If Croatia, after declaring three Montenegrin politicians undesirable last week, decided to extend the ban to other Schengen countries without a valid legal basis, it would violate the legislation of that zone and possibly risk the European Commission (EC) initiating proceedings against it.
This was assessed for "Vijesti" by an expert on European Union (EU) legislation on asylum and migration and a lecturer at Utrecht University. Evelin Brauer (Evelien Brouwer), saying that, based on the information presented to her by the newspaper, it seems that the conditions for Montenegrin politicians to be banned from entering all Schengen countries have not been met.
Six days ago (Thursday), Zagreb declared the head of the Montenegrin parliament persona non grata Andrija Mandić, Deputy Prime Minister Aleks Bečić and leader of the Democratic People's Party (DNP) Milan Knežević due to "systemic actions to disrupt good neighborly relations with the Republic of Croatia and continuous abuse of the Republic of Croatia for internal political purposes", alluding to the decision of the Parliament of Montenegro to adopt the Resolution on the Genocide in Jasenovac and the Dachau and Mauthausen camps at the end of June.
DON'T MISS IT
Two days after Croatia's decision, the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MVEP) announced that Zagreb has the option to extend the entry ban on Mandić, Bečić and Knežević to all Schengen countries. It is a zone that includes 29 European countries that have abolished border controls at their mutual borders.
"... We have the possibility, if we deem it opportune, to extend this ban to all countries of the Schengen area," said the MVEP spokesman for the Croatian "Nova TV" on Sunday. Tomislav Lendić, adding that Croatia will monitor the development of the situation, that the three Montenegrin politicians are in the border surveillance system, and that the measure imposed on them is of unlimited duration, until it is decided otherwise.
Asked what will happen if Mandić, Bečić and Knežević try to enter Croatia from an EU country, Lendić answered:
"If they were to try something like that from the countries of the Schengen area, in that situation they would enter the Republic of Croatia completely illegally, they would come under the Law on Foreigners and it is clear that this would not be recommended to anyone".
DON'T MISS IT
Brauer says that, bearing in mind the information provided to her by "Vijesti" regarding the possibility of Croatia extending the ban to Schengen, it seems that Zagreb could report the three Montenegrin politicians to the Schengen Information System (SIS) as undesirable citizens. third countries, without a valid legal basis.
He explains that since January of last year Croatia has been a full member of the Schengen zone, it can use the SIS for border control and reporting third-country nationals as undesirable. He says that the legal basis for this is stated in Regulation (EU) 2018/1861 of the European Parliament and the Council, with amendments from 2021. He points out that the criteria for entering a warning in the SIS refer to the decision to return from the borders (which, he adds, is not applies in the case of Montenegrin politicians) or to a situation in which a person is considered a threat to public order, i.e. national security.
Brauer states that in that case the following conditions from the Regulation must be met - that the Schengen member state has concluded that the presence of a citizen of a third country on its territory poses a threat to public order, public security or national security, and that accordingly it has adopted a judicial or administrative decision to refuse entry and stay, and issued a national warning for that purpose.
This situation, the interlocutor explains, arises if a citizen of a third country is convicted in a member state of a criminal offense for which a prison sentence of at least one year is prescribed; if there are serious reasons to suspect that a third-country national has committed a serious crime, including terrorism, or there are clear indications that he intends to commit it on the territory of a member state; if the third-country national has circumvented or attempted to circumvent EU law or national legislation on entering and staying in the territory of the member states.
"My conclusion is that, if the ban on entering the Schengen area does not meet the above-mentioned criteria (which does not seem to be the case), Croatia is violating the Schengen acquis and may risk proceedings before the European Commission for violation of rights (Article 258 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU)... ", Brauer said.
According to Article 258 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, if the EC considers that a member state has not fulfilled an obligation that is the basis of that document, it will issue a reasoned opinion on the subject, after giving the state the opportunity to express its views. If the country does not comply with the opinion within the deadline set by the EC, the Commission can refer the case to the Court of Justice of the EU.
