Montenegro has taken steps to resolve disputes with Croatia that could hinder Podgorica’s ambition to become the 28th member of the European Union by 2028.
Last week, Zagreb circulated an eight-point list to other EU member states, outlining issues it wants resolved before Montenegro joins the bloc. Most of the disputes relate to events and the aftermath of the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said his country had been raising these concerns for years, but argued that insufficient progress had been made over the past two years.
“There are issues that we have been raising with our Montenegrin neighbours for years. In the past two years, there has been no progress,” Plenković said, stressing that Croatia had been constructive in Montenegro’s EU accession talks.
However, Podgorica has taken steps to address some of Zagreb’s demands. Last week, the Montenegrin parliament passed legislation to protect historical sites, a move aimed at meeting Croatia’s demand to preserve a memorial plaque dedicated to Croatian victims of the Morinj detention camp.
The camp, which was operated by the Yugoslav People’s Army during the wars of the 1990s, remains one of the sensitive issues in relations between the two countries.
Resolving these disputes is expected to be important for the progress of Montenegro’s EU accession negotiations. Although Podgorica aims to complete the process by 2028, unresolved issues with Croatia could affect its ability to achieve that goal.
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