The Government of Montenegro knows that there is a danger that Croatia will not allow the closure of all four chapters in the negotiations with the European Union (EU), which Podgorica hopes to conclude by the end of the year, but they do not know whether Zagreb will do so, nor which chapters could to be "under attack" - unofficially "Vijesti" learns.
Whether that scenario will come true - it is unclear, especially in the context of yesterday's sudden decision by the executive power that the Tivat House of Culture "Josip Marković" will be ceded to Croatia. The decision came on the day when Zagreb's "Večernji" newspaper announced that Croatia would not allow the closure of four chapters, and a week after "Vijesti" wrote that Zagreb had sent Montenegro a non-paper (informal diplomatic document) in which it made demands for resolving several issues that he considers open, including the issue of the Cultural Center.
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"Political message"
A diplomat familiar with the course of negotiations between Montenegro and the EU indirectly told "Vijesta" yesterday that Podgorica will not "cross out" four chapters by the New Year, saying that "a lot of them will be closed". However, after the Government's decision, when asked if anything had changed, he answered with the words: "We will see."
The interlocutor of "Vijesti" from the executive branch said that there are various rumors regarding Zagreb's possible moves, but that the government does not know whether the neighboring country is ready for a blockade.
"Croatia has not yet given the 'green light' for any chapter. If there is a blockade, it will be more of a diplomatic and political message, than an assessment of non-fulfillment of obligations in the chapters, because we have implemented all obligations", said the source, adding that he does not know which chapter or chapters Zagreb could lower the ramp to.
Another interlocutor from the Government said that it has been considering the scenario of a potential blockage of closing the chapters for weeks, but that they are optimistic that at the session of COREPER II (Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Member States) scheduled for tomorrow, the country will get an amen for "hatching" four chapters .
That source stated that these chapters, i.e. the drafts of common positions related to them, "passed" two Working Groups of the EU Enlargement Council (COELA), and that after COREPER II gives the "green light", it goes to the EU Council, which adopts final decision. If it is positive, that is, if the closing of at least one chapter receives the unanimous support of all EU members, an Intergovernmental Conference between Montenegro and the Union will be scheduled - most likely next week - when the chapters will be formally "crossed out".
Croats have a home, Montenegrins have a place in Zagreb
The government announced that Montenegro will close chapters 7 (intellectual property rights), 10 (information society and media), 20 (entrepreneurship and industrial policy) and 31 (foreign, security and defense policy).
However, "Večernji list" claims that Zagreb will not agree to the closure of all four, but three. Tomislav Krasnec, correspondent of that newspaper from Brussels, stated in the author's text that Croatia will thereby show good will, and in this way send a message to Podgorica "that there must be good will to resolve open issues in the near future".
For Croatia, one of those issues is the House of Culture in Donja Lastva. Yesterday, after the telephone session, the government announced that it is "indisputable public interest" to return this immovable property to it, "in order to fulfill the obligation towards the Croatian minority, which should receive a modern and adequate place for the gathering and promotion of cultural content and the preservation of its inheritance". The press release states that the executive authority tasked the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property to submit a request on its behalf to the Municipality of Tivat for the transfer of the right to dispose of the House, after which the intergovernmental agreement with Croatia will be signed.
The third source of "Vijesti" from the government said that its vice-president and former minister of foreign affairs Filip Ivanović (Movement Europe now) proposed in January to the Croatian minister Gordan Grlić Radman the signing of that agreement and "reciprocity". In other words, that Croatia should be given a House in Tivat, so that they could transfer it to a Croatian association, and in return permanently resolve the issue of "adequate space" for the Montenegrin community in Zagreb. The interlocutor says that the Croats accepted it then, but that due to their internal political circumstances, i.e. election, and then the adoption of the resolution on Jasenovac in the Montenegrin parliament, the initialing of the agreement took longer.
"Vijesti" expects an answer from the Government to the question of why it made the decision yesterday, in a telephone session, that the House of Culture should be handed over to Croatia. Without specifying whether that move has anything to do with the issue of closing the chapter, a third source from the Government said that nothing is known about that process yet, but that it is speculated that Croatia could block one chapter, but they will not announce which one.
The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia did not tell "Vijesti" which chapters are disputed by them, that is, the closure of which they will not support.
The decision to cede the Cultural Center is the second move by Podgorica that could be interpreted as an attempt to improve damaged relations with Zagreb. Previously, the day before yesterday, the President of the Parliament of Montenegro Andrija Mandić (New Serbian Democracy), who is persona non grata in Croatia, invited the head of the Croatian Parliament, Gordan Jandroković, for an official visit, saying that "Croatia, as our closest neighbor in the EU, represents a good model" and that its support is "important in our pursuit of full membership in the EU".
Jandroković, however, did not announce himself on this occasion, nor did he answer the questions of "Vijesti" whether he would accept Mandić's invitation.
A chronicle of the cooling of relations
"Vijesti" announced last week, referring to information from the Government and diplomatic sources, that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received from Zagreb in November a document with ten points, in which, among other things, it was stated that it is necessary to resolve the issues of ownership of the school ship "Jadran", mutual demarcation, prosecution of war crimes, finding missing persons, as well as the issue of the name of the city swimming pool in Kotor.