The interlocutor of "Vijesti" says that, according to Regulation (EU) 2018/1861, the necessity and legitimacy of the Schengen entry ban, which has been reported to the SIS, must be reviewed every three years. He adds that people who are in the SIS have the right to data protection and appeal.
Government, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and Vice President of the Executive for Foreign and European Affairs Filip Ivanovic, did not respond to "Vijesta" yesterday on how they interpret Croatia's decision to declare three Montenegrin politicians undesirable, what the government's response will be, and how they view the possibility of Zagreb extending the ban to all countries of the Schengen area. Since last week, the MFA has not answered the questions of "Vijesti", although when such cases occur, it is the practice for the ambassador of the country that made the decision to be invited to the MFA.
Prime Minister Milojko Spajic announced that, respecting the sovereignty of Croatia, he would not allow himself the right to comment on her move.
"We may be more or less right, but the decisions of independent states must be respected. Equally, I can say that, regardless of the attitudes of the Croatian authorities on this or other issues, Montenegro will always remain a reliable neighbor and loyal ally, with a sincere desire to share the European reality with its closest neighbor in the near future", he stated in to the answer to the opposition MP's inquiry, published on the Government's website.
He is a representative of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS). Nikola Rakočević asked whether they would start the process of dismissing Bečić and his party (Movement for Europe Sad - PES) Mandić, after Croatia declared them persona non grata. Spajić said that he did not even think about the proposals for dismissal.
The Croatian MVEP announced last week that it regrets that the majority in the Montenegrin parliament decided "to ignore continuous calls" from Croatia not to make moves that could have a negative impact on bilateral relations and Montenegro's European path.
For the adoption of the Resolution on Genocide in Jasenovac and the Dachau and Mauthausen camps, 41 members of the parliamentary majority voted, i.e. representatives of Spajić's PES, Mandić's New Serbian Democracy (NSD), Bečić's Democrats, Knežević's DNP, the Socialist People's Party (SNP) and Citizens' Union CIVIS.
The document was adopted at the initiative of part of the ruling majority, after the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) passed the Resolution on the genocide in Srebrenica at the end of May. This was done with the support of Montenegro, which was opposed by Mandić's and Knežević's parties, which therefore demanded that the Montenegrin parliament be determined by a resolution on Jasenovac. Because of this, Croatia reacted violently, saying that it regretted that Montenegro decided to ignore the calls of their country "not to politicize the victims of Jasenovac".
Bogdanović: Bečić is relaxed
Yesterday, "Vijesti" asked the Assembly, the Democrats and the DNP how Mandić, Bečić and Knežević viewed the possibility of being banned from Schengen, but the answers came only from the Democrats, who said that their leader views it "very relaxed".
"We would be surprised if the MVEP of Croatia took or announced measures against those who 'hated chess because of the checkerboard', believed that 'the attack on Dubrovnik was justified and expedient, and that any contrary opinion was treasonous', or those, such as the former the chief special prosecutor (Milivoj Katnić), whom the SDT (Special State Prosecutor's Office) suspects of war crimes in the area of Cavtat, or those Montenegrin officials who, with their signatures, demanded the release of a man accused of war crimes in Croatia, whose evidence was provided by Croatia. This way, however, we are not surprised, nor are we offended, because everything is clear to everyone", said the deputy and general secretary of the Democrats. Boris Bogdanovic.
According to him, the entire public will certainly appreciate where European and democratic values reside, and where the opposite patterns of action are.
"I just wonder what will happen if, for example, one day the minister of Hungary, Slovakia or some other country uses the mentioned precedents and reaches for the same measures against high-ranking officials of a country? Finally, you have also heard the position of the EC - that in the exclusive it is the competence of the Croatian authorities to decide on persons who may or may not enter the territory of Croatia. Enough has been said for those who want to hear it," says Bogdanović.
DON'T MISS IT
The Democratic MP says that neither Croatia nor any other regional country and their exponents in our country will correct the policy of that party.
"We will not bend our backs in front of anyone, no one will close our mouths, we will always tell the truth, we will always lead a principled policy towards everyone, and the Government will be exclusively composed of the citizens of Montenegro, not Croatia or any other regional country," he stated.
Bonus video:
