Croatia calls on Montenegro to resolve outstanding issues

It is time for the Montenegrin government to take decisive steps to resolve outstanding issues with Croatia, as this is crucial for its path to the EU, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MFEA) announced on Wednesday, a day after the visit of European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos to Zagreb.

The principle of good neighbourly relations is one of the key political criteria in the European Union enlargement process, explicitly stated in the Negotiating Framework of Montenegro and other countries, the MFEA announced.

A day after the visit of European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos to Zagreb, the Croatian ministry emphasizes that the EU is very clear in its messages that it cannot and does not want to import bilateral disputes, and that therefore outstanding issues must be resolved urgently so as not to burden bilateral relations or the accession process.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasizes that at the end of 2024, Croatia reiterated its call for dialogue with Montenegro "in order to resolve outstanding issues that must be resolved in order not to burden the key, final phase of the accession process."

It added that Croatia has shown strategic patience and understanding throughout the process, but now is the time for decisive steps by the Montenegrin government.

The statement lists Croatia's expectations, which were also discussed by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković in Tivat earlier this year, after a meeting with Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajić.

Resolving the issue of compensation for camp inmates, continuing work on finding fourteen missing persons from the Homeland War, prosecuting war crimes, resolving property issues of Croatian families who were left without property in Montenegro and whose court proceedings are stalled, preserving the memorial plaque at the former Morinj camp and the necessity of changing the name of the swimming pool in Kotor, continuing talks on the border at sea, and returning the Jadran training ship, it states.

Only a few months remain until the end 2026 and therefore we repeatedly call on the Montenegrin side to engage in constructive dialogue and accelerate work on open issues, the statement concludes.

The Montenegrin authorities state an ambitious plan for Podgorica to close all negotiation chapters by the end of this year and become a member of the Union in 2028. This stage will be followed by the ratification process in the member states, including Croatia, which has a number of open issues with Montenegro.

“My impression is that Montenegro is ready to work very seriously on the issues presented to it by Croatia, which are not something unsolvable,” the Prime Minister said in early June.

In the middle of the same month, Montenegrin Minister of European Affairs Maida Gorčević also expressed optimism about resolving most bilateral issues.

“Communication is ongoing and I hope that in the coming months we will resolve all issues, or at least most of them,” she said in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Source: HRT