Significant European Union support for self-employment in Montenegro

The support of the European Union makes a tangible contribution to the quality of people's lives, in this case through the award of new self-employment grants to 159 unemployed people in Montenegro. This non-refundable financial support for the unemployed is part of the EU-Montenegro Joint Program for Employment, Education and Social Protection. The European Union and Montenegro have allocated a total of 18 million euros for this program, including 3.5 million euros of direct grant support for the unemployed, said today the head of the Sector for Cooperation of the EU Delegation to Montenegro Ingve Engstrom, at a press conference on the EU Joint Program. - Montenegro for Employment, Education and Social Protection - Project "Grant Program for Self-Employment".

"Since October 2019, through three consecutive calls, we have awarded grants for self-employment for a total of 459 unemployed people across the country, giving them the opportunity to realize their dreams and improve their livelihood by establishing their own business. This program is another milestone when it comes to the European Union's commitment to stand by Montenegro in these difficult times. "It primarily aims to help national employment services respond effectively to the economic challenges posed by the current crisis," he said.

He reminded that since the outbreak of the kovida-19 crisis, the EU has awarded Montenegro over 115 million euros in grants and favorable loans for the protection of health workers on the first line of defense, improvement of public health and preservation of thousands of jobs.

"Entrepreneurship is a strong driver of economic growth and innovation, which is why encouraging entrepreneurship and creating a favorable environment for " start-up "companies is one of the priorities of both the Union and the Montenegrin Government. The program we present today plays an important role in the promotion of entrepreneurial culture and entrepreneurship among the unemployed, especially through the encouragement of greater involvement of women, youth, and the long-term unemployed in self-employment projects, "he stressed.

According to him, the Employment Service of Montenegro should continue to build on these solid foundations, in order to stay on the path of planned realization of grants for self-employment and thus ensure the sustainability of the achieved results.

"There is a lot of work ahead in this area and you can count on EU support while working on that goal. However, today, first of all, we should congratulate our new grant beneficiaries. The EU is pleased to support your efforts to build a more prosperous future for yourself, your families and your communities, "Engstrom concluded.