'Not Alone in the Balkans'

Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2002
Weeks after the E.U.'s foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, launched a mission to persuade Montenegro's leaders to reconsider plans for a referendum on independence that would end the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic says he is confident that a democratic solution for future Serbian-Montenegrin relations will be found soon. After meeting Solana in Belgrade, Djukanovic said he has not yet abandoned plans to hold a referendum, but indicated he might accept E.U. suggestions to postpone it. Djukanovic had been arguing for the last six months that the best time to hold a referendum would be April or May this year.

"The international community has no intention of denying Montenegro its right to choose its future, but we are now discussing at what moment that right can be activated," Djukanovic said, adding that "Montenegro is not alone in the Balkans ... and would not ignore the interests of other [nations] in the region."

But it is far from sure that two small, pro-independence parties, the Liberal Alliance (LSCG) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), whose support is crucial to the Djukanovic government, will accept any delay. Both parties want a referendum to be held in the first half of this year. Milan Rocen, Djukanovic's foreign policy adviser, said that "it was not impossible that the two parties change their position as the negotiations continued on an E.U. compromise proposal that would keep Serbia and Montenegro inside one state, but give each a high degree of autonomy." Rocen stressed the E.U. plan could be only a temporary solution and that the government remains committed to independence.

Solana told reporters in Belgrade that he was confident a reformed and probably renamed federation was the most likely outcome. "It is very likely that we'll have to have a different name," Solana told reporters in Belgrade. A Montenegrin official told TOL that the union's new name would most likely be the Union of Serbia and Montenegro.

Solana presented the spirit, if not the full detail, of his proposal in an article on 23 February in the Podgorica daily Vijesti. "Protective mechanisms" would be in place to ensure that Serbia cannot dominate Montenegro "as in the days of Milosevic." The union would hold only one seat in the United Nations, but would allow Montenegro a "significant international role," writes Solana.

He also stressed that many aspects of the proposed package have yet to be decided in talks between Belgrade and Podgorica, but that his proposal provides each republic with the option of reconsidering the arrangement. The E.U. foreign policy chief assured Montenegro that the European Union "has never forgotten the key role it played during the dark years of Milosevic." According to Solana, the E.U. offers its views on Montenegro's future status as "the true expression of concern from a true friend and a future European partner."

Citing sources close to the talks, Belgrade's independent B-92 radio station reported that the E.U. has made broad concessions to Djukanovic by proposing a union without a president and only a symbolic federal administration. Serbia and Montenegro would have separate currencies, customs, and tax systems.

Solana wishes to see the agreement concluded by 15 March, but there has been considerable opposition to the proposed arrangements from the Serbian government. While Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica indicated he might support the proposal, other Serbian leaders dismissed it as ridiculous.

Serbian Justice Minister Vladan Batic said the state would be "visible and invisible at the same time." "Serbians should be given the opportunity to decide in a referendum" on what, if any, ties they maintain to Montenegro, Batic said. He reiterated that Serbia existed as a sovereign state before Yugoslavia was created in 1918, and "now it is the time to put an end to the historical mistake called Yugoslavia ... anything else represents a continuation of the agony."

Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic said he would not accept "a rotten compromise" under which "something artificially glued together would be called a state." Serbian Finance Minister Bozidar Djelic said that different tax systems and customs on imported goods "would create a playground for smugglers and require a border control regime between the two republics," Djelic said. That would "look like a financial Frankenstein — impossible for a common market and the free flow of goods."

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