Study Visit TAIEX at CUPT: Montenegro Learns from Polish CEF Experience

For four days — from 25 to 28 May 2026 — the Centre for EU Transport Projects (CUPT) hosted a five-member delegation from Montenegro. The study visit, organised under the European Commission’s TAIEX instrument, was designed to support Montenegro in preparing for effective participation in the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme.

Montenegro on the Road to CEF

Montenegro, as an EU candidate country, is actively preparing to access European financial instruments. One of the key steps is building a national CEF coordination function — a single point of contact responsible for preparing and evaluating infrastructure projects in future CEF calls.

This was precisely the purpose of the visit to CUPT. Poland — as a leader in the use of CEF funds for transport within the European Union — has accumulated experience that holds real practical value for countries just entering the system.

Delegation and Programme

The visit was attended by representatives of five Montenegrin ministries and institutions:

• Aleksandar Cvijović, Head of Unit for Management of Control Framework and Supervision of the IPA System, Ministry of Finance

• Danijela Kapa, Head of Division for Capital Projects and EU Funds, Ministry of Transport

• Isidora Filipović, Ministry of European Affairs

• Kristina Mihailović, Ministry of Energy and Mining

• Viktor Berishaj, Ministry of Economic Development

The programme included a series of presentations and working discussions, deliberately structured to address the real challenges facing a country building its national CEF coordination system.

Topics covered included:

• Polish experience in implementing CEF and CEF2

• Institutional structure and project monitoring

• Public procurement controls — most common errors and good practices

• Horizontal aspects: accessibility, environment, cost-benefit analysis

• The CEF EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes project

• A field visit to the Pułtusk bypass on national road no. 61, implemented by GDDKiA

Polish Experience as an Asset

On the Polish side, the event brought together experts from CUPT and representatives of the Ministry of Infrastructure, the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy, and the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA).

CUPT has been implementing CEF since the first call in 2014. More than a decade of work — from application to final settlement — is experience with real export value. The Montenegrin delegation’s visit is a further example of how Poland’s expertise in managing EU-funded infrastructure projects is recognised and sought after abroad.

Knowledge Transfer as Part of European Policy

The visit took place under the TAIEX instrument (Technical Assistance and Information Exchange), which the European Commission uses to support candidate and neighbouring countries in aligning with EU standards. Organising this type of study visit is part of CUPT’s broader mission — not only effective implementation of European funds in Poland, but also active participation in European knowledge exchange and the sharing of good practices.

The study visit was organised in cooperation with the European Commission.