Juncker Urges Montenegro to Settle Aluminium Case

The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, on Tuesday warned Montenegro that it risks bankruptcy if it loses an arbitration case with the Central European Aluminium Company, CEAC, which is seeking almost a billion euro in compensation for its alleged losses in the country.

Junker urged Montenegro to negotiate an agreement over the KAP aluminum plant, which the Russian company managed until 2013, when the company was officially declared bankrupt.

"A billion euro is a third of the Gross Domestic Product of Montenegro," Juncker observed to the Spanish newspaper, El Nuevo Lunes.

Speaking further, about the expansion of the European Union and about candidate countries in the Balkans, Junker said Montenegro was making progress in its EU membership negotiations but was "still far" from being ready to join the club, partly because of corruption issues.

"The European Parliament's draft resolution suggests that corruption remains a serious problem and that attacks against journalists continue," he added.

In March 2014, CEAC filed a request to the international court for arbitration against the government of Montenegro over the KAP aluminum plant's bankruptcy.

CEAC, which is based in Cyprus and owned by the Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, claimed that the Montenegrin government had interfered with the investment process, causing major damages to the company and the subsequent loss of investment. KAP, once largest company in the country, went bankrupt as a result, it says.

The government rejects the claims, describing CEAC's demands against Montenegro as unfounded and accusing the company of causing the problems.

The European Commission 2014 Progress Report on Montenegro...