Montenegro votes for independence

PODGORICA – Montenegro was set to become the world’s newest state after official results showed 55,5 per cent of voters had chosen independence, ending nearly a century of formal ties to Serbia and closing the last chapter in the story of Yugoslavia.

The referendum commission president, Fratisek Lipka, told a news conference the “Yes” vote had passed the target majority of 55 per cent set by the European Union for recognition of the result. Turnout was 86,3 per cent.Lipka said the issue of a few contested polling stations had been dealt with and no formal complaints had been handed in after Sunday’s ballot.Montenegro has a population of just 650 000, with a rugged coast and even more rugged mountains in a territory about the size of Northern Ireland.Tourism is its planned ticket to prosperity, and talks leading to EU membership an early target.”I am convinced Montenegro could be the next country from this region to join the European Union, after Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia, which are further along the process,” Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, who has been pushing for independence for the past 10 years, said on Monday amid scenes of celebration.Serbia reluctantly conceded that its little cousin on the Adriatic had opted to split, and the European Union quickly approved a separation it had once tried to prevent, fearing further instability in Europe’s most turbulent corner.The European Commission said yesterday it would recommend talks on closer ties with Montenegro, setting it on the road to eventual EU membership.”The European perspective is open to Montenegro …”Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said in a statement, adding that the Commission would now prepare separate proposals for negotiating Stabilisation and Association Agreements with Serbia and Montenegro.Ursula Plassnik, foreign minister of current EU president Austria, praised the way the path to independence had been prepared, saying the referendum “…shows that the peoples of the region have learnt from the past and are now taking their decisions about the future peacefully and democratically.”Moscow, a traditional ally of the Serbs, said it accepted the referendum result and was confident of good relations with the new state.”Moscow respects the will of the Montenegro citizens…”a foreign ministry statement said.”For Russia, Montenegro and Serbia will remain close and solid partners.”Djukanovic, who led the long campaign to revive the independence Montenegro last enjoyed in 1918, said he had a plan ready to present to Belgrade on the practical steps needed for formal separation.Djukanovic had primed the pump for independence with projects including a new airport terminal and a smart section of new highway to the sea.He says Montenegro – the name means Black Mountain – will get a United Nations seat by September.Independence advocates believe Montenegro has a better chance of development and EU membership on its own than in a dysfunctional union with Serbia, which has a population of 7,5 million and a big hangover from its role in the Balkan wars of the 1990s.The divorce leaves Serbia alone to deal with more pressing issues, such as talks on potential independence for its breakaway Kosovo province and EU aspirations now in limbo because of its failure to deliver Bosnian Serb fugitive Ratko Mladic to The Hague war crimes tribunal.- Nampa-ReutersTurnout was 86,3 per cent.Lipka said the issue of a few contested polling stations had been dealt with and no formal complaints had been handed in after Sunday’s ballot.Montenegro has a population of just 650 000, with a rugged coast and even more rugged mountains in a territory about the size of Northern Ireland.Tourism is its planned ticket to prosperity, and talks leading to EU membership an early target.”I am convinced Montenegro could be the next country from this region to join the European Union, after Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia, which are further along the process,” Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, who has been pushing for independence for the past 10 years, said on Monday amid scenes of celebration.Serbia reluctantly conceded that its little cousin on the Adriatic had opted to split, and the European Union quickly approved a separation it had once tried to prevent, fearing further instability in Europe’s most turbulent corner.The European Commission said yesterday it would recommend talks on closer ties with Montenegro, setting it on the road to eventual EU membership.”The European perspective is open to Montenegro …”Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said in a statement, adding that the Commission would now prepare separate proposals for negotiating Stabilisation and Association Agreements with Serbia and Montenegro.Ursula Plassnik, foreign minister of current EU president Austria, praised the way the path to independence had been prepared, saying the referendum “…shows that the peoples of the region have learnt from the past and are now taking their decisions about the future peacefully and democratically.”Moscow, a traditional ally of the Serbs, said it accepted the referendum result and was confident of good relations with the new state.”Moscow respects the will of the Montenegro citizens…”a foreign ministry statement said.”For Russia, Montenegro and Serbia will remain close and solid partners.”Djukanovic, who led the long campaign to revive the independence Montenegro last enjoyed in 1918, said he had a plan ready to present to Belgrade on the practical steps needed for formal separation.Djukanovic had primed the pump for independence with projects including a new airport terminal and a smart section of new highway to the sea.He says Montenegro – the name means Black Mountain – will get a United Nations seat by September.Independence advocates believe Montenegro has a better chance of development and EU membership on its own than in a dysfunctional union with Serbia, which has a population of 7,5 million and a big hangover from its role in the Balkan wars of the 1990s.The divorce leaves Serbia alone to deal with more pressing issues, such as talks on potential independence for its breakaway Kosovo province and EU aspirations now in limbo because of its failure to deliver Bosnian Serb fugitive Ratko Mladic to The Hague war crimes tribunal.- Nampa-Reuters

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