Montenegro

Prime Minister Milojko Spajić’s government, led by the Europe Now Movement (PES), was elected by Parliament on 31 October 2023, a day after Andrija Mandić of the New Serb Democracy (NSD) became Speaker. In July 2024 Spajić brought the For the Future of Montenegro (ZbCG) coalition and the Bosniak Party into the cabinet. The Democratic People’s Party (DNP), part of ZbCG, announced its exit in January 2026 after Spajić declined to put its initiative on Serbian as an official language, the flag and dual citizenship on the government’s agenda, and on 23 July 2026 Parliament approved a third reshuffle. President Jakov Milatović, who left PES in February 2024, announced in February 2026 that he would return 25 EU-related laws adopted without debate, but proclaimed them two days later. Parliament has unanimously decided to hold consolidated local elections together with the regular parliamentary elections on 13 June 2027.

Montenegro became the first candidate country to receive a positive Interim Benchmark Assessment Report (IBAR) in June 2024, and in October 2026 it provisionally closed three more, bringing the total to 21 of its 33 negotiating chapters, with the government aiming to close all of them by the end of 2026 and to join the EU in 2028. Croatia, which is blocking progress in four negotiating areas, sent other EU governments eight demands on 12 October, including compensation for former detainees of the wartime Morinj camp and the land and maritime border. In August 2026 Parliament adopted constitutional amendments removing the justice minister from the Judicial Council, and on 14 October MPs backed amendments abolishing the immunity of government members for corruption offences, a day after a motion initiated by the opposition Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) to dismiss Mandić failed by 37 votes to 41. The European Commission’s 2026 rule of law chapter notes that the number of final rulings and convictions in high-level corruption cases has increased, while criticism and attacks against prosecutorial authorities have continued.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranks Montenegro 41st of 180 in its 2026 World Press Freedom Index with a score of 71.80, compared with 37th place and a score of 72.83 in 2025. It states that press freedom continues to be threatened by political interference, unsolved attacks on journalists and economic pressure, and that defamation is decriminalised but gaps remain in free access to public information and the protection of sources. The 2004 assassination of the newspaper editor Duško Jovanović remains incompletely resolved, with only one co-perpetrator convicted, while the trial concerning the 2018 attempted murder of the investigative journalist Olivera Lakić was still continuing in October 2026. The Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (SMCG) recorded 33 attacks on media workers in 2025, the highest number since it began monitoring, and 13 cases of attacks and pressure by 12 June 2026.

The Law on Media, the Law on Audiovisual Media Services and a new law on the public broadcaster were adopted in June 2024, and the Agency for Electronic Media became the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services (AMU). The Centre for Civic Education (CGO) concluded in September 2026 that a pronounced gap between legislative and substantive progress persists, with the independence of the public broadcaster remaining one of the most contentious issues. In November 2025 the AMU launched a public platform for publishing the ownership information of audiovisual media services, and RSF states that there are concerns that the foreign owners of some outlets will influence editorial policies to serve the interests of other states, such as Serbia. In July 2026 RSF called for transparency about the financing of the announced sale of Adria News Network, whose portfolio includes N1 and Vijesti, to Portugal’s Alpac Capital, and for binding guarantees of editorial independence.

State Media Monitor maps one media organisation in Montenegro, Radio and Television of Montenegro (RTCG), the national public broadcaster, classified State-Controlled (SC) in 2022, Independent State Funded and State Managed (ISFM) in 2023 and 2024, and SC again since 2025. It is funded predominantly from the state budget, which by law allocates it 1.34 per cent of the current budget, and its nine-member Council is appointed by Parliament. The courts annulled Director General Boris Raonić’s 2021 appointment and his 2023 reappointment, and the abuse-of-office convictions of four current and former Council members over the 2023 vote were upheld in June 2026, becoming final, while the challenges to his August 2024 appointment have produced different outcomes.

Eighteen NGOs described the 2026 Council appointment process as largely politicised, and CGO’s monitoring found that RTCG’s Dnevnik 2 news programme acts primarily as a transmitter of institutional activities rather than as a critical corrective of the authorities. In 2025 Montenegro had 15 local public broadcasters, whose revenues rose by 30 per cent to EUR 10.8 million and which rely predominantly on public funding.

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