EU Commission approves €3.2 bn financial package for Montenegro’s EU accession

The European Commission adopted a financial package worth about €3.2 billion for Montenegro’s entry into the European Union. The proposal, drafted under Chapter 33 – financial and budgetary provisions – outlines how the country will transition from pre‑accession assistance to full participation in EU internal funds. It covers result‑based programmes in regional development, agriculture, social policy and internal affairs and is intended to prevent funding gaps while limiting administrative burden.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the package as “another concrete step toward Montenegro’s future in our Union.” The package assumes Montenegro becomes a member on 1 January 2028, at which point the expected contribution to the EU budget would be around €75 million a year (about 1 % of its GDP). The cost to EU citizens is calculated at less than €1 per person per year. Montenegro has already opened all 33 negotiation chapters and provisionally closed 16, with a goal to finish the remaining chapters by the end of the year.

Montenegrin officials welcomed the package as proof that the EU is preparing concrete financial instruments for the country’s accession and underscored the need to close the remaining negotiating chapters to secure membership by 2028.