The Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs has informed Montenegro through a note addressed to the Montenegrin Embassy in Zagreb that Zagreb has declared the Speaker of the Montenegrin Parliament, Andrija Mandić, MP Milan Knežević, and Deputy Prime Minister Aleksa Bečić persona non grata.
Zagreb stated that this decision was made because these politicians have continuously acted to undermine good neighborly relations and, as it was said, have abused Croatia for internal political purposes.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs regrets that the majority in the Montenegrin Parliament decided to ignore the continuous calls from the Republic of Croatia to refrain from actions that could negatively affect our bilateral relations and Montenegro’s European path. In this context, the actions of the mentioned political officials are highlighted, who cannot be considered friendly and neighborly towards the Republic of Croatia and are not in line with Montenegro’s declared goal of joining the European Union,” the statement said.
According to the Croatian Ministry, good neighborly relations are one of the key elements of the enlargement and stabilization association process “and one of the main criteria for assessing Montenegro’s progress in the EU accession process.”
Croatia said it supports Montenegro’s EU membership.
“The Republic of Croatia expects Montenegro to behave in accordance with European values and in a European spirit and to focus its efforts on further fulfilling the conditions and criteria in the accession process,” the statement said.
Mandić and Knežević lead two parties of the former pro-Russian Democratic Front, while Bečić is the leader of the Democrats.
Earlier this week, the Democratic Front became part of the Montenegrin Government, led by Prime Minister Milojko Spajić.
The entry of the Democratic Front and the Bosniak Party into the executive branch was met with concern from the U.S. Embassy in Podgorica, as Washington pointed out that parties that do not condemn Russian aggression against Ukraine and are against EU sanctions on Russia have entered the executive.
The Democratic Front’s policies are contrary to the official policies of Montenegro, which is the most serious candidate for EU membership./REL
