MONTENEGRO on its European path #EUenlargement ©Balsa Rakocevic Trade & Mobility & 09/2021 investment empowerment Key milestones ● The EU is Montenegro’s biggest trading ● Visa-free travel to the EU partner since December 2009 ● The EU’s Foreign Direct Investment in ● Over 4,153 participants from Montenegro Last updated: DECEMBER 2008 Montenegro reached €87.5 million in in student, academic and youth exchanges 2020 under ERASMUS+ (2014-2020) Application for EU ● Volume of trade in goods In 2020 ● Reforms of the social welfare and child- Membership with the EU was €1.1 care systems implemented with EU billion in 2020 38% support in exports ● €14.4 million in support to civil society MAY 2010 44% (2014-2020) in imports Entry into force of the Stabilisation and Supporting Association Agreement EU funding transformation ● The EU is the largest provider ● Strengthening democracy: rule of law, DECEMBER 2010 of financial assistance to Montenegro justice and fundamental rights ● €504.9 million in EU pre-accession funds ● Reforming public administration EU candidate country 2007-2020 status granted ● Fostering competitiveness and supporting ● €804 million provided in European business development Investment Bank loans since 1999 ● Working towards a cleaner environment ● €194.9 million provided since 2009 in and safer food supply JUNE 2012 Western Balkans Investment Framework EU decides to open grants, to leverage investments of Support accession negotiations estimated €1.8 billion 14% for key 22% sectors JUNE 2020 After eight years of accession negotiations all the 33 screened Democracy and Competitiveness, €269.2 millon chapters have been governance innovation, 2014 - 2020 opened, of which 3 are agriculture and rural Rule of law and development provisionally closed fundamental rights 16% Education, 36% Environment, climate employment and action and energy social policies Transport 7% 5% COVID-19 response In December 2020, the Commission adopted a €70 million package of grants to help fund the access of Western Balkans partners to COVID-19 vaccines. A part of these grants covered the delivery of almost 650,000 doses of BioNTech/ Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines to all the Western Balkans - funded by the EU and facilitated by Austria – between May and August 2021. In February 2021, the Commission launched a project of over €7 million jointly with WHO, to support readiness for vaccination efforts and resilient health systems in the Western Balkans. Source: EU Data ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement | facebook.com/EUnear | twitter.com/eu_near .