European money for the Montenegrin path to the EU
European money for the Montenegrin path to the EU

Author(s): Daliborka Uljarević, Radoš Mušović
Subject(s): Politics, Civil Society, Economic policy, Government/Political systems, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment
Published by: Centar za građansko obrazovanje (CGO)
Keywords: Montenegro; EU; EU accession; finances; civil society support;
Summary/Abstract: In 2006, the European Union grouped all support programmes into one comprehensive instrument - the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance IPA to provide support to the candidate and potential candidate countries to meet the criteria for membership. Under this programme, Montenegro, but also other countries aspiring to EU membership, receive financial, technical and expert assistance for projects of institutions and other entities to dynamize reforms and improve the living standards of citizens. One of the smaller, although very visible, beneficiaries of the IPA programme in Montenegro are civil society organisations (CSOs) through the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), the Civil Society Support Instrument (CSF), the Media Professionalization Programme and cross-border programmes (CBC) with Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and previously with Croatia, and now trilateral programmes. This study provides insight into the support to civil society within the above-mentioned instruments from 2012 to 2019, i.e., in the first seven years of negotiations between Montenegro and the EU. To understand the position of civil society concerning the use of IPA funds and the ratio of these funds that are available to them, a review of the financing of projects of ministries from these funds is given as well. It is important to note that the study does not include an overview of civil society funding in Montenegro from programmes such as Europe for Citizens, Erasmus +, Creative Europe, Horizon 2020, as well as regional and global EIDHR and IPA programmes, and service contracts, due to an extremely small number of projects in which Montenegrin organisations are project leaders, although they participate in these as partners. It also does not include donations distributed through indirect management of IPA funds managed by the Ministry of Finance of Montenegro, i.e., the Directorate for Financing and Contracting of EU Funds (CFCU), except for cross-border cooperation Montenegro-Albania and Montenegro-Kosovo under IPA II.

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