Spajić: The resolution on the genocide in Jasenovac definitely harms us

A controversial vote in the Montenegrin parliament condemning crimes committed by Croatian fascists during World War II has cast a shadow over the country's hopes of joining the EU.

"It hurts us, it definitely doesn't help us," Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic told Politico in an interview in Brussels before his parliament voted on Friday's non-binding resolution, which Croatia quickly condemned.

The resolution focuses on the World War II death camp in Jasenovac, Croatia, which was run by the country's fascist regime that collaborated with Nazi Germany. Tens of thousands of Serbs, Jews, Roma and other minorities were killed in the camp.

The vote overshadowed a positive Sunday for Spajic's pro-EU centrist government.

The prime minister described his administration as "really optimistic and delighted" after overcoming a major challenge in EU accession negotiations at an intergovernmental conference in Brussels on 26 June.

Spajic wants to bring his country into the EU by 2028 and says he intends to close "several chapters" by the end of the year, while Hungary chairs EU Council meetings.

After the vote on the resolution, European Council President Charles Michel canceled a trip to the Montenegrin capital Podgorica, during which he was supposed to meet with Spajic, and instead invited the country's president, Jakov Milatovic, to Brussels on Tuesday.

Montenegro, a country of about 600.000 people where available data suggests that about 30 percent are ethnic Serbs, presents itself as an easy target for EU enlargement.

Spajić came to power in late 2023 after a period of deep political instability and now leads a minority government backed by a pro-Serb party. Spajić said that the May resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly condemning the genocide in Srebrenica committed against Bosniaks by Serbia in 1995 led to "hyperinflation" in the resolutions.

He added that he supports any such resolutions as long as they focus on the victims, not the perpetrators or history.

Montenegrin MPs expanded their resolution at the last minute to include other historical crimes such as the Nazi concentration camps in Dachau and Mauthausen.

"Honestly, a Pandora's box of resolutions has been opened (with the UN resolution on Srebrenica)," Spajić said. "This is not our main policy, this is a digression."

The Croatian government condemned the Montenegrin parliament's resolution as "unacceptable, inappropriate and unnecessary" in a post on IX on Saturday, saying it was adopted to devalue and relativize the UN resolution on the Srebrenica genocide and risk hampering Montenegrin hopes for membership in EU.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Saturday that the resolution from Podgorica shows a "deliberate, conscious policy of division within Montenegro" and sends "an even worse message regarding mutual respect and the desire for good neighborly relations."

After the breakup of the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, the constituent republics fought a series of inter-ethnic wars that pitted Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks and Montenegrins against each other and revived old problems from World War II and earlier.

Speaking to Politico on Friday, Spajic said he "fully" agrees with Croatia's desire not to drag the region "back into history."

"We don't want to embellish history. We just want to embellish the future," he said. "We want the absolute best possible relations with Croatia." Spajic also linked the resolution's timeline to Russian efforts to destabilize the Western Balkans and threaten his government.

"There is a Russian narrative in Montenegro, that the European Union and the Western world support Nazi or fascist history," he said, suggesting that if his government voted against the resolution, it would be used against him.

The pro-Russian president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, congratulated Montenegro on the adoption of the resolution on Sunday and announced that he will visit the country this month. He previously denied having anything to do with the resolution, but in May he hinted that Serbia could make a similar proposal at the UN.

Ana Brnabić, the speaker of the Serbian parliament and the country's former and longest-serving prime minister, on Monday criticized Croatia for opposing the resolution, calling the criticism of Croatian officials "extremely sad."

Council chief Mšel postponed his visit to Podgorica "to a later date to ensure successful talks with key interlocutors in the country, which should not be overshadowed by the latest events," an EU official told Politico.

"Good neighborly relations also remain a key element of the accession process," the official said, adding that Michel is in contact with Spajic.

A Montenegrin government official said they were unhappy with Michel's decision to postpone the visit and worried it would send the wrong message.

"We don't want to embellish history. We just want to make the future brighter," he said. "We want the absolute best possible relations with Croatia."

Spajić linked the timing of the resolution to Russian efforts to destabilize the Western Balkans and compromise his government.

"There is a Russian narrative in Montenegro, that 'the European Union and the Western world support Nazi or fascist history,'" he said, suggesting that if his government had voted against the resolution, it would have been used against him.

The pro-Russian president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, congratulated Montenegro on the adoption of the resolution and announced that he would visit the country this month. He previously denied any connection to the measure, but hinted in May that Serbia could make a similar proposal at the UN.

Ana Brnabić, the speaker of the Serbian parliament and former prime minister, criticized Croatia for opposing the resolution, calling the criticism of Croatian officials "extremely sad."

Michel postponed his visit to Podgorica "to a later date to ensure successful talks with key interlocutors in the country, which should not be overshadowed by the latest events," an EU official told Politico.

"Good neighborly relations also remain an essential element of the accession process," the official said, adding that Michel is in contact with Spajic.

A Montenegrin government official said they were unhappy with Michel's decision to postpone and worried it would send the wrong message.

( AB )