Montenegro Heading For Early Elections and EU Membership Talks
The small, and newish independent state has applied for EU-membership and is heading towards an early election. The opposition claims that the long-time prime minister and president, wants to head the polls before the world economic crisis hits the country more severly. However, Mr Djukanoivic can claim that after the declaration of independence, in which he played a key role, the parties have agreed on an early election, and anyway, he enjoys widespread popularity in the electorate. The prime minister thinks that the a freshly elected legislation and a government with a new four-year mandate can finish accession negotiations with the EU. We will see on 29 March.
My opinion is that the tiny state with its 0,6 million inhabitants and beautiful Adriatic resorts could be very easily swallowed by the Union – just like the 0.3 million-strong Icelandic state. The small country that has broken up a loose federation with Serbia could be held as a positive example for Serbia, which is also turning into an ever firmer EU-friendly direction. The economic and social risks for an early accession are very tiny for the EU, while the economic and strategic gains are quite huge. I think it takes European leadership to grasp this.
Link: Earlier posts on Montenegro. There is some discussion on Montenegro has applied for EU membership.
A Central European perspective 
