SD MP and representative of the European Alliance, Boris Mugoša, commented on Montenegro’s public debt situation, warning that according to government projections, the public debt will rise to nearly €6 billion by the end of 2028 — an increase of €1.2 billion, or 25%, compared to today.
He emphasized that the biggest burden on state finances will come in 2027, when the controversial “secret and organized” €750-million loan from late 2020 matures.
Mugoša noted that part of the public debt must be repaid from current revenues, not solely through new borrowing, since future governments will also be forced to service the massive obligations accumulated since 2020 — more than €2 billion so far, with additional large borrowings expected in the coming years. He also criticized superficial political interpretations of public debt expressed only as a percentage of GDP, stressing the need to examine the structure of Montenegro’s GDP, which is dominated by consumption and consistently accompanied by a large foreign trade deficit.
He pointed out that in 2024, Montenegro recorded the lowest export-to-import coverage in the past 15 years, and the largest trade deficit in the same period — around €3.5 billion. Trends in 2025 are even worse.
Mugoša further highlighted that micro-enterprises, which make up 93% of all companies and employ around 39% of the workforce, have been operating at a loss for the past six years. Their total capital is now 25% lower than in 2019.
Compared to the end of 2020, over 2,000 more companies are now blocked, and the amount of frozen debt has doubled, reaching more than €1.5 billion, he added.
Meanwhile, the budget line dedicated to improving the competitiveness of the Montenegrin economy has been reduced from nearly €6 million a few years ago to less than €4 million this year.
According to Mugoša, Montenegro urgently needs a serious economic development strategy, grounded in reliable, long-term analyses, that would define necessary structural reforms for the next decade. These reforms should ensure economic diversification, improved liquidity, greater competitiveness, and higher productivity.
He stressed the need — also highlighted in the latest European Commission report — for limiting budget spending, sustainably increasing public revenues, respecting fiscal rules, reassessing the current fiscal policy, and preparing a detailed analysis of fiscal risks.
“Relying on an economic model based on administrative and pre-election spending increases, without genuine rationalization of unproductive expenditures, combined with excessive borrowing, does not lead to financial stability or sustainability,” Mugoša concluded. He currently chairs the Parliamentary Committee on Economy, Finance and Budget.