Zagreb's "Jutarnji list" subsequently announced that among the demands were the provision of compensation to "all those who were detained in camps in Montenegro during the Homeland War", as well as the protection and preservation of the identity of the Croatian minority.
Non-paper arrived to meet the potential closure of four chapters, which would bring Montenegro closer to the EU. Podgorica has been negotiating with the EU since June 2012, and since then it has opened all chapters (33 in total) and temporarily closed three.
According to "Vijesti" sources, Montenegro responded to each of Zagreb's requests individually, said it wanted to talk by offering consultations, and said it appreciated Croatia's support.
The "cooling" of relations with Zagreb began in the winter, after Croatian Defense Minister Ivan Anušić canceled, during his visit to Montenegro, a meeting with his Montenegrin colleague Dragan Krapović (Democrat) due to, as he explained, Krapović's views on the ship "Jadran" and the memorial plaque at the former 'Morinj' camp in Kotor. Krapović previously stated that Croatia has no right to claim "Jadran" and that the plaque in Morinje should be replaced by another one, "with adequate text". The plaque, discovered two years ago, mentions "Greater Serbia's aggression against Croatia"...
An additional tightening of relations followed at the end of June, when the Montenegrin parliament adopted the Resolution on the genocide in Jasenovac and the Dachau and Mauthausen camps. That document was voted on the initiative of part of the ruling majority, after the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Resolution on the genocide in Srebrenica at the end of May. This was done with the support of Montenegro, which was opposed by the parties of the former Democratic Front (DF), which therefore demanded that the Montenegrin Assembly be determined by a resolution on Jasenovac.
Croatia reacted violently to the adoption of that document, saying that it regretted that Montenegro decided to ignore the calls of their country "not to politicize the victims of Jasenovac". Zagreb then announced that Podgorica must meet the final benchmarks in order to close the negotiation chapter 23 (judiciary and fundamental rights), and that they will "jump in" with their benchmarks.
After that, in July, Zagreb declared the Speaker of the Parliament Mandić, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksa Bečić (Democrats) and MP Milan Knežević (Democratic People's Party) undesirable because of "systematic action to disrupt good neighborly relations with the Republic of Croatia and continuous abuse of the Republic of Croatia for internal political purposes ”, thus alluding to the decision to adopt the resolution in Jasenovac.
COREPER II and opening a cluster with Serbia and Albania
On the agenda of COREPER II are benchmarks for opening cluster 3 with Serbia and cluster 6 with Albania.
Ambassadors of EU countries failed to reach an agreement on the opening of cluster 3 in negotiations with Serbia last week. Against were the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Bulgaria, Croatia, as well as the Baltic states.
The initiative to open that cluster (on competitiveness and inclusive growth) came from Hungary, which currently holds the EU presidency, and this is the third time that the situation with its non-opening has been repeated.
On the agenda of COREPER II is also a decision on aid within the framework of the European Peace Aid Instrument (EPF) to support the armed forces of Montenegro.
The Council of the EU should make a decision on the allocation of six million euros to Montenegro from that instrument, which was allegedly opposed by Croatia at lower decision-making levels in the EU.
A "Vijesti" source from the Government said in August that Croatia also opposed Austria's proposal that Montenegro receive 45 million euros for the establishment of the Western Balkan Security and Defense College. That school would be built on the site of the former "Masline" barracks in Podgorica.
The meeting between Metsola and Mandić was cancelled
The meeting between Mandić and the President of the European Parliament (EP) Roberta Metsola, which was scheduled for today at 9 am in Brussels, will not take place.
This was announced last night by Mandić's media advisor Gordana Đuračić, stating that the reason for the cancellation of the meeting was "urgent private reasons of Metsola".
Until last night, the EP website said that the meeting would be held at nine o'clock, but that announcement was removed from Metsola's schedule.
In the schedule, however, her other meetings are scheduled for 9.30:10 a.m. and XNUMX:XNUMX a.m.
Metsola is a member of the center-right European People's Party parliamentary group, which also includes the Croatian Democratic Union, as well as its "mother" Nationalist Party from Malta.
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Fajon: Croatia should be a sincere partner to all the countries of the WB
The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovenia, Tanja Fajon, the day before yesterday, commenting on Croatia's non-paper sent to Montenegro, said that Slovenia's experience shows that bilateral issues should always be resolved in a "good neighborly spirit", even before joining the EU.
"I hope that Montenegro and Croatia will have such good relations that they close bilateral issues, and that these issues will not complicate the entire process of enlargement and approximation of Montenegro to the EU," she stated in an interview with the Mina agency.
Fajon reminded that Slovenia and Croatia had similar difficulties.
"Croatia was the last country to join the EU, now it needs to be a sincere partner to all the countries of the Western Balkans," said Fajon.
In an interview with Mina, she announced that Slovenia and Germany have prepared a non-paper which will provide that there is no possibility of veto and blockade in the pre-accession process due to bilateral issues with neighboring countries.
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