The total value of public procurement in Montenegro for the period from January 1 to June 30, 2025, amounted to €313.34 million, which is lower compared to the same period last year when it reached €333.27 million, according to the semi-annual public procurement report submitted to the government.
The data show that procurement of goods accounted for 44.42% of all contracts, services 17.61%, and works 37.97%. The majority of contracts were awarded through open procedures, the most transparent method that ensures the highest level of competition. Open procedures represented 77.69% of total contracts, restricted procedures 0.41%, negotiated procedures without prior publication 10.77%, and simple procurement via the CEJN system 7.65%.
Restricted and negotiated procedures are used for specific procurements requiring special conditions where an open procedure is not feasible. Simple procurements accounted for €49.16 million, or 15.68% of the total contracted procurement value, with 1,560 offers published transparently through CEJN amounting to €23.99 million (7.65% of total procurement). Direct awards for simple procurements under €8,000 per year amounted to €25.16 million, or 8.03% of total procurement, down from 9.99% in the same period last year.
There were 41 negotiated procedures without prior publication totaling €33.76 million, 90.24% of which were conducted due to exceptional urgency caused by unforeseen events beyond the contracting authority’s control. In single-offer procurements, the majority were for goods, with 785 contracts worth €41.23 million.
Regarding framework agreements, 37 open procedures were concluded with agreements totaling over €17 million, while 7 restricted procedures with framework agreements amounted to €1.15 million. Most contracts (3,807 or 84.95%) were awarded to suppliers based in Montenegro, with the remaining 15.05% going to foreign suppliers (287 contracts).
Competition intensity, measured by the average number of bids per procurement, was 2.93 in the first half of 2025, slightly lower than 3.3 in the same period of 2024. The electronic procurement system has enabled monitoring of procurement duration: average duration for open procedures is 79 days, restricted procedures 141 days, negotiated procedures without prior publication 22 days, and simple procurements 30 days.
At the time of the report, CEJN data showed 4,982 active suppliers and 699 contracting authorities registered in the system. A total of 12,423 bids were submitted electronically, with an average of 2.93 bids per procedure. The system also supports electronic complaint handling, significantly improving the protection of rights.
The electronic system has enhanced efficiency, accuracy, and speed of data processing while introducing new parameters to improve reporting.
Finally, the report recalls that on June 27, the 16th Intergovernmental Conference between the European Union and Montenegro was held in Brussels, where EU member states, based on positive assessments of Montenegro’s compliance with final benchmarks in Chapter 5 – Public Procurement, approved the temporary closure of this negotiating chapter.
