The European Commission has officially approved the disbursement of the first tranche of funds to Montenegro under the EU’s Reform and Growth Instrument, the Ministry of European Affairs and the Ministry of Finance announced.
They said this marks the continuation of a positive trend in implementing the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans and reaffirms Montenegro’s commitment to its European perspective.
Based on the submitted report on the implementation of the Reform Agenda and the European Commission’s assessment, the first regular tranche in the amount of 10.2 million euros has been approved, of which 4.7 million has been disbursed as budget support through a favorable loan.
The remaining 5.5 million euros will be allocated for financing infrastructure projects under the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF), including 2.6 million euros in loans and 2.9 million euros in grants, which will be disbursed in the coming period.
For reforms that are still underway, Montenegro will, in line with EU rules, be able to use an additional 24-month period for their full implementation without losing access to the available funds.
“In the first half of the year, additional progress was achieved in key areas such as spatial planning and energy, which was presented in detail in the Second Semi-Annual Report adopted by the Government of Montenegro on July 10 and submitted to the European Commission for review,” the statement continues.
They stressed that the disbursement of this tranche represents a clear signal that Montenegro is delivering measurable results in implementing reforms and is effectively using EU funds to support development and integration into the Union.
