The draft Economic Reform Program projects economic growth of 3.2% from next year until 2026, as announced during a roundtable organized by the Ministry of Finance.
It was assessed that structural reforms outlined in the Program will contribute to the growth, with a quantitative effect estimated at 0.3% of the gross domestic product (GDP).
The Economic Reform Program is considered a document of special importance, providing the right framework for negotiations with the European Union (EU), as emphasized at the roundtable.
The Ministry stated that, for the sake of greater transparency and an objective presentation of the document, the draft Economic Reform Program for the next period until 2026 was presented at the roundtable.
“The goal of the roundtable is to present the draft document and how interested parties can best contribute to its development,” the statement said.
This year, the methodology has been significantly changed compared to all previous ones, especially regarding structural reforms.
“In the earlier period, the European Commission (EC) expected a minimum of 20 reform measures to be submitted, but as of this year, the EC requires six measures of structural reforms,” the statement said.
The Ministry of Finance stated that there was synergy among all line ministries in preparing the document.
Opening the roundtable, the National PER Coordinator, Bojana Bošković, stated that the chapter on Structural Reforms was submitted to the EC for an opinion on November 26th.
PER, as she emphasized, is a document of special importance, outlining the right framework for negotiations with the EU.
The Assistant Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Dragana Radević, stated that the organization she represents continuously supports the Ministry of Finance in preparing key strategic documents and will continue to assist to present the necessary and key reforms for Montenegro.
UNDP consultant, Nina Vujošević, presented the draft program. She highlighted that the key goals of economic policy are the diversification of economic activities and increasing the competitiveness of the economy, strengthening the resilience of the economy to external shocks.
