On December 13, the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the EU Member States (COREPER II) officially close three chapters in Montenegro’s negotiations with the EU: Chapter 7 – Intellectual Property Law, Chapter 10 – Information Society and Media, and Chapter 20 – Enterprise and Industrial Policy.
An Intergovernmental Conference with the EU was held on December 16, and the three chapters were officially closed.
According to pro-government experts in Podgorica, this is a success, as these are the first closed chapters in the last seven years.
Government officials radiate joy and optimism.
“We are ending the year by closing these three chapters and are enthusiastic to close all the rest by the end of 2026 and become the 28th member of the EU by 2028,” the Prime Minister Milojko Spajić said at the Intergovernmental Conference.
But this success is not complete, as Croatia disagrees to closure another chapter, despite Montenegro’s overall European integration progress was unblocked.
It was assumed that this year Montenegro would also close Chapter 31 – Foreign, Security and Defense Policy. The Montenegrin authorities were convinced in theirs fulfillment of all the formal, technical requirements for this. In particular, they introduced sanctions against the Russian Federation. In addition, Montenegro’s NATO membership gave reason to believe that the EU’s security and foreign policy criteria were fully met. But according to official Zagreb, Podgorica has not done enough to resolve the problems between the two countries. This has a negative impact on both the foreign policy and security spheres.
Non-paper
Relations between Montenegro and Croatia deteriorated at the beginning of the year, when the scheduled Defense Ministers’ meeting in Tivat was canceled. The reason is considered to be the statement of the Defense Ministry of Montenegro, Dragan Krapović. Before the meeting with his Croatian counterpart, he said that Croatia had no right to the Jadran ship. Thus, Podgorica was not ready to negotiate on the issue of ownership of the training ship.
In the summer, the Croatian side was outraged by the Resolution on the Genocide in Jasenovac, which the Montenegrin parliament adopted at the end of June. Croatia regarded this decision as a frankly unfriendly step and declared persona non grata three prominent politicians who initiated this decision or actively supported it – the Speaker of the Montenegrin Parliament Andrija Mandić, MP Milan Knežević and Vice-President of the Montenegrin Government Aleksa Bečić.
While there is enough to spoil relations between Podgorica and Zagreb, the list of problems in the relations between the neighboring states does not end there.
Last month, Croatia sent Montenegro an unofficial diplomatic document, a non-paper, listing all the “open issues” that Zagreb believes negatively affect mutual relations between the two countries, namely:
• the issue of ownership of Jadran training sailboat,
• demilitarization of the Prevlaka peninsula and of the neighboring areas,
• the protection of the identity of the Croatian “autochthonous national minority” in Montenegro, in particular the return of property,
• the investigation of war crimes and the punishment of war criminals, primarily those involved in the attack on Dubrovnik in 1991-1992,
• ensuring “fair and dignified” compensation for all Croatian prisoners held in camps in Montenegro during the aggression against Croatia,
• the search for those missing during the war in the early 1990s,
• the issue of the name of the City Swimming Pool in Kotor, which is named after an athlete who was a guard in Croatian POWs camp during the attack on Dubrovnik.
De-escalatory moves
The Montenegrin authorities have also responded to the Croatian side with an unofficial letter, declaring their readiness for negotiations. In particular, it was proposed to create a working group to discuss the delimitation of the border.
As to the name of the Kotor basin, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has noted that this decision was made by the local authorities, and that elections had recently been held in this municipality, and new self-government bodies had not yet been formed.
The Montenegrin authorities have also taken several practical steps that should demonstrate its willingness to improve relations with their neighbor.
On December 11, the Montenegrin government decided to grant the Josip Marković Cultural Center in Tivat to Croatia. Today, this building (which was built in 1922 with the funds of local Croats as a Croatian reading room) is used by the Croatian National Council of Montenegro, a radio station, and a library. The Montenegrin government stressed that the purpose of the transfer of the Center was to preserve the Croatian community and strengthen bilateral relations with Croatia.
