Agricultural Reform, State-Owned Enterprises, New Advertising Rules, and CRS Standards
This week marked the entry into force of several landmark reforms: Montenegro has overhauled its agricultural sector, tightened regulations against misleading advertising, restructured the governance of state-owned enterprises, and implemented updated European CRS financial reporting standards.
Agriculture
A major agricultural reform has taken effect, introducing 'active' and 'young' farmer statuses and pegging rural old-age allowances to the national minimum pension.
The Law on Agriculture and Rural Development has been aligned with EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) regulations. It establishes formal definitions for 'active' and 'young' farmers (under 40 with professional qualifications) and legally structures Local Action Groups (LAGs) to facilitate IPARD funding. The old-age allowance (staračka naknada) for farmers over 60 is now set at 70% of the country's minimum pension. To combat fraud, penalties of up to €5,500 have been introduced for submitting false subsidy data, alongside a 2-year ban on all state aid and inclusion in a public blacklist.
Consumer Protection
New European standards protecting consumers against misleading and comparative advertising have entered into force.
Amendments to the Law on Illicit Advertising harmonize domestic legislation with EU Directive 2006/114/EC. The definition of misleading advertising has been refined to cover any promotion that, due to its deceptive nature, is highly likely to distort a consumer's economic behavior. The scope of a 'trader' has been expanded to include any individual or legal entity (including state-owned enterprises) promoting services. The law also details specific product characteristics (such as composition, origin, and test results) that cannot be misrepresented.
Creditworthiness assessment rules have been amended, removing the rigid link between the estimated cost of living and the legally protected portion of a borrower's income.
Amendments to the Law on Consumer Credits repeal the provision that prevented a borrower's estimated minimum cost of living from falling below the portion of income legally protected from debt enforcement. This change grants lenders greater flexibility in assessing a consumer's actual disposable income and repayment capacity. Concurrently, the Central Bank of Montenegro has been authorized to prescribe detailed criteria and methodologies for these creditworthiness assessments.
General Business Regulations
A new law on the management of state-owned enterprises has been enacted, requiring existing SOEs to restructure within 12 months.
This new legislation regulates the establishment and corporate governance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). It categorizes SOEs by scale (micro, small, and medium must operate as LLCs/DOO, while large entities must be joint-stock companies/AD) and mandates public competitive hiring for directors and board members. Candidates must meet strict criteria (higher education and either 3 years of executive experience in companies with 10+ employees or 8 years of professional experience), and at least one-third of the board must consist of independent members. Existing SOEs have one year to comply.
Budget and Tax Law
New CRS reporting regulations have been approved for Montenegrin financial institutions, setting a December 31, 2026 deadline for high-value individual accounts.
The updated rulebook outlines detailed due diligence and reporting procedures under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). Financial institutions (including banks, investment funds, and insurance companies) must complete reviews of existing high-value individual accounts (exceeding $1 million or its euro equivalent) by December 31, 2026. Low-value individual accounts and entity accounts exceeding $250,000 must be reviewed by December 31, 2027. This regulation supersedes the previous 2025 framework.
Social and Child Welfare
Registered same-sex partners are now officially treated as spouses when calculating household income for means-tested social benefits.
Amendments to the regulations on basic material support, caregiver allowances, and disability benefits ensure that registered same-sex partners (partneri u zajednici života lica istog pola) are treated identically to traditional spouses during household financial assessments. Additionally, the official application forms for material security (Z-MO) and personal disability allowance (Z-LI) have been updated to reflect the provisions of the Law on Same-Sex Life Partnership.