Montenegro will close two more negotiation chapters on Tuesday at the Intergovernmental Conference with the European Union, while the closing of the third, which relates to transport policy, is being held up by Croatia, "Vijesti" has learned.
A source for "Vijesti" from the Government said that all other European Union members have given the green light to close Chapter 14 (Transport Policy), but Croatia has not yet done so due to the issue of so-called cabotage, i.e. the right of carriers from one country to carry out transport within another country.
Croatia has already blocked one negotiation chapter for Montenegro (Chapter 31 – Foreign, Security and Defense Policy) due to unresolved bilateral issues.
According to the claims of the interlocutor of "Vijesti", Croatia has reservations because the prices of Montenegrin carriers are significantly lower than Croatian ones. This means that carriers in Croatia fear that Montenegrin companies, if they have lower prices, could take over part of their business in their market.
Most countries prohibit or severely restrict cabotage by foreign carriers to protect domestic companies.
Cabotage is permitted in the EU, but strictly limited. According to European regulations, a basic rule applies to road transport of goods: a foreign carrier from one EU member state may, after having made an international delivery in another member state, make a maximum of three cabotage trips within seven days in that country.
The interlocutor of "Vijesti" said that negotiations with Croatia are ongoing and that work is still underway to reach an agreement before the Intergovernmental Conference.
He also said that Poland was the first to open this story, but that it "withdrew", that is, gave the green light to close Chapter 14.
Minister of European Affairs Maida Gorcevic She said yesterday at a press conference in the Government that Chapters 8 (Competition) and 29 (Customs Union) will be closed at the Intergovernmental Conference with the EU on Tuesday, while the procedure for Chapter 14 (Transport Policy) is ongoing and that its fate will be known today.
"If we manage to complete the technical procedure, it will be at the Intergovernmental Conference on Tuesday, and if not, it will be at the next one," she said.
She said that there are no problems when it comes to Chapter 14, "it's just a matter of procedure."
If Croatia gives its consent, Montenegro could close three negotiation chapters on Tuesday. These are, in addition to 14, chapters 8 (competition) and 29 (Customs Union). Thus, Montenegro's total result in the "European race" would be 19 closed chapters, out of a total of 33, all of which are open.
Croatia blocked Montenegro from closing Chapter 31 at the end of last year, after the adoption of the Resolution on Jasenovac in the Montenegrin Parliament. In order to unblock the chapter, Zagreb is seeking to resolve contentious bilateral issues, including the payment of compensation to the prisoners from Morinje, resolving the issue of missing persons, ownership of the ship "Jadran", changing the name of the swimming pool in Kotor...
Unimpeded flow of people, goods, capital and information
Chapter 14 includes legal regulations whose implementation will ensure the unhindered flow of people, goods, capital and information in the EU.
As stated on the EU4ME government website, the goal of European policy in this chapter is to respond to the increasing needs for mobility of citizens, goods and services within the EU.
EU regulations in this area, as stated, create conditions primarily for safer, more secure and more efficient transport, improved quality of transport services, improvement of existing and construction of new transport infrastructure.
"The acquis in this chapter defines standards for reducing the harmful impact of transport on the environment, as well as more effective protection of passenger rights and implementation of social legislation," it explained.
Same rules for everyone on the market
The Ministry of European Affairs announced yesterday that by closing Chapter 8 - Competition, Montenegro would have taken another important step on the path to EU membership.
Chapter 8 concerns competition policy and state aid control – areas that ensure that all market participants operate under equal rules and that practices that distort fair market competition are prevented. This, they explained, means that all companies should have equal conditions for doing business and win in the market with quality, innovation and good ideas.
MEPs said that competition policy defines the state as protecting the market from agreements that restrict competition, such as price fixing, the creation of monopolies or the abuse of a dominant position by certain companies. It also includes the control of large mergers of companies so that they do not lead to a reduction in choice and opportunities for other market participants.
"A special part of this chapter concerns state aid. This means that the support provided by the state to companies must be transparent and carefully controlled, so as not to lead to certain companies being unfairly favored and thereby endangering other companies operating on the market," said the head of the negotiating Working Group for this chapter, Nebojša Jovović from the Agency for the Protection of Competition.
Trade without customs formalities
Chapter 29 refers to the Customs Union, which is a single customs territory of the EU member states in which all internal trade and movement of goods between member states is carried out without customs formalities, i.e. without customs supervision of goods, and without the collection of customs duties. The Customs Union was established on 1 April 1968.
"Montenegro will become part of the internal market on the date of its accession to the EU, which will facilitate the export of domestic products to a market with 500 million consumers. The fact that there will be no customs duties means that Montenegrin citizens will be able to buy higher quality products from any EU member state at significantly lower prices than today," the EU4ME website states.
Milanović: The Adriatic is not of crucial importance, the border issue needs to be resolved
Croatian President Zoran Milanović said yesterday in Tivat that there are no serious obstacles between Croatia and Montenegro that would burden relations between the two countries, stating that the training ship Jadran is not of crucial importance, while the border issue should be resolved.
Milanović, as reported by RTCG, said that the Jadran was built during the Karađorđević era and that Tito's sailors sailed on it.
"It was registered in Split and now Croatia is claiming it. Okay, I'm joining in that chorus - here, it's Croatian, give it back to us. Because it doesn't mean anything to you in Montenegro anyway. But if it's some kind of important thing, well, it's not. So, it's trivializing the relationship between two states and two peoples," Milanović said.
In his opinion, the border issue is one that should be resolved.
"Borders - that should be resolved. That issue has been in the works for years, but now it is a matter of the strength and credibility of the authorities in Montenegro to resolve it and to pass it politically unscathed, because there will always be accusations that someone betrayed Prevlaka. It is clear what is Croatian and what is Montenegrin," Milanović said.
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