Interreg in Montenegro: European cooperation already at work in a candidate country
27 October 26 3 mins read
Around the Bay of Kotor, 20 projects show what cooperation leaves behind
Participants of the 19th Regional Network Meeting of Interreg programmes in Central and South-East Europe visited 20 Interreg projects around the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro, funded by 11 cooperation programmes.
Montenegro applied for EU membership in 2008 and has been negotiating since 2012. All 33 negotiating chapters are open, 18 had been provisionally closed by July 2026, and the country already uses the euro. Through Interreg, it is already working inside the European house before it has fully entered it.
Shared problems do not wait for membership
The Bay of Kotor is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a cross-border region. Fires and floods hit Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina alike. The sea, its pollution and its economy are shared with Italy and Albania. Tourism, heritage and transport cross the same borders.
Interreg lets Montenegrin municipalities, universities, schools and public services answer these problems now, with partners from EU Member States and candidate countries. They design projects together, manage shared budgets and report under common EU rules. For a candidate country, this is European cooperation in practice, years before accession.
What cooperation built around the bay
Emergency services from three countries now coordinate their response from one communication centre. Public buildings use less energy and produce their own. Kotor has gained a hatchery, a marine robotics centre and a training centre for blue economy jobs. Fortresses and local traditions have become tourism offers shared across borders, and air travel has become more accessible for passengers with disabilities.
Results that stay
Most of these results remain once the funding ends, run by local institutions: the municipality of Herceg Novi staffs the communication centre, the hatchery supplies local aquaculture, and the training centre keeps preparing people for new jobs.
For a country on its way to the EU, Interreg turns European cooperation into something people can see in their town, their school or their port.
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