out 36 targeted activities aimed at aligning Montenegro’s competition policy with EU standards, emphasizing competition protection, merger control, and state aid regulations. The execution of this Action Plan will improve Montenegro’s legal and institutional framework, bolster market competition, enhance the business climate, and ensure equitable opportunities for all economic actors. By fully achieving these commitments, Montenegro will take a significant step towards closing negotiations in this chapter, thus advancing its integration into the European Single Market.