Montenegro’s conventional state aid fell 75.79% to €2.87 million in 2025, from around €11.85 million in 2024, while a separate €22.25 million was distributed through de minimis programmes. The latest annual report of the Competition Agency shows a sharp reduction in formal state aid alongside continued public support for businesses through smaller schemes.
De Minimis Support Remains Substantial
De minimis assistance is excluded from the conventional state-aid figure because smaller amounts of support can be provided under applicable thresholds without being classified as formal state aid. In 2025, Montenegro distributed approximately €22.25 million through de minimis programmes, almost eight times the amount recorded as conventional state aid.
Major programmes included around €3.21 million for business competitiveness and approximately €4.64 million through two schemes managed by the Innovation Fund of Montenegro. Another €2.04 million was allocated to improving energy efficiency in hotels, while around €1.25 million supported self-employment measures. Regional aid amounted to approximately €601,000, with the entire amount linked to the Development Bank of Montenegro.
Support Linked to Defined Policy Areas
The distribution of assistance increasingly centres on specific programmes rather than large interventions targeting individual companies. State-aid control forms a central part of EU competition policy, as government support can provide selected companies or sectors with advantages unavailable to competitors.
EU candidate countries are required to ensure that subsidies are transparent, proportionate and compatible with EU rules. For Montenegro, this means increasingly structuring economic support around clearly defined objectives. Innovation, competitiveness, employment and energy efficiency are among the areas covered by the reported programmes.
De minimis schemes allow governments to assist smaller businesses without the same level of state-aid scrutiny applicable to larger interventions. Companies can use such support for grants or subsidised financing for investments that could otherwise be difficult to fund.
Hotel Energy Efficiency and Innovation Funding
The distinction between formal state aid and de minimis assistance means that a decline in conventional state aid does not necessarily indicate a withdrawal of public business support. The €2.04 million hotel energy-efficiency programme addresses investment needs in a sector facing higher electricity, cooling and operating costs. Measures including insulation, efficient equipment and solar generation can reduce consumption, while public co-financing can shorten investment payback periods for smaller hotels.
Innovation programmes serve a different purpose. Montenegro’s economy remains concentrated in tourism, property and services, while schemes administered by the Innovation Fund target technology companies, research commercialisation and higher-value business activity. The funding amounts remain relatively small at national level but can be significant for individual start-ups and SMEs.
Self-Employment and Small Business Measures
Self-employment support focuses on entrepreneurship and labour-market participation rather than large corporate investment. Montenegro’s business structure is dominated by smaller companies, making relatively modest grants potentially significant for individual enterprises.
The effectiveness of these programmes will depend on whether they generate additional investment rather than finance activities that businesses would have undertaken without public support. EU-style state-aid rules increasingly require governments to demonstrate both legal compliance and an economic rationale for intervention.
State-Owned Companies Face a Separate Challenge
As Montenegro moves closer to EU membership, larger interventions involving state-owned enterprises, energy, transport and restructuring can attract greater attention than smaller competitiveness programmes. Montenegro retains a significant state-owned corporate sector. Utilities, transport companies and infrastructure operators require capital investment and can face pressure for budget support. Distinguishing legitimate public-service obligations from assistance that could distort competition will therefore remain an important part of the state-aid framework.
The 2025 figures show that formal state aid contracted sharply, while the substantially larger €22.25 million de minimis total demonstrates that government support continues through differently structured programmes. For businesses, public assistance is increasingly tied to specific investment objectives rather than individual rescue measures, while the scale of the smaller programmes places greater importance on their impact on productivity, efficiency and employment as Montenegro moves toward fuller application of EU competition rules.
