ZAGREB, 18 July (Hina) -В Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković met with Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović and Bulgarian President Rumen Radev on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit at Blenheim Palace near Oxford, UK on Thursday.
“At the informal meeting with President Milatović, we reiterated our dissatisfaction with the adoption of the Jasenovac resolution by the Montenegrin parliament,” said Plenković.
Last month, the Montenegrin parliament adopted, at the initiative of the pro-Serbian and pro-Russian right-wing, a resolution on genocide in the WWII Jasenovac, Dachau, and Mauthausen concentration camps. The resolution was supported by 41 ruling MPs, while opposition and some ruling MPs walked out of the chamber, resulting in nearly half of the 81 MPs not participating in the vote.
Plenković said such a voting outcome reflected significant division on Montenegro’s political scene. “President Milatović has a much more restrained stance and understands that this move was not good for Montenegro or for relations with Croatia.”
Asked if the divisions in Montenegrin society could be fatal for the country’s path towards EU membership, Plenković said “they will hardly be fatal, but they will certainly be aggravating.”
With Radev, the talks focused on Croatia’s accession to the Schengen and euro areas. Bulgaria, along with Romania, continues to face a blockade regarding Schengen accession. In March, border controls were lifted only at airports, while remaining in place at land border crossing points. Entry to the euro area is also delayed due to political instability.
Plenković said Radev informed him that Bulgaria might face a parliamentary election for the seventh time in three years due to the inability to form a coalition government.
“There are two messages: firstly, there is decreasing voter turnout in elections, and secondly, there is increasing fragmentation and thus instability. This clearly shows what I have been saying in Croatia“ how important political stability and a solid parliamentary majority are, which is a fundamental prerequisite for development, projects, and international positioning,” said Plenković.
