Montenegro joins EU’s COSME programme

Montenegro is the first EU candidate country to join the Union’s Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (COSME) programme.

European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani and Vladimir Kavarić, Minister of Economy of Montenegro, have signed an agreement formalising the entry of the country into the COSME programme.

The Commission said the continuation of Montenegro’s participation in the Enterprise Europe Network, which is financed under COSME, allows the country to continue to take full benefit of best practices on entrepreneurship, SME policy, competitiveness, and innovation in the EU.

The backbone of the Montenegrin economy is formed by the large and expanding sector of small companies. The groundwork on developing a favourable regulatory framework for SME’s has been almost been completed through Montenegro’s participation in the European Small Business Act, which led to the opening of Chapter 20 Enterprises and Industrial policy in the accession process in December 2013.