Milanovic and Milatovic in Zagreb on Montenegro's EU Bid
Croatia's president said at the 27th Lucindan Gatherings that Montenegro is welcome in the Union, while his Montenegrin counterpart expects an accession treaty to be signed next year.
Croatian President Zoran Milanovic said in Zagreb on Saturday, October 31, that Montenegro is welcome in the European Union. He said it in front of Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic, at the 27th Lucindan Gatherings, a traditional get-together of the Montenegrin community in Croatia. For Serbia, which according to our earlier report on the draft from Brussels is standing still in the same process, it shows how a neighbor’s path to membership is discussed in one of the member states, whose consent is needed for every next step.
What did Milanovic say about Montenegro’s membership?
The two presidents spoke about relations between their countries and about Montenegro’s European future. On its road to the Union, Milanovic said:
“Montenegro is a candidate for membership in the European Union, it is heading toward the EU, and let it come. As far as I am concerned, it is welcome.”
He then turned to Montenegro itself. According to HRT’s report, he invoked Njegos and a line from “The Mountain Wreath,” saying that Montenegrins “have their own heads” and that, as that epic ends, “as long as the head is on the shoulders, you will get another rifle.” Tportal carries a longer part of the speech:
“The greatest thing you have is your state. Montenegro has come into being, and everything else is smaller or bigger shifts that do not stand in the way of Montenegro being successful, well run and relatively prosperous.”
He closed his address with verses by the Montenegrin ruler and poet Petar II Petrovic Njegos, and wished Montenegro to carry on along its own path.
Why does Milanovic criticize the Union at the same time?
Support for Podgorica did not mean support for the direction in which the Union is developing. Milanovic repeated his criticism: in his view the EU is overstepping its original powers and should stick to free trade, freedom of movement and harmonized rules among members, instead of building a superstate. In the same speech, the welcome for Montenegro therefore came alongside criticism of Brussels.
What did Milatovic say?
The Montenegrin president assessed that Montenegro and Croatia are friendly countries and that Montenegro’s EU membership is in the interest of both. Improving bilateral relations, he stressed, requires continued political dialogue, overcoming existing challenges and strengthening mutual trust. Milatovic said:
“It is our shared responsibility to build good neighborly relations, nurture open dialogue, overcome current challenges and strengthen mutual trust.”
According to HRT, he added that “Montenegro is firmly on the European path, Croatia is a good neighbor,” and that Zagreb has so far supported it in achieving membership. Milatovic expects the accession treaty could be signed as early as next year. He considers that, “as I have said many times,” to be in Croatia’s interest as well, “so that we can finally leave the past in the past, and all go together toward a better future.”
What are the Lucindan Gatherings?
The event is dedicated to preserving Montenegrin cultural identity, tradition and ties with the home country. According to the 2021 census, 3,127 members of the Montenegrin national minority live in Croatia, which is 0.08 percent of the total population.
