The European Union has a problem. More agile, faster and financially stronger actors like the United Arab Emirates - after China and Russia - are expanding their influence in Europe's immediate neighbourhood, not through statements and diplomacy, but through concrete agreements, immediate capital infusions and high-profile development projects. While the EU talks in terms of painstaking and slow reforms and meeting criteria, others are acting quickly and ambitiously, changing the political and economic landscape on the ground.
Montenegro is now a concrete and very illustrative example.
In March 2025, Prime Minister Milojko Spajić signed a comprehensive agreement on cooperation in tourism and real estate development with the UAE. The Burj Khalifa shone in the colors of the Montenegrin flag, and the prime minister announced a transformative moment for the country's economy, first mentioning an investment of 30 to 35 billion euros ($33,8 to $39,4 billion).
The main project would be a huge investment in tourism and infrastructure on the Great Beach of Ulcinj (Albanian: Plazhi i Madh, Ulqin) - one of the last undeveloped shores of the Adriatic. However, the agreement quickly came under public scrutiny: the initial figures were revised, the conditions were questioned, and the procedure itself - non-transparent, centralized and rushed - provoked a sharp reaction from citizens, local leaders and civil society.
The protests that followed were not just expressions of anger. They are an indicator of civic maturity and democratic expectations. People mobilized not against foreign investment as such, but against its concentration in the hands of a few, against the neglect of the public interest, and against a development model that makes them invisible. These voices deserve more than mere recognition: they deserve a political and financial response.
The European Union could have reacted immediately to this civic and political mobilization, but it did not. However, it is not too late - provided that there is a fundamental change in the European Commission's approach to enlargement and relations with candidate countries during the candidacy process, as well as in the way it uses its economic and development power.
The President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, refused to sign the Law on Ratification of the Agreement despite its adoption by Parliament, citing the lack of transparency, possible negative environmental consequences and inconsistency with the country’s strategic interests. The draft has now been returned to Parliament, and the entire project is in a kind of vacuum. However, this opens a strategic timeframe for the EU to act, not to remain a passive observer and critic, but to offer concrete alternatives based on democratic processes, environmental protection and the empowerment of local communities.
Velika Plaza is not just any piece of land. It is located in the heart of Ulcinj, a municipality with a majority Albanian population, a rich cultural heritage and a long history of exclusion from national development strategies. The region is heavily dependent on seasonal tourism, and the specific area – public coastal land – has long served as a shared economic and cultural space. The proposal to turn it into a luxury resort destination, to be developed by a pre-selected foreign investor through closed-door negotiations, poses an existential threat not only to local sources of income, but also to the sense of identity and belonging of the people who live there. Displacement does not always have to come at the threat of a gun; sometimes it comes in the form of a beach villa.
The ecological stakes are no less significant. The coast of Velika Plaza is located at the mouth of the Bojana River, in a delta that constitutes a cross-border ecological corridor that Montenegro shares with Albania and is home to more than half of the country’s bird species. Nearby is the Ulcinj Salt Flats, one of the most important habitats for migratory birds in the Mediterranean. These are not marginal areas; they are crucial for the region’s biodiversity and for fulfilling Montenegro’s obligations to the EU. The problem with the UAE agreement is not only its environmental impact, but also its procedural and structural shortcomings. According to the draft currently circulating in both Montenegrin and English, the agreement appears to grant broad exemptions from public procurement rules, with a clear preference for the pre-selected investor. This promotes a development model that prioritizes elite access, speed and spectacle over transparency, competitive fairness and public oversight. For a country actively negotiating the closure of Chapter 5 of the EU acquis, which deals with public procurement, such a move undermines both legal alignment and political credibility. This further reinforces a broader regional pattern of so-called corrosive capital: foreign investments that appear beneficial on the surface but in practice undermine institutional resilience, centralize power, and create long-term dependencies. Such investments are attractive precisely because they are quick and easy – but they come at the cost of sovereignty.
Therein lies an opportunity for the EU - not just to resist, but to take a leadership role.
Ulcinj could become a pilot project to show the EU what meaningful membership really means - long before formal accession. The European Union could actively support alternative development models, including investments in ecotourism infrastructure, that would preserve natural resources while improving the local economy.
The EU could also help pilot participatory urban planning models, involving local residents, municipalities and civil society organizations - as a demonstration of what membership in the European Union tangibly represents.
Such activities would not only reflect European values - they would bring them to life in practice. Ulcinj is an ideal place in this sense, as it is geographically positioned as a bridge between Montenegro and Albania - currently the leading candidate countries for EU membership. Cross-border cooperation in the field of tourism, cultural routes connecting shared heritage and environmental protection could transform the burden of regulatory reforms into joint development opportunities.
Montenegro needs investment, and to some the UAE offer may seem like a quick win. But strategic autonomy is not about accepting the highest bid – it is about building legitimacy, resilience and trust from the ground up. Velika Plaza is not just an ecological treasure; it is a dividing line between two futures.
The Montenegrin parliament will vote on the agreement for the last time on May 29. The European Union does not need to build a tower in Dubai to be competitive. It needs to act in its immediate neighbourhood - quickly, thoughtfully and visibly - before someone else builds the future for it.
The author is a research analyst, Carnegie Europe
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