On the same day, Prime Minister Milojko Spajić received the Bishop of Kotor and promised to finally resolve issues related to property restitution and other property concerns. “The Bishop of Kotor can count on the full cooperation of the executive power,” the government reported.
In early December, Montenegrin special prosecutors and judges visited Dubrovnik and asked their Croatian colleagues to transfer cases against Montenegrin citizens who participated in the aggression against Dubrovnik 33 years ago.
On December 9, the Speaker of the Montenegrin Parliament, Andrija Mandić, officially invited the Speaker of the Croatian Sabor, Gordan Jandroković, to visit the Montenegrin parliament in order to “establish quality communication.”
However, all these decisions and statements did not help Montenegro to ensure the closure of all planned chapters in the negotiations with the EU. Croatia probably sure that some efforts, gestures, and announcements are not enough to resolve problematic issues, and a positive decision on Montenegro’s European integration must wait for concrete results.
What is the reason?
It is difficult to say why the Montenegrin authorities lead to the current crisis, to the deterioration of relations with the EU neighboring member state and the slowdown of European integration.
Perhaps, the Montenegrins did not expect such a tough position from Croatia, which had previously actively supported the neighboring country on its path towards the EU.
Perhaps,, Podgorica was confident that technical or formal readiness to close the chapters would be enough, and ignored other factors.
Perhaps the Montenegrin authorities believed that the Hungarian Presidency would ensure the EU’s loyalty to the Balkan countries.
However, another option is possible here – a deliberate blocking of Montenegro’s European integration by some part of the ruling coalition.
There is a version according to which pro-Serbian and pro-Russian politicians in Montenegro deliberately initiate the adoption of decisions that cause a dispute with Croatia and, accordingly, harm Montenegro’s progress on the path to the European Union. Someone believes it is up to the Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, who categorically rejects Montenegro’s EU membership before Serbia.
It is clearly confirmed by the Resolution on the Genocide in Jasenovac. It is absolutely clear that this decision was made as a Serbian (!) response to the UN General Assembly Resolution on the Genocide in Srebrenica. But why did the Montenegrin parliament do it?..
Some see in these unfriendly Montenegro’s decisions towards Croatia a Russian hybrid influence, the implementation of the Russian plan to oppose the accession of the Western Balkan countries to the EU and the general destabilization of the region.
However, it cannot be ruled out that this is about the promotion of the “new old” Greater Serbian policy by its adherents in Montenegro at any price. And not only at the highest level, but also at the local level.
A hybrid reality
The name of the Kotor Swimming Pool has already been mentioned above. Here is another recent example from another city.
In early December, it became known that the Serbian RTS TV was filming the Tvrđava series (“Fortress”) in Montenegro, dedicated to the 30th Anniversary of the Croatian Storm Military Operation. According to the plot, the film is set in the Croatian city of Knin, but is filmed in the Montenegrin Nikšić. The Ministry of Culture of Montenegro has agreed to film the series in the country. According to media reports, the city authorities allocated 200,000 euros for the accommodation of the Serbian film crew.
No one doubts that the Croatian Storm Operation will be presented in a negative context, although the authors of the film claim that it is not a war drama, and should tell the audience about the fate of ordinary people, one family. Montenegrin assistance in the creation of such productions by the Serbian state TV, of course, cannot contribute to friendly relations between Montenegro and Croatia.
It should be added that the Mayor of Nikšić is Marko Kovačević, a member of the New Serb Democracy party (Nova srpska demokratija, NSD). The leader of the pro-Serbian and pro-Russian NSD is the Speaker of the parliament, Andrija Mandić.
Some observers call the current Montenegrin government “hybrid”. They say that while one part of it is trying to make progress on the path to the EU, the other is focused on implementing the Greater Serbia project that is beneficial to Belgrade and Moscow.
Milojko Spajić is confident that Montenegro will soon close Chapter 31, which was blocked by Croatia. “We will pleasantly surprise many and will make every effort to achieve results as soon as possible,” Spajić said, noting that all controversial, “polarizing” issues will be resolved by consensus.
But it is obvious that in the current hybrid format of the Montenegrin government, it will be difficult to realize the declared goal and join the EU in just four years.
