The Island of Vukovar ( sh, Vukovarska ada / Вуковарска ада, or ) is a disputed

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

on the river

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

. It is situated close to the city of

Vukovar Vukovar () ( sr-Cyrl, Вуковар, hu, Vukovár, german: Wukowar) is a city in Croatia, in the eastern region of Slavonia. It contains Croatia's largest river port, located at the confluence of the Vuka and the Danube. Vukovar is the seat of ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. During the existence of SFR Yugoslavia the island was part of

SR Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), or SR Croatia, was a constituent republic and federated state of the Sociali ...

. In 1991 Croatia declared independence. It was the opinion of the

Badinter Arbitration Committee The Arbitration Commission of the Conference on Yugoslavia (commonly known as Badinter Arbitration Committee) was an arbitration body set up by the Council of Ministers of the European Economic Community (EEC) on 27 August 1991 to provide the confer ...

that the borders between the republics should become the borders between the countries, but it was under Serbian control like other parts of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srem (east Croatia) at the time. In the Croatian War of Independence, the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska ar ...

and Serbian paramilitary forces occupied the island. After the

Erdut Agreement The Erdut Agreement ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Erdutski sporazum, Ердутски споразум), officially the Basic Agreement on the Region of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium, was an agreement reached on 12 November 1 ...

in 1998, Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srem were rejoined with Croatia, but the island of Vukovar was left under control of Serbia, as was the Šarengrad island. In 2004 Serbia largely withdrew its army from the island, but the police completely took over border control in 2006. In 2006, the island's beaches were opened to the public for the first time since the war.Vukovarska Ada nakon 16 godina otvorena za kupanje
dnevnik.hr; accessed 20 November 2016. The island is maintained by Vukovar's ''Sports Recreation Society Dunav''. Croatian citizens, for the first time in 16 years, were allowed on the island without passports or border permits. This border regime applies during summer months (until 15 September) between 7 am and 8 pm. One part of the peace agreements has been the short-term deal that Croatia will control the western part and Serbia eastern part of the Danube. The official Serbian position is that the Badinter Arbitration Committee opinion is invalid and that this short-term deal between Croatia and Serbia is to be the future border between the states thus Vukovar island is part of Serbia as it is closer to the Serbian shoreline.
Serbian rejection of Badinter Arbitration Committee decision], novosti.rs; accessed 20 November 2016. In a statement to the Croatian daily newspaper '' Novi list'' in February 2012, Croatia's then-President,

Ivo Josipović Ivo Josipović (; born 28 August 1957) is a Croatian academic, jurist, and politician who served as President of Croatia from 2010 to 2015. Josipović entered politics as a member of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ), and played a key ...

, said both countries needed a flexible solution for the border disputes on the Danube river which would be a combination of solutions proposed by both countries. The Croatian president said that whatever the adopted solution, it would be good if the Island of Vukovar eventually remained on the Croatian side of border.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Island Of Vukovar Islands of the Danube River islands of Croatia Territorial disputes of Croatia Territorial disputes of Serbia Croatia–Serbia border River islands of Serbia Disputed islands Geography of Vukovar-Syrmia County

See also

References