Border disputes in the Balkans

Learned from the experience of the unresolved border issue between Croatia and Slovenia, the European Union warned that it will no longer import such problems and that the Balkan countries that want to join it must first solve them.

Agence France-Presse presents an overview of those disputes.

Albania and Greece

The 2009 agreement between Tirana and Athens on the border on the Ionian Sea was annulled the following year by the highest Albanian court due to "violation of Albanian rights and interests". The two countries hope to conclude a new agreement in April. Oil and gas stocks in that sector are at stake, reports Hina.

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia share a 1.000 kilometer long border. They signed the border agreement during the time of President Franjo Tuđman and Alija Izetbegović. The contract was ratified in the BiH Parliament, but not in the Parliament. The disputed area is near Neum, BiH's only outlet to the sea. Croatia subsequently found documents that show that two islands, Veli and Mali Škoj, as well as the tip of the Kleka peninsula are Croatian, although in the original document they belonged to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The point on Una near Hrvatska Kostajnica is also problematic with Bosnia and Herzegovina. The construction of the Pelješki bridge should not be a problem because in 2007 Croatia gave a guarantee to Bosnia and Herzegovina that the bridge would not encroach on its rights in any way.

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia

Sarajevo and Belgrade must agree on the Bosnian enclave near Rud in the south of BiH, populated and measuring four square kilometers, which enters Serbian territory. Another problem is the Serbian request to expand the territory to the area of ​​two hydropower plants on the Drina. Belgrade is also looking for an area of ​​about 12 kilometers long railway line that connects Serbia and Montenegro and crosses Bosnian territory.

Kosovo and Montenegro

In 2015, Kosovo and Montenegro signed an agreement that defines the border in a mountainous area. Montenegro ratified it, but Kosovo did not because of the opposition of the opposition, whose representatives in the parliament also threw tear gas because of it. The draft law is again on the agenda of the parliament.

Montenegro and Croatia

Around Prevlaka, on the border with Montenegro, a temporary regime from 2002 is in force - the land border was drawn near the town of Konfin, so that the "land" belongs to Croatia, while the sea zone along the left coast of Prevlaka is a "mixed zone".

Serbia and Kosovo

Serbia does not recognize the independence of Kosovo, in the north of which the Serbian minority lives.

Serbia and Croatia

Since 2003, the two countries have been trying to reach an agreement on the part of the border near the Danube, not far from Bačka Palanka. Croatia refers to cadastral borders from the former Yugoslavia. According to the cadastre, Croatia has 11.500 hectares on the left, "Serbian" side of the Danube, and Serbia has 900 hectares of land on the right, "Croatian" side. Serbia believes that the border should go in the middle of the river. This is based on the argument that the Assembly of Vojvodina passed a temporary law in 1946, which said that the border runs along the Danube.