PMQs - PM Krivokapić: Open issue of Prevlaka cannot be an obstacle for Montenegro's further progress towards EU membership

ʺIn your question, you stated that Montenegro signed an interim demarcation agreement with Croatia in 2002. Not only for terminological, but also for essential reasons, it is necessary to specify that the exact name of that agreement is 'Protocol on the Interim Regime along the Southern Border' which was signed by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia with the participation of representatives of the then Republic of Montenegro. Insisting on the colloquial term "interim agreement" suggests the temporary nature of the agreement, although the final provisions of the Protocol clearly show that it is an interim regime along the southern border, a regime whose duration is not limited by the deadlines in the Protocol itself, but on the contrary a provision stating that the regime will be valid 'until the parties agree otherwise'ʺ, said Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić, answering the question of Danijela Đurović from the MP Group of the Socialist People’s Party of Montenegro.

The Prime Minister stated in his written answer that, having in mind that the documentation concerning these negotiations is classified secret, he is obliged not to disclose all the details from the negotiations.

"But I will not violate the obligation to protect secret data, if I tell you that the negotiations so far, which took place out of the public eye, with the consent of the parties, have shown a significant degree of mutual differences, primarily in interpreting and defining the subject of territorial dispute. The Republic of Croatia considers that the 2002 Protocol allows only demarcation of sea boundaries and that the existing temporary demarcation of mainland should not be negotiated, while Montenegro considers that both the land and sea border are subject to dispute. This disagreement is perhaps the main reason why previous attempts to achieve a definite demarcation have failed," Krivokapić said.

The Prime Minister said that, in order for the dispute to be submitted to an ad hoc arbitral tribunal, it is necessary for both parties to sign the text of a special agreement officially stating the obligation to accept and execute the court's ruling, but also to confirm that they agreed on the dispute.

Krivokapić said that he was convinced that if there is good will, an agreement can be reached on the subject of the dispute, which could open the way not only for arbitration, but also the possibility of resolving the dispute either by a purely bilateral agreement or before the International court of justice.

In the near future, in our opinion, a unique Government Interdepartmental Commission should be formed, which would bring together experts and representatives of our various ministries, who by the nature of their work have, and may have, recognisable competencies in a set of issues related not only to international legal aspects of demarcation, but also to the closely related border regime, traffic in that regime, the continental shelf and the exploitation of sea, submarine, border control, environmental protection and preservation of the territorial integrity of the state, said Prime Minister Krivokapić.

The Prime Minister said that it was true that the EU stated in the Enlargement Strategy that it would not import bilateral disputes, but also that it was true that the Republic of Croatia became a member of the EU, although it did not definitely resolve the territorial disputes it still has today.

"Apart from the open issue with Montenegro, there are also essential disputes with Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. I believe that EU member states, as well as those wishing to become member states, after accession can have interim agreements, create and accept political and other instruments, which enable their mutual good neighbourly relations, development of mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation and prevent border incidents, regardless of the fact that they have not definitively resolved an open issue or territorial dispute. The Protocol on the Interim Regime is one of those instruments, and Montenegro and the Republic of Croatia, through their previous compliance with this Protocol and unhindered cooperation in maintaining security in the border area, unhindered entry into the Bay of Kotor, avoiding incidents at the border, showed that this prolonged open issue of Prevlaka cannot be an obstacle for Montenegro's further progress towards membership in the European Union. After all, considering the previous reports of the European Commission on Montenegro's progress in European integration, as an obstacle to faster progress of Montenegro in that direction, it again states poor results in the fight against high-level corruption and organized crime, poor protection of journalists and problems with creating conditions for fair and free elections, but not issues related to resolving the open issue of Prevlaka between Montenegro and the Republic of Croatia," Krivokapić concluded.