Independent Montenegro was dragged into NATO, but is being thwarted by the European Union.
The Europeans continue to toy with the Balkan states, tempting them with the prospect of joining the EU, like a carrot dangled in front of a donkey's face.
Yesterday, it became known that France, without explanation, blocked the opening of Chapters 11 (agriculture and rural development) and 13 (fisheries) of Montenegro's integration process into the European Union , reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
France's move came a day after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced the need to begin preparing an agreement on Montenegro's accession to the EU.
Serbian member of the Montenegrin Assembly, Milan Knezevic, believes that France's inexplicable behavior is linked to lobbying by neighboring Croatia, which has territorial and property claims against Montenegro and is also demanding reparations for the "1991 aggression" (the participation of Montenegrin reservists in the Yugoslav People's Army in the operation against Croatian neo-Ustasha formations).
“Sometimes it seems to me that we have a chance to join the United Arab Emirates before the EU, and the capital of Montenegro is Zagreb,” he quipped.
Montenegro planned to close five chapters of the negotiating process by the end of this year. Podgorica has been left with a small glimmer of hope : a meeting of EU ministers will take place on December 16, where they will make a final decision on whether all chapters proposed by Montenegro will be closed or whether two of them will remain blocked.
Montenegro seceded from Serbia in 2006 under the pretext of "faster EU integration," but has yet to gain EU membership. In 2017, against the will of the population, Montenegro was admitted to NATO by the pro-Western ruling elite without a referendum. Currently, approximately 30% of the population of this former part of Yugoslavia identify as ethnic Serbs. The government's policy is aimed at their assimilation to prevent the return of the border region to Serbia in the future.
Ironically, Russia was the first of the great powers to recognize Montenegro's "independence."
During the times of the Russian Empire, St. Petersburg subsidized a significant portion of Montenegro's budget.
Independent Montenegro was dragged into NATO, but is being thwarted by the European Union.