(5/06/06) MONTENEGRODECLARES FORMAL INDEPENDENCE FROM SERBIA. (Balkan Watch)

• 2006-06-06
• Europa in de wereld

The Montenegrin parliament voted on June 3 to separate from its union with Serbia. This followed an endorsement by the Montenegrin Referendum Commission of the results of the Montenegrin independence referendum held on May 21. According to the Commission’s EU-appointed head, Slovak diplomat Frantisek Lipka, the final vote registered 55.5 percent for independence and 45.5 percent opposed. Almost 86.5 percent of registered voters participated. Lipka concluded that, “The referendum was fair and legitimate.”

Pro-unionist MPs boycotted the parliamentary session and Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has refused to officially congratulate Montenegro’s proindependence leaders on the referendum, but Serbian President Boris Tadic has publicly acknowledged the finality of the referendum results and wished the Montenegrins well on their road to European integration.

Negotiations between Montenegro and Serbia to work out formal separation details are expected to begin shortly. Serbia is also expected to make an independence declaration of its own. Relations between the two republics have mostly gone without incident since the referendum. Unionists in Montenegro conducted peaceful protests against the referendum and their MPs boycotted the independence vote in parliament. An important issue during separation talks will be how to treat the sizable Serbian minority in Montenegro. Meanwhile, European leaders have accepted Montenegro’s independence and are prepared to engage Montenegro directly in accession negotiations. EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn traveled to Podgorica to deliver a positive message to the architect of Montenegro’s independence, Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic. Accession talks with Serbia remain suspended due to the failure of the Kostunica government to arrest indicted war criminal Ratko Mladic. Rehn was confident that an agreement between an independent Montenegro and the EU could be reached by the end of the year. He also stated his hopes that the separation will be a “velvet divorce.”