The Government of Montenegro announced on Friday that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had informed the United States in a note verbale that it wished to terminate the bilateral agreement on the exemption of American citizens from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC/ICC).
Montenegrin authorities say the ministry did so in order to close Chapter 31 in the negotiations with the European Union – foreign, security and defence policy.
In addition, the government adds that the copy of a note verbale was sent to the European Commission on 1 October, as agreed before.
Asked by Voice of America (VoA) to comment on the decision of the Montenegrin government and how it might affect the relations between the two countries, the US Department of State said that “the United States strongly support Montenegro’s accession to the European Union”.
Having in mind the alliance and partnership relations between the two countries, it is to be expected that the issue of the agreement will be treated diplomatically, “without major tensions”, Sinisa Vukovic, a professor at the American Johns Hopkins University, assesses for VoA.
However, Mr Vukovic questions the timing of the decision of the Montenegrin government coming ahead of the US election in November. He considers that there’s a possibility for this issue to be politicised and make the relations between the two more complicated “if it becomes a part of the discourse used in the midst of the election campaign”.
The Europe Union, on the other hand, hasn’t responded to the request of VoA to comment on the decision of the Montenegrin government.
