Montenegro Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in montenegro, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Since regaining independence in 2006, Montenegro has adopted an investment framework to encourage growth, employment, and exports. Although the continuing transition has not eliminated all structural barriers, the government recognizes the need to remove impediments, ensure business-friendly policies, and improve transparency and openness to foreign investors.

Montenegro makes no distinction between domestic and foreign companies. Foreign companies can own 100 percent of a domestic company, while profits and dividends can be repatriated without limitations or restrictions. Exceptions to this policy are the small number of cases dealing with defense-related industries.

As a candidate country on its path to joining the European Union (EU), Montenegro has opened all 33 negotiating chapters. Three new chapters were provisionally closed in December 2024 (Chapter 7 – Intellectual Property, Chapter 10 – Information Society and Media and Chapter 20 – enterprise and Industrial Policy. In June 2025, Montenegro provisionally closed Chapter 5 – Public Procurement, bringing the total number of chapters provisionally closed to seven). Montenegro aims to become the 28th EU member by 2028. Under the revised accession framework adopted in 2021, the EU has emphasized that no further chapters will be closed in EU candidate states until benchmarks related to the judiciary and anti-corruption, particularly those in Chapter 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights) and 24 (Justice, Freedom and Security), are met. Montenegro is the only EU candidate country to have reached the interim benchmarks in those chapters.  Chapters 25 (Science and Research, 2012), 26 (Education and Culture, 2013), and 30 (External Relations, 2017) are also provisionally closed. 

Despite regulatory improvements, corruption remains a significant concern. Montenegro is a member of the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) and participates in the Regional Cooperation Council of Southeast Europe and the Berlin Process.  The Euro is the official currency in Montenegro, which stabilizes financial flows and results in lower transaction costs. Private ownership is protected by the Constitution and includes equal treatment of foreigners.  Montenegro joined NATO in June 2017. 

The Montenegrin economy expanded by 3.2 percent in 2024, and the government demonstrated fiscal discipline, reducing public debt from 105 percent of GDP in 2020 to 61.3 percent at the end of 2024. According to the Montenegrin Investment Agency, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Montenegro in 2024 totaled €890 million, up from €857 in 2023.  Although no one source country dominates FDI, significant investments have come from Serbia (€118.2 million), Russia (€100,1 million), Turkey (€99.6 million), Germany (€69.5 million), Switzerland (€65.6 million), and the United States (€55.5 million), Infrastructure development remains a government priority, with particular focus on completing the Bar – Boljare highway and advancing the Adriatic Ionian corridor, alongside investments in new energy generation and transmission and in the IT sector, including data centers.  These projects have the potential to strengthen regional connectivity and unlock greater commercial opportunities along the Adriatic coast.

Visit the State Department’s website for background on the Montenegro’s political and economic environment: Montenegro - United States Department of State

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