Understanding the process is critical to understanding what is happening internationally, in this case at the regional level. And sometimes the journalist gets lucky.
In my column in Slobodna Dalmacija published on Wednesday, I opened the issue of Montenegro's approach to EU membership, which will encounter obstacles, among other things, due to the tightening of attitudes towards Croatia, where I highlighted the Resolution on genocide in the Jasenovac, Dachau and Mauthausen camps.
On the same day, Slavko Vukadin, Hina's correspondent, reports from Brussels that Serbia is still blocked from opening negotiations in cluster 3 - competitiveness and inclusive growth.
"What have we sinned"
On Thursday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said from Switzerland: "If God asked me what we did to the Bulgarians, I wouldn't know how to tell you." Confirming the fundamental, primordial obstacle to Serbia's approach to EU membership, Vučić thinks that the process depends on the wishes and whims of the members, not on the fulfillment of obligations.
One of them is the resolution of open bilateral issues, so Croatia is also there. But apart from Zagreb and Sofia, as reported by the Belgrade Politika website, six other countries oppose the opening of cluster 3, three Baltic countries, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands. Vučić does not wonder "what we did wrong" with them. You know, there are no sanctions against Russia, the rule of law, freedom of the media...
I remind all those who wrote harshly about the Netherlands during our negotiations that that country, unlike the United Kingdom, which acted politically biased, adhered to the principles then, as now in the case of Serbia.
On Thursday morning, Vijesti from Podgorica announced that Zagreb sent Montenegro a "non-paper" in which it "set out requests to resolve several issues that it considers open and which it claims damage the mutual relations of the two countries".
Zagreb is wisely silent, so we turned to contacts in Podgorica who confirmed that it is a "non paper" - a document of diplomatic practice without a sender's mark, therefore informal, and which draws the attention of the other party to the need to act so that certain problems do not become formal - arrived a few days ago (the News say about 15) and that the Montenegrin authorities were surprised.
Now it becomes clear why Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović, after meeting with the President of North Macedonia Gordana Siljanovska Davkova at the end of November, said: "It seems to me that Montenegro, due to certain actions of the current government and the parliamentary majority, is sliding towards complex relations with certain member countries EU. Here, above all, I am thinking of Croatia."
He already had a list of Zagreb's demands in his hands. For this reason, he immediately invited Prime Minister Milojko Spajić for a conversation, who replied that Milatović has no authority when it comes to European processes.
Jutarnji list received a document from sources in Podgorica for inspection that lists ten open questions. The first is "Ensure fair and worthy compensation to all those who were detained in camps in Montenegro during the Homeland War", which calls on Podgorica to agree to a comprehensive compensation that includes all camp inmates.
A true minority
After that, confirmation of the ownership of the Republic of Croatia and the return of the ship Jadran is requested, since it is subject to the Treaty on Succession Issues. Croatia offers Montenegro that, after returning the ship to its owner, Croatia, in the spirit of NATO alliance and by agreement, Podgorica could use the ship.
The third point refers to the Croatian minority, to which Montenegro, "as an autochthonous national minority", should ensure the protection and preservation of its identity. Difficulties are cited as a deficit in the realization of minority rights in the field of education and the return of property.
It then moves on to the question of determining the border at sea, a job that Croatia says needs to be completed because the Protocol on the Temporary Border Regime from 2002 is in force. Zagreb believes that the border on land has been determined, which some of the parties that make up the current coalition oppose, and requests that the work of the Interstate Commission, which last met in 2015, be renewed to determine the border at sea.
The next point is entitled "Remove the problems that prevent sustainable reconciliation and stand in the way of stronger cooperation". And these, according to the text, are the prosecution of war criminals because Montenegro has not prosecuted any person for crimes on the territory of Croatia; missing persons, 14 of them; commemoration of the place of suffering Morinj, the camp where Croatian citizens were detained and tortured - a memorial plaque was placed at that place, but the change of government led to disputes: the current Minister of Defense Dragan Krapović (Democrat party, whose leader Aleksa Bečić was declared an undesirable person in of Croatia) said that the inscription on the plaque should be replaced by a "more suitable" one, because it mentions Greater Serbia's aggression against Croatia.
Following is the request to rename the swimming pool in Kotor named after Zoran Gopčević, one of the infamous guards in the Morinj camp; Jug from Dubrovnik has already refused to play in that pool. In conclusion, Croatia expects attempts to seek identity and distort history to be prevented.
This refers to the note that the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs handed over to Montenegro in October 2023 for the "Proud of your Serbian" campaign, in which numerous people from Croatian, especially Dubrovnik, history are depicted as members of Serbian culture in Montenegro.
A wise regional policy that reveals Montenegro's alienation towards Serbia and Russia
Over the past year, Montenegro has undisguisedly slipped in the direction of pro-Serbian politics, which culminated in the appointment of Andrija Mandić, the Chetnik duke, as president of the assembly.
For some time there was still speculation whether Prime Minister Milojko Spajić was turning a blind eye to this in order to homogenize the parliamentary majority regarding the process of rapprochement with the EU, but the latest moves have confirmed that he is their puppet. Last week, Montenegrin journalists asked Spajić how he would comment on the assessment that the dialogue with President Jakov Milatović was initiated by Western countries due to the weakening of the center bloc.
The Prime Minister said that no one contacted him, maybe Milatović. According to information from Jutarnji List, the EU members are aware of the positions expressed by Croatia in the "non paper" sent to Podgorica and support them. In Montenegro, the ruling team continues to build a narrative that everyone in Brussels is inclined to speed up negotiations with Podgorica, Spajić talks about 2028 as the date of entry into membership. Podgorica Vijesti therefore warns that the "non-paper" arrived "to meet the potential green light from the EU for Montenegro to close four chapters by the end of the year".
In June of this year, Zagreb supported the EU's decision to accept that Montenegro had met the necessary criteria because Spajić claimed that the assembly would not pass a Resolution on Jasenovac. A few days after the approval was given, Mandić put the Resolution to the vote, which passed. Spajić didn't just lie to Zagreb, he also lied to Brussels, and that is remembered.
As can be concluded from the diplomatic activity of Zagreb when it comes to the negotiation process between Serbia and Montenegro, a prudent and wise position has been taken. Croatia will not be put in a situation like Slovenia, when it blocked the Croatian negotiations on its own and because of that faced opposition from other members.
Or Greece, which blocked Macedonia back then, and Bulgaria, which is blocking North Macedonia now. Zagreb first presents an argument that gathers allies, members who believe that these are important topics. That group later acts as a single entity, so the responsibility cannot be transferred to Zagreb alone, which Serbia would be happy to do.
It is to be expected that a group has already been gathered that will support Croatian arguments and ask Podgorica to change its policies, whereby, for example, the issue of changing the Law on Dual Citizenship, which would enable the Serbs to win an overwhelming majority in the elections, which is a priority of Mandić&co. one of the strong evidences of the deviation of politics in the wrong direction. Which is also a topic for NATO, but they are usually silent there.
At the same time, Croatia's position will show how sincere Serbia and Montenegro are in their desire to meet the criteria to be able to join the EU. Or their goal is just to get European money and follow Hungarian policy. The EU does not need that.
Bonus video:
