Croatia has sent European Union member states a document outlining its national position on unresolved issues with Montenegro.
In the document, Zagreb lists the conditions Montenegro must fulfil before joining the European bloc.
Croatia directly links some of these demands to the closure of negotiating Chapters 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights) and 31 (Foreign, Security and Defence Policy).
According to diplomatic sources who spoke to Radio Free Europe, Croatia circulated the document among other EU member states earlier this week.
The document, obtained by Radio Free Europe, states that the main unresolved issues “must be settled before Montenegro joins the European Union.”
Zagreb emphasises that concrete progress on these matters is crucial to securing broad public, political and parliamentary support in Croatia, including the ratification of Montenegro’s EU Accession Treaty.
Six Demands Under Chapter 23
Most of Croatia’s demands relate to the consequences of the wars of the 1990s and fall under Chapter 23.
Together with Chapter 24, Chapter 23 is one of the two key negotiating chapters dealing with the rule of law.
In EU accession negotiations, these two chapters are opened first and closed last, while progress in these areas determines the pace of the entire accession process.
Compensation for detainees held at the Morinj camp. According to the document, more than 300 Croatian citizens, mainly from the Dubrovnik region, were detained at the camp between October 1991 and August 1992.
Preservation of the memorial plaque at Morinj. The plaque was jointly unveiled by ministers from both countries on October 10, 2022, featuring wording proposed by the Montenegrin side. Croatia says a larger metal structure has since been installed around the plaque, apparently intended to hold a panel that could cover it except during official commemorative ceremonies.
Renaming the municipal swimming pool in Kotor. The pool is named after water polo player Zoran Gopčević, who, according to Croatia, served as a guard at the Morinj camp between 1991 and 1992.
For this reason, Croatian clubs had refused to play at the pool, while the Croatian national team threatened to boycott the 2025 World Cup Super Final. The boycott was avoided after Croatia’s matches were moved to Budva.
Clarifying the fate of 14 missing Croatian citizens. Croatia is demanding full cooperation from Montenegrin authorities, including the exchange of information and access to archives, to establish what happened to them.
Prosecution of war crimes, including those involving command responsibility. According to Zagreb, no court ruling on war crimes based on command responsibility has been issued in Montenegro.
Resolving property rights disputes involving Croatian families. These include 51 families from Tivat and others from the Bay of Kotor.
Their claims remain unresolved despite final court rulings or lengthy legal proceedings.
Zagreb compares the situation with a 2021 law under which land in Valdanos Bay was returned to its former owners, primarily members of the Albanian minority, and warns of unequal treatment in similar cases.
The Jadran Training Ship and the Border Dispute
The remaining two demands fall under Chapter 31.
Montenegro has been unable to close this chapter since 2024 because of Croatia’s blockade, which followed the Montenegrin Parliament’s adoption of a resolution on Jasenovac.
Return of the Jadran training ship. According to Croatia, the vessel was in Montenegro for repairs when war broke out in 1991 and belongs to Croatia under the 2001 Agreement on Succession Issues of the Former Yugoslavia.
Resolution of the border dispute. Croatia is demanding that Montenegro confirm its respect for the former border between the two republics, in accordance with the legal principle of uti possidetis juris, as confirmed by the Badinter Commission.
Zagreb is also calling for the signing of a land border agreement based on three existing maps.
Once the land border dispute is resolved, Croatia would be willing to convene regular meetings of the commissions responsible for determining the maritime boundary, although without setting specific deadlines.
Why Is This Document Important?
The EU Common Position is a document through which member states establish the European Union’s position on opening or closing a particular negotiating chapter, including the criteria the candidate country must meet.
The draft is prepared by the European Commission after the candidate country submits its negotiating position on the relevant chapter.
In the document, the Commission assesses how closely the country’s legislation is aligned with EU law and proposes the conditions that must be fulfilled.
The draft is then examined by diplomats from all 27 member states within the Council of the EU’s Working Party on Enlargement.
This is the stage at which political negotiations take place, as member states may request amendments, additional conditions or delays to the process.
Since the Common Position must be adopted unanimously, each member state effectively has the power to veto it.
At this stage, member states often make a candidate country’s progress conditional on resolving bilateral disputes.
Only after all member states reach an agreement does the draft become the EU’s Common Position.
It is then presented to the candidate country at an intergovernmental conference, where the negotiating chapter is formally opened or provisionally closed.
The approval of all member states is also required for the ratification of the Accession Treaty.
Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman also indicated on Monday that Zagreb has no intention of abandoning its demands.
Following a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on October 12, he told journalists that Zagreb’s demands relate to the legacy of the breakup of the former Yugoslavia and the Homeland War, as the conflict of the 1990s is known in Croatia.
According to him, these are human rights issues.
“We are also talking about the rule of law here. These are fundamental rights. Over the past 20, or rather 35 years, none of these issues has been resolved,” he said.
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