General profile Digital profile

Montenegro

Digital snapshot – key policies and laws

The Digital Transformation Strategy 2022–2026 is Montenegro’s umbrella document, while sectoral regulations cover other domains of digital governance.

On AI governance and human rights, Montenegro is moving from framework-building to more explicit policy. In November 2024, it signed the Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law, which the Council of Europe describes as a legally binding international treaty. At home, the government launched work on its first AI Strategy 2026–2030, with priorities including ethics, regulation, skills, and AI use in public administration, health, the economy, and security.

Montenegro has a functioning personal-data protection regime and regulator, but the European Commission’s 2025 report says the Law on personal data protection is still not aligned with the EU acquis, and calls for a new law and stronger institutional capacity.

How Montenegro’s digital profile has, by force of circumstances, come to be defined by cybersecurity?

From cyber breach to backbone

Montenegro’s 2022 cyberattack was more than a security incident: it exposed how vulnerable a modern state can be when public services, administration, and trust all depend on digital systems. The government described the attack as unprecedented, while international reporting said the disruption was serious enough to bring in FBI cyber experts and later linked the operation to the Cuba ransomware group. In the years that followed, Montenegro responded not only by tightening its cyber posture but by trying to turn crisis into capacity. Podgorica went on to host the Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C), launched in December 2024 with support from Montenegro, France, and Slovenia, and by March 2026, the centre said it had formally become an international organisation.

Regarding the digital economy, Montenegro became an operational SEPA member in October 2025, putting its payment system on the same footing as the wider European € area for standard transfers. The World Bank has also backed reforms to expand digital financial services. E-commerce is still modest but growing: US government market guidance shows online sales account for about 6.4% of retail and may reach 9.6% by 2028, while the government has also adopted a Fintech Strategy 2025–2029.

Infrastructure and emerging technologies: Montenegro is laying the foundations rather than acting as a regional heavyweight. It has a National Broadband Plan 2025–2029 and a 5G strategy, while cloud and data-centre development appear to be emerging policy priorities. In submarine connectivity, the clearest existing subsea asset is the Italy–Montenegro power interconnector with optical fibre for monitoring, while the proposed GreenMed cable would place Montenegro on a broader Adriatic–Mediterranean telecom route if completed.

Montenegro’s Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva:

Montenegro’s Permanent Mission in Geneva represents the country at the UN Office at Geneva and other international organisations based there, making it one of Montenegro’s key multilateral diplomatic posts. The official government and UN Geneva listings place the mission at Rue de Varembé 7, 1202 Geneva, with contact email un.geneva@mfa.gov.me.

Official UNOG website: https://www.ungeneva.org/en/blue-book/missions/member-states/montenegro

EMBASSY AND PERMANENT MISSION TO THE UN – GENEVA

Consult Montenegro’s digital strategies and regulations

Here you can explore the country’s main digital strategies, laws, and regulations by simply asking the chatbot, which is designed to help you quickly find relevant documents and understand the country’s digital policy landscape.