Montenegro’s preparations for EU membership include further reforms to professional qualification recognition, consumer protection, postal services and healthcare regulation, with outstanding requirements covering legislation, institutional staffing, training and enforcement.
The findings from the country’s internal-market meeting with the European Commission identified areas where additional measures are needed to implement European Union rules and strengthen the administrative systems responsible for their enforcement.
Sectoral Legislation and Access to Services
The European Commission requested an updated timetable for outstanding sector-specific legislation required to achieve full implementation of the Services Directive. The work concerns the rules governing establishment and service provision across individual sectors. The report does not quantify the commercial costs associated with existing restrictions or identify which businesses would benefit first from the remaining legislative changes. It highlights the need to ensure that sectoral legislation is consistent with Montenegro’s commitments on access to the services market.
Professional Qualifications and Training Requirements
The assessment identified outstanding documentation needed to evaluate professional qualifications acquired under existing arrangements. Study programmes required for the assessment of acquired rights had not been submitted by the November 2025 deadline.
The Commission warned that acquired rights could not be recognised without an assessment of the relevant programmes and urged Montenegro to submit the curricula urgently, including in their original language. The requirement concerns the evidence needed to assess existing qualifications. It does not mean that all Montenegrin professional credentials are unacceptable or that recognition outcomes will be identical across professions.
Separate measures concern the training of future professionals. Montenegro committed to developing training models for midwives and veterinary doctors, while addressing extensive comments from EU member states on draft curricula. For employers and education providers, the two processes involve different requirements: the assessment of existing study programmes for the recognition of acquired qualifications, and the alignment of future education through changes to curricula and training arrangements.
Consumer Protection and Market Surveillance
Montenegro’s consumer-protection reforms include recruiting inspectors, developing a centralised complaints database and implementing an action plan to address shortcomings in consumer protection and product safety. The country also committed to continuing legislative alignment before accession and incorporating the priorities of the Consumer Agenda 2030 into its national strategy by the end of 2026.
These measures concern the capacity of authorities to oversee businesses operating in the domestic market and enforce consumer-protection and product-safety requirements. The March assessment did not confirm whether the complaints database had become operational or whether all planned recruitment had been completed.
Postal Market Regulation
The European Commission called for further alignment with EU postal-services rules, alongside adequate regulatory oversight and market monitoring. The requirements concern the regulatory framework governing postal operators and the provision of services. The report does not provide information on postal prices, market concentration or service quality.
Healthcare Safety and Substances of Human Origin
In healthcare regulation, Montenegro had adopted an action plan covering substances of human origin. Further measures were required for monitoring, reporting and responding to serious adverse reactions and events. The March 2026 assessment also recorded plans for legislation and an organisational framework for the responsible authority. Milestones were envisaged for May and July 2026, although the report did not confirm whether those measures had subsequently been completed.
The outstanding work across these areas concerns the practical implementation of regulatory requirements, including the assessment of professional qualifications, investigation of consumer complaints, supervision of service providers and the monitoring and reporting of healthcare-related safety incidents.
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