Montenegro near closing Chapter 8: Fair competition and equal chances for all

Montenegro is expected to temporarily close Chapter 8 – Competition at the Intergovernmental Conference in July, marking another important step towards EU membership. Chapter 8 covers competition policy and state aid control—areas that ensure all market participants operate under equal rules and prevent practices that undermine fair market competition. Competition policy defines that the state protects the market from agreements that restrict competition, such as price fixing, monopoly creation, or abuse of dominant positions by companies. This means that support provided by the state to companies must be transparent and carefully monitored to prevent unfair favoritism and to protect other market players, according to Nebojša Jovović from the Competition Protection Agency. Jovović emphasized that for Montenegro, this means creating a business environment aligned with EU standards—encouraging innovation, new companies, and job creation. Closing Chapter 8 is the result of years of work aligning with European rules and marks the beginning of their full and consistent application in practice.