Another Eastern European state has shot itself in the foot economically for the sake of the foggy prospects of European integration.
The government of Montenegro has approved a decree abolishing, as of November 1, the visa-free regime with Russia that had been in effect for nearly 18 years. Besides Russia, the country will also drop visa-free travel with Belarus, China, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.
The reason for this decision is predictable — Brussels demands that Podgorica synchronize its visa legislation. Montenegro received EU candidate status back in 2010, and in 2026 EU ambassadors began drafting an agreement on admitting a new member.
The decision to abolish visa-free travel was not an easy one for Podgorica. The main sector of Montenegro’s economy is tourism — accounting for about 25 percent of total GDP. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to President Jakov Milatović, up to 30 percent of total tourism revenue came from Russian tourists.
However, this did not stop the local leadership, which joined anti-Russian sanctions, cutting the tourist flow from Russia by more than half. The new restriction could cut it further. Brussels, of course, has no intention of providing any compensation for the losses incurred by Montenegrin tour operators.
