Croatia declares three Montenegrin politicians personae non gratae

The Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs said in a statement the three officials are not welcome in Croatia because of their “systematic actions directed at undermining good-neighborly relations” and “the continued abuse of Croatia for internal political purposes.”

“In that context, actions by the three political officials are particularly conspicuous, and their conduct can in no way be considered well-intended and characterized by good-neighborliness,” or in line with the process of Montenegro's European Union integration, the ministry said.

Good neighborly relations “are one of the key elements of the enlargement process and the stabilization and association process and one of the main criteria for the assessment of progress in Montenegro's accession process.”

“Croatia supports European Montenegro, it supports the process of its accession to the European Union and it has advocated progress on Montenegro's European journey. Croatia expects Montenegro to act in line with European values and in the European spirit and to direct its efforts towards further meeting the conditions and benchmarks in the accession process,” the statement reads.

The ministry did not specify the reason for its decision but it is assumed it has to do with the resolution on the WWII Jasenovac concentration camp in Croatia, which the Montenegrin parliament voted in at the end of June.