Croatia has stalled Montenegro’s bid to join the European Union, forcing Brussels to postpone a planned intergovernmental conference with the candidate country.
The meeting, pencilled in for September 22, was called off after Zagreb again refused to back the closure of several chapters.
Montenegro, seen as the frontrunner among candidates, aims to become the EU’s 28th member state by 2028. It has provisionally closed 18 of the 33 negotiating chapters and wants to finish work on the remaining 15 this month.
Croatia’s demands stem from the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s. They include compensation for survivors of wartime detention camps, help in locating 14 people still missing, war crimes prosecutions and the settlement of property claims by Croatian families in Montenegro.
In a statement on July 22, Croatia’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs said these issues had to be resolved so they would not burden the final phase of Montenegro’s accession.
Zagreb also wants the return of the training ship Jadran and a deal on the disputed maritime border. It has further called for the renaming of a swimming pool honouring water polo player Zoran Gopčević, whom it links to the wartime Morinj camp.
Ministerial talks backed by the European Commission have produced no breakthrough. On September 22, Croatia maintained its veto on chapter 14 on transport and is also holding up chapters on foreign policy, the judiciary and home affairs.
A bilateral meeting is due to take place in Zagreb in early October. If it yields progress, an intergovernmental conference could close further chapters on October 12 or 13.
Other obstacles may have emerged. Montenegrin daily Dan reported that the Netherlands had sought a pause in the process, backed by Croatia and the three Baltic states, amid anger over parliament speaker Andrija Mandić’s condolences following the death of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić.
Montenegro’s Ministry of European Affairs and the EU Delegation in Podgorica both denied that the accession process had been halted.
Chief negotiator Predrag Zenović said on September 5 that closing talks this year remained possible, citing Croatia’s support for closing 14 other chapters.
Time is short though, with Montenegro heading to elections in June 2027. Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said in July that the country could still join by 2028 even if not every chapter were closed this year.
She warned, though, that the speed of ratification in all member states would be decisive. That process could be complicated by elections in France and Spain, where parties sceptical of enlargement are gaining ground.
