Croatia blocks the closing of one chapter in Montenegro's EU accession negotiations

The Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister was in Brussels on Monday attending a meeting of EU foreign ministers at which a 15th package of sanctions against Russia was agreed to and adopted. The new package of sanctions was also welcomed by the European Commission.

Speaking in Brussels on Monday Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlić Radman commented on Montenegro's EU accession negotiations. Minister Grlić Radman noted that Croatia has strongly supported Montenegro on its European path from the very beginning, but added that it must resolve some issues that are universal and not bilateral in nature. Montenegro was to have closed four negotiation chapters this evening, however one, the chapter on Foreign, Security and Defense Policy, which also includes good neighborly relations, was not closed due to Croatia's opposition. The minister added that this was not a blockade as Croatia has no intention of making bilateral issues into pre-conditions for Montenegro's European accession, however, the issue of missing persons from the Homeland War, the issue of compensation for those interred in Montenegrin concentration camps, should be issues of concern to everyone in the European Union. The three chapters Montenegro did close covered: Intellectual Property Law, Information Society and Media, and Entrepreneurship and Industrial Policy.

In a seemingly cynical move, the Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon, whose country had blocked Croatia's EU membership for years over its dissatisfaction with the internationally recognized border between the two countries, a bilateral issue, today commented on the Croatian decision by insisting that bilateral issues should not play a role in the accession process.

This all came on the sidelines of a meeting of EU foreign ministers, who adopted a 15th package of sanctions against Russia, including on what the sanctions describe as a ‘covert fleet’ of oil tankers. The focus of the sanctions is on what Brussels is calling Russia's shadow fleet, and combating the circumvention of sanctions. For the first time the EU has imposed so-called ‘fully-fledged’ sanctions, which includes a travel ban, asset freeze and the prohibition to make economic resources available, on seven Chinese individuals and entities. The package also includes two senior officials from North Korea. Additionally, the package also adds thirty-two new companies to the list of those supporting the Russian military, twenty Russian firms, seven from the Chinese/Hong Kong jurisdiction, two from Serbia, and one each from Iran, India and United Arab Emirates.

Meanwhile, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, claimed that Russia does not want peace, and that it is therefore premature to talk about sending European peacekeeping troops to Ukraine.

Source: HRT