Podgorica, Zagreb (MINA) – During the entire process of resolving outstanding issues with Montenegro, Croatia has shown strategic patience and understanding, but now the time has come for decisive steps by the Montenegrin Government, announced the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MFEA).

The Ministry called on the Montenegrin side to engage in constructive dialogue and accelerate work on the outstanding issues.

“Croatia emphasizes that the principle of good neighborly relations is one of the key political criteria in the EU enlargement process, which is clearly stated in the negotiating framework for Montenegro and other candidate countries”, the statement published on the MFEA website says.

According to the Ministry, the EU is very clear in its messages that it cannot and does not want to import bilateral disputes, and that outstanding issues must be resolved urgently, so that they do not burden bilateral relations or the accession process.

“At the end of 2024, in an effort to advance relations and resolve open issues, Croatia reiterated its call to Montenegro to engage in dialogue to resolve open issues in order not to burden the key, final phase of the accession process”, the MFEA said.

They believe that it is time for Montenegro to take decisive steps and added that their expectations are clear.

“Solving the issue of compensation for wartime detainees, continuing efforts to locate the 14 missing persons from the Homeland War, prosecuting war crimes, resolving property issues of Croatian families who had lost their property in Montenegro, preservation of the memorial plaque at the former Morinj camp and changing the name of the swimming pool in Kotor, continuation of talks on the maritime border, and returning of the training ship Jadran to Croatia”, the press release says.

The MFEA called for speeding up the work on outstanding issues.

“There are only a few months left until the end of 2026, and therefore we once again call on the Montenegrin side to engage in constructive dialogue and speed up the work on outstanding issues”, the press release concludes.