Montenegro's EU accession: Croatia applies the brakes – summit drops target date
Zagreb wants eight disputes from the war era resolved. EU leaders dropped the goal of wrapping up Montenegro's talks by year-end. Berlin is pushing for a deal.
Symbolic image · Photo: Rasho992 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
The dispute between Croatia and Montenegro overshadowed the enlargement debate at the EU summit. According to Agence Europe, the conclusions dropped the goal, backed by the Irish Council presidency and Montenegro, of closing the remaining negotiating chapters by the end of the year. They now say closure will come "subject to the implementation of the corresponding reforms", and a reference to "swift" finalisation of the accession treaty was also removed. France and Germany, which favour quick admission, were reported to be frustrated.
Zagreb has sent member states a list of eight demands, mostly stemming from the war of the 1990s. According to Agence Europe, they include a plaque at the former Morinj detention camp, renaming a Kotor swimming pool named after a former camp guard, the border delimitation, compensation for former Croatian detainees and information on 14 missing Croatians. "We want Montenegro to make progress, but we want these issues resolved, and now is the time to resolve them," said Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. Croatia denies seeking to block the candidacy.
According to Euronews, the German government is pressing Zagreb for a quick solution and has offered to mediate. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas publicly said accession should not be hijacked by bilateral issues. Montenegro, the most advanced candidate, aims to become the EU's 28th member in 2028. In Brussels there are fears that a delay could also hit Albania, Moldova and Ukraine.