“I have never regarded the issue on the border with Croatia to be open. We have reached an agreement about it long ago and if we do not reach a final agreement, and I believe it will be difficult to agree on the Prevlaka peninsula, because many years have passed since 2002 and we have not succeeded in it, we are going to the International Court of Justice in The Hague,” Mr Vujanovic said.
According to him, after the signing of the Demarcation Agreements today in Vienna, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro may enter into a new phase – actually an old one where they were before the standstill in the relations due to the border issue – in which they will turn to wholehearted cooperation in a spirit of close relationships.
He stressed that the Demarcation Agreement between Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina was expected to be ratified in the parliaments of both countries very soon.
As he said, the acceleration of economic cooperation was a primary task of the Western Balkans, adding that there were “great opportunities” for that.
“I think we need to improve cooperation in the field of transport infrastructure because it is a precondition for developing the economy, as well as the use of shared energy resources of B&H and Montenegro. We have a chance to use the electric power transmission to Italy in order for both countries to place their electricity surpluses on the market”, Mr Vujanovic said explaining that B&H has already had those surpluses whereas Montenegro is expected to have its own soon.
Commenting on the Conference of the Western Balkans, which is to be held tomorrow in Vienna, Montenegrin president said he expected “concrete solutions, which may not be expressed at the very beginning, through the decision to invest in particular infrastructure projects in the fields of transport and energy.”
Mr Vujanovic expects that there will be strong will and decision after the conference to encourage member states and companies, banks and funds to provide a favourable line in order to implement investment projects through roads construction and use of energy potentials.
“We had good conferences in Berlin and Brussels, an excellent summit in Vienna, after which something specific must be said more clearly, maybe not in a short time, but finally we must know that this process, which we called Brdo-Brioni, will produce concrete effects”, Mr Vujanovic added.
Asked who he will support in a friendly football match between the teams of EU officials and officials of the countries aspiring to the EU membership, i.e. representatives of the Western Balkans countries, Mr Vujanovic said he is cheering for Montenegro, so he will support the team representing Montenegro and all other aspirants.
According to him, the very result of the match is not important, but it is important that it is organised in order to promote unity. Stressing that the EU is not complete without the Western Balkans, Mr Vujanovic concludes that it is a match between friends rather than rivals.
