In the Government Milojko Spajić (Europe Now Movement) hope that Croatia will give Montenegro the go-ahead to close Chapter 31 (foreign, security and defense policy) in negotiations with the European Union (EU) in June, if the two countries agree on compensation for Croatian citizens who were detained in the former Morinje camp and change the name of the city swimming pool in Kotor, and if the process of transferring the Tivat "Josip Marković" Cultural Center to Zagreb is finalized, "Vijesti" has learned unofficially.
The newspaper's sources familiar with the talks between the two countries claim, however, that Croatia has not committed to giving the green light to "cross out" Chapter 31, the closure of which it blocked at the end of last year, if Montenegro does its part in resolving the aforementioned issues.
An interlocutor of "Vijesti" says that Podgorica and Zagreb are trying to reach a compromise on the issue of the amount of compensation for the camp inmates from Morinje, as well as to harmonize the lists of detainees because their documentation on this does not match.
He says that, after yesterday's second round of bilateral consultations in Zagreb, which were attended by the state secretaries of the foreign ministries of the two countries (Periša Kastratović i Frano Matušić), a higher-level meeting could follow soon.
He adds that negotiations on other issues that Croatia considers open will continue, and that it is not ruled out that international arbitration could be initiated in the cases of ownership of the training ship "Jadran" and the border on the Prevlaka peninsula.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro announced yesterday that the bilateral consultations are a continuation of the talks from January 27. They said that the meeting, "through open dialogue", discussed "the steps achieved in resolving outstanding issues", and that "further dynamics of work, deadlines and methods of resolving them, with the aim of achieving concrete results".
"Progress in resolving outstanding issues will contribute to overall bilateral relations and further integration of Montenegro into the EU, which is in the common interest. The two sides have agreed to maintain constant contact on these issues," the statement released to the media reads.
In the town of Morinj, in Kotor, from October 3, 1991 to August 18, 1992, the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) organized the so-called Center for the Reception of Prisoners from Croatia, known as the "Morinj Camp", where 292 people from the Dubrovnik region were detained in inhumane conditions. 169 prisoners testified about the inhumane treatment they were subjected to.
Four people were sentenced to 12 years in prison for this war crime in court.
The Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) announced in early February that, by order of the Chief Special Prosecutor, Vladimir Novović, criminal cases have been reopened regarding war crimes in Morinje, Bukovica and Kaluđerski laz and the deportation of refugees from Herceg Novi.
When it comes to the case of the city pool in Kotor, the reason for the dispute with Croatia is that the local parliament decided in August 2021 to name the pool after Zoran Džimi Gopčević, who they said was one of the best water polo players in the area. Zagreb condemned this, claiming that Gopčević was a guard in the Morinj camp.
As for the issue of the Josip Marković Cultural Center in Tivat, the Government in March approved a draft contract on the transfer of the property to Croatia without compensation, after which it was to be offered for approval and signing to colleagues from the neighboring country. Zagreb has included the resolution of the status of this facility, which has been used for years by the Croatian National Council of Montenegro and the non-governmental organization Croatian Umbrella Community - Dux Croatorum, as one of the open issues.
Croatia did not allow Montenegro to close Chapter 31 at the end of last year (December), after relations between the two countries deteriorated. Previously, Zagreb, in the form of a non-paper, submitted requests to resolve several issues that it considers open and claims are damaging mutual relations,
The “cooling off” began in early 2024, after the Croatian Minister of Defense Ivan Anusic (Croatian Democratic Union) canceled a meeting with his Montenegrin counterpart during his visit to Montenegro Dragan Krapović (Democrats) because, as he explained, Krapović's views on the ship "Jadran" and the memorial plaque at the former camp in Morinje.
Krapović previously stated that Croatia has no right to claim “Jadran” and that the plaque in Morinje should be replaced with another one, “with adequate text.” The plaque, unveiled two and a half years ago, mentions the “Greater Serbian aggression against Croatia,” and reads: “We remember the crimes committed to disgrace the name and spirit of Montenegro. We express regret for all the suffering endured by the prisoners. May it never happen again.”
Further strained relations followed in late June 2024, when the Montenegrin Parliament adopted a Resolution on the Genocide in Jasenovac and the Dachau and Mauthausen Concentration Camps. This document was voted on at the initiative of part of the ruling majority, after the UN General Assembly adopted a 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 Parliament adopt a resolution on Jasenovac.
Croatia reacted violently to the adoption of that document, saying that it regrets 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.
"Montenegro must show progress and results related to the prosecution of war crimes, including determining responsibility at high levels, solving cases of missing persons, as well as the issue of compensation for victims, and the protection of national minorities and their rights," the Ministry said, among other things of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia.
After that, in July last year, Zagreb declared the head of parliament undesirable. Andrija Mandić (New Serbian Democracy), Deputy Prime Minister Aleks Bečić (Democrats) and deputies Milan Knežević (Democratic People's Party) due to "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.
They expect him to also cross out the chapter on public procurement.
According to unofficial information from "Vijesti", the Government expects that in June, in addition to Chapter 31, they could also close Chapter 5 (public procurement).
The Ministry of European Affairs told the newspaper recently, responding to a question about how many chapters the country expects to close at a possible intergovernmental conference with the EU in June, that two chapters are scheduled to be closed during Poland's presidency of the Council of the EU (January 1 - June 30 this year).
They said that Montenegro has intensified its efforts to meet the final benchmarks in several chapters simultaneously, and that "three negotiation chapters are currently internally ready."
"... And which one will be closed also depends on the European Commission's final assessment of the fulfillment of the benchmarks," they added.
Some civic activists have recently assessed that the government's agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which envisages "the largest investment in the country's history," makes the closure of the public procurement chapter questionable.
The agreement stipulates that the UAE government proposes and guarantees for private investors to cooperate with the Montenegrin government on the implementation of two tourism projects in the north and south of the country, with the written consent of the executive authorities in Podgorica.
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