Joining the European Union (EU) will bring more opportunities for Montenegro’s students and researchers, but limited research and administrative capacity is already making it difficult for universities to make full use of the opportunities available to them, higher education experts say.

Montenegro is the Western��Balkans country��closest to joining the EU. It hopes to��become a member of the bloc by 2028 having provisionally closed 18 of the 33 negotiating chapters, making it the front runner in the EU accession process.

Since gaining independence in 2006, the country has moved to integrate its higher education system more closely with Europe, joining the Bologna Process in 2007 and later taking part in Erasmus+ and��Horizon Europe, the EU’s flagship research funding programme.��

Gordana Djurovic, a professor of economics at University of Montenegro and former minister for European integration��who led Montenegro’s early EU integration process, said membership would deepen those existing links, particularly through student and researcher mobility. “We will be in a position to improve our skills and education, but it will be gradual, not overnight,” she added.

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About 1,300 Montenegrin students study abroad every year, with many going to EU countries. Djurovic expects mobility to increase with full membership because it would remove some legal and administrative barriers.

Montenegro’s only public university, the University of Montenegro, and its private institutions still face significant gaps in research infrastructure and funding that make it difficult to take full advantage��of EU��integration.

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“We are very keen to participate in Horizon projects, but there are only a few opportunities for us to act as lead institutions. Therefore, being part of a consortium is a very good position for us,” she explained.��

She said universities also lacked dedicated staff to help researchers apply for funding and manage projects.

“There are lots of opportunities, but sometimes we’re not in the position to use these opportunities because of the lack of our overall capacities. At our universities, we don’t have specific offices to support applications, project management and finances. We have to do things on our own, and the results are then consequently lower,”��Djurovic said.

Florian Bieber, a professor of Southeast European studies at the University of Graz and the director of the Centre for Southeast European Studies, said Montenegro’s universities have historically faced competition from larger institutions in neighbouring countries.

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“Traditionally, people from Montenegro have often studied in Serbia,” Bieber said, particularly at the University of Belgrade. The city and its university offer a much larger academic environment, while historical ties and the shared language have also made Serbia a natural destination.

Bieber said Montenegro’s universities were “not competitive with top universities in the region”, but still stronger than��some��smaller universities elsewhere in the Balkans.

As for whether EU membership will lead to significant changes, he said the impact��would not be dramatic as Montenegro’s higher education system was already closely integrated with European programmes.��

Instead, Bieber said membership could increase competition and put pressure on Montenegro’s universities to improve. Students could become more willing to pursue degrees elsewhere in Europe, particularly at master’s and PhD level. That could push Montenegro’s universities to “internationalise in certain ways”.

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The country’s small size also makes it difficult to compete with larger universities in the region.��“EU membership will��offer opportunities such as greater networks, but there’s a question of whether or not the universities will seize those opportunities,” he��added.

seher.asaf@timeshighereducation.com��