According to Dokić, the European Commission “looked the other way” in its Montenegro progress report, showing a softer tone as the country is seen as the next likely EU member. He noted that the key issue remains the size of the public sector, calling the reduction of public administration jobs a “hot potato no one wants to touch.”
“The EU has warned against increasing public spending because we are already in the red,” Dokić said, adding that Montenegro’s spending level is “unrealistically high and unsustainable, even in the short term.”
He stressed that with 82,000 employees in the public administration, the country’s wage bill and expenditures are far beyond what its economy can sustain.
While Brussels continues to encourage Montenegro’s EU path, analysts warn that real progress will depend on structural reforms, not leniency. Fiscal discipline, institutional efficiency, and political will to trim public spending could determine whether the country’s European ambitions translate into long-term stability—or remain just another promise on paper.
