Montenegro nears resolution of three outstanding issues with Croatia

Montenegrin Foreign Minister Ervin Ibrahimović said that his country was close to resolving three outstanding issues with Croatia, days after Zagreb warned that it would not give the green light to Montenegro’s accession to the European Union without a resolution of issues stemming from the legacy of the 1990s war.

Croatia has submitted a document to EU member states and the leaders of European institutions outlining eight demands that Montenegro must fulfil to secure Zagreb’s support for the conclusion of its accession negotiations, CE Report quotes HINA.

Outstanding issues include the training ship Jadran, the border demarcation at Prevlaka, missing persons, war crimes, compensation for former detainees and the restitution of property.

Ibrahimović announced that an official update on the swimming pool in Kotor, the memorial plaque at the Morinj prison camp and compensation for former detainees could be expected as early as Tuesday.

“I believe we will soon send a response regarding the proposed name change of the swimming pool in Kotor, the plaque at the Morinj prison camp, and compensation for the detainees from Morinj,” Ibrahimović said on public television.

He added that his government was “approaching these issues responsibly” and that both countries must demonstrate that they are “ready to look to the future”.

“We must not undermine the fundamental principle of accession, which is that membership is based on merit. Issues that fall within the scope of bilateral relations should be resolved at the bilateral level,” the minister stressed.

Montenegro, which has made the most progress in EU accession negotiations among the candidate countries in the region, has opened all 33 negotiating chapters and provisionally closed 21. Podgorica plans to conclude negotiations by the end of this year and achieve full EU membership in 2028.

However, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković presented Croatia’s eight demands to European leaders at last week’s European Council meeting in Brussels. Following the meeting, references to a timeline for provisionally closing all negotiating chapters by the end of the year and completing the drafting of the accession treaty as soon as possible were removed from the conclusions.

Ibrahimović announced that Plenković and Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman would attend the Berlin Process summit, scheduled for 21–22 October in Miločer, near Budva.

Photo AI