Montenegro will not take reciprocal measures, following the declaration as persona non grata of the Speaker of the Montenegrin Parliament Andrija Mandić, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksa Bečić and MP Milan Knežević from Croatia.
Mandic said he was surprised, but no action would be taken, Montenegrin media reported.
BGNES recalls that the three were declared "undesirable" in Croatia "due to systematic actions to undermine good-neighbourly relations and continuous abuse of Croatia for domestic political purposes", announced the Foreign Ministry in Zagreb.
"The Ministry regrets that the majority in the Parliament of Montenegro decided to ignore the continuous calls from the Republic of Croatia not to take actions that could negatively affect our bilateral relations and Montenegro's European path. In this context, the actions of the above-mentioned politicians stand out, whose behaviour cannot be considered benevolent and good-neighbourly towards the Republic of Croatia, nor is it in line with the declared goal of Montenegro's membership in the European Union," the announcement reads.
Zagreb also points out that good neighbourly relations are one of the key elements of the enlargement, stabilization and association process, as well as one of the key criteria for assessing progress in Montenegro's accession process, by the European Union's Negotiating Framework. | BGNES
