Plenković: No closing of EU accession talks for Montenegro without border agreement
Plenković told the Croatian Parliament that Podgorica must accept Badinter Commission principles before Croatia will back closing Montenegro's EU accession chapters.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković warned that Montenegro cannot expect the European Union accession talks to be closed unless the two countries reach a land-border agreement.
Plenković made the remarks during a session of the Croatian Parliament (Sabor), answering a question from HDZ deputy Andro Krstulović Opara about bilateral disputes with Montenegro.
Krstulović Opara had raised concerns about statements by Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović concerning a memorial plaque in Morinj and the border agreement, saying those positions do not help swift resolution of the disputes.
Plenković said a draft agreement on the land border has already been delivered to Montenegro and that the principles of the Badinter Commission on delimitation should be acceptable to Podgorica. He warned that rejection of those principles would carry wider consequences.
"If that does not suit Montenegro, then it sends a message that it cannot accept the principle of the Badinter Commission and that it does not believe in the principle according to which the republican borders are simultaneously the borders between the states that emerged after the breakup of the former SFRY," Plenković said.
He added that such a stance would represent a serious problem for Montenegro's European path. Zagreb has previously insisted that all outstanding issues with Podgorica be resolved before Croatia supports its EU accession. The Croatian statement comes after Podgorica on October 20 decided to rename a basin in Kotor that had borne the name of Zoran Gopčević, a former guard at the Morinj camp, and later approved the installation of a memorial plaque at the former camp site.
Photo: press material from the event
