Montenegro moves to resolve Croatia disputes over EU bid

Montenegro has moved to resolve bilateral disputes with neighboring Croatia to keep its European Union accession bid on track for 2028, Euronews reported. The action comes amid increasing pressure from Germany for a quick resolution between the two nations. [1]

According to Euronews, Zagreb recently sent an eight-point list of grievances to other European Union members, detailing conditions Montenegro must fulfill before joining the bloc. Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic stated that Montenegro's progress toward European Union membership must be matched by movement on resolving these bilateral matters, mina.news reported. [1][4]

Most of the contentious issues stem from the Balkan conflict during the 1990s, Euronews reported. Croatian officials noted that no progress had been made on these specific matters over the last two years. [1]

Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 and became the 28th member of the European Union in July 2013. Montenegro achieved modern independence following a referendum in May 2006 and currently aims to become the 28th European Union member state. [1][7][8]