Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic said on Thursday he would strive to settle outstanding bilateral issues with Croatia to allow the Western Balkan nation to join the European Union in 2028.

Montenegro hosted a Berlin Process summit, a diplomatic initiative led by Germany to accelerate the integration of Western Balkan nations into the EU, on Thursday. The event near the Montenegrin town of Budva was attended by regional political leaders, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker. Journalists asked Spajic whether an agreement could be reached with Croatia to lift its objections to Podgorica's EU accession.

"Relations between Croatia and Montenegro are important … as a signal that reconciliation is possible throughout the entire region. I believe these challenges can be overcome, and I am convinced that there will be enough wisdom on all sides, including among our 27 European partners, to recognize how crucial it is for Montenegro to close all chapters of the negotiation framework, complete the technical part of the process, and become part of the EU in 2028," Spajic told the joint press conference.

In October, the Montenegrin authorities met two of Croatia's eight demands: installing a memorial plaque at the former 1991 Morinj prisoner-of-war camp, and renaming a swimming pool in the city of Kotor that had previously been named after camp guard and water polo player Zoran Gopcevic.

Zagreb expects Podgorica to resolve issues concerning Croatians who went missing during the 1991-1995 war, return property seized from Croatian citizens in Montenegro, continue negotiations over the maritime border in the Adriatic Sea near the entrance to the Bay of Kotor, and hand over the training sailing ship Jadran. The value of the demands is estimated at 2.7 billion euros ($3 billion).

Obtaining candidate status is only the beginning of a lengthy path toward EU membership. Montenegro has held candidate status since 2010. Croatia was the last country to join the EU in 2013 after a 10-year accession process.