Accession of Montenegro to NATO
Encyclopedia
The accession of Montenegro to NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is in the negotiations stage as of 2010. In December 2009, Montenegro
was granted a Membership Action Plan, the final step in an application for membership in the organization. The country is expected to complete the accession process and join NATO by 2012.
(PfP) program in June 2003. Montenegro
declared independence on June 3, 2006 and soon after opened a Permanent Mission to NATO in Brussels
. The new country subsequently joined PfP at the 2006 Riga summit
. In November 2007, Montenegro signed a transit agreement with NATO, allowing the alliance's troops to move across the country. Montenegro then signed an agreement with the United States, in which Montenegro would destroy its outdated weaponry as a precondition for NATO membership. In late 2007, Montenegro's Defense Minister Boro Vučinić
said that Montenegro would intensify its accession to the alliance after the 2008 Bucharest summit
. Montenegro adopted an Individual Partnership Action Plan
in June 2008 and was invited to join the Adriatic Charter
of NATO aspirants on September 25, 2008.
Montenegro has begun to contribute its national armed forces
to NATO foreign military operations. The country plans to deploy 40 soldiers, a three member military medical team, and two officers under German
command to Afghanistan
in 2010. Montenegrin peacekeepers will also be deployed to Liberia
and Somalia
.
Montenegro has received support for its membership bid from several NATO countries, including Romania
, Turkey
and the United States
. Within Montenegro, 40% of Montenegrins are in support of NATO membership while 44% are opposed according to a January 2010 poll.
and Socialdemocratic Party of Montenegro maintain a strong desire for Montenegro to become NATO member state. In early 2009 they launched a two-year campaign with the aim of promoting accession to NATO, which is handled by the MAPA media agency under theatrical director Radmila Vojvodić. The ruling coalition of PM Milo Đukanović claims Montenegro cannot afford to remain neutral and identifies NATO and the EU as a common process of Euro-Atlantic integrations. According to a demographic breakdown of polling, citizens of pro-Serbian or pro-Russian political orientation, Eastern Orthodox Christian conservatives, women and the undereducated are the main groups that do not support NATO membership. The campaign has been somewhat successful, but received criticism from the Nansen Dialogue Centre for significant financial investment in a biased and propagandist campaign during a recession. As a direct response, the establishment of the Serb National List group launched the "No to NATO!" campaign, on a much smaller scale.
The leading opposition political party, the Socialist People's Party of Montenegro
, has remained ambiguous on the question of NATO membership. Although strong supporters of European integration, they maintain that EU and NATO integrations are completely separate paths and endorse holding a referendum. SNP CG has generally avoided giving a direct answer, but it is indirectly opposed to NATO membership. The New Serb Democracy
is an outspoken opponent of NATO membership, supporting a referendum and convinced there would be a negative outcome. The Movement for Changes
is completely neutral and supports holding a referendum, and acknowledging its result. According to Strategic Marketing's poll on the question as to whether to schedule a referendum, 72% of respondents support holding it. CATI's poll from 11-15 December 2009 on the question of its result yielded the following: 44% would vote against it, 40% would vote in favor, while 8% is unsure.
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
was granted a Membership Action Plan, the final step in an application for membership in the organization. The country is expected to complete the accession process and join NATO by 2012.
Background
The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro applied to NATO's Partnership for PeacePartnership for Peace
Partnership for Peace is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation program aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union; 22 States are members...
(PfP) program in June 2003. Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
declared independence on June 3, 2006 and soon after opened a Permanent Mission to NATO in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. The new country subsequently joined PfP at the 2006 Riga summit
2006 Riga summit
The 2006 Riga summit or the 19th NATO Summit was a NATO summit held in Riga, Latvia from November 28 until November 29, 2006. The most important topics discussed were the War in Afghanistan and the future role and borders of the alliance. Further, the summit focused on the alliance's continued...
. In November 2007, Montenegro signed a transit agreement with NATO, allowing the alliance's troops to move across the country. Montenegro then signed an agreement with the United States, in which Montenegro would destroy its outdated weaponry as a precondition for NATO membership. In late 2007, Montenegro's Defense Minister Boro Vučinić
Boro Vucinic
Boro Vučinić is the Minister of Defense of Montenegro, since 10 November 2006.As Minister of Urban Planning Vučinić was involved the sale of an old ship repair yard on the Adriatic Sea, the first major privitaization deal of Montenegro since the independence from Serbia.He has a master's degree...
said that Montenegro would intensify its accession to the alliance after the 2008 Bucharest summit
2008 Bucharest summit
The 2008 Bucharest Summit or the 20th NATO Summit was a NATO summit organized in Bucharest, Romania on 2 – 4 April 2008. Among other business, Croatia and Albania were invited to join the alliance. Republic of Macedonia was not invited due to its ongoing naming dispute with Greece...
. Montenegro adopted an Individual Partnership Action Plan
Individual Partnership Action Plan
Individual Partnership Action Plans, or IPAPs, are plans developed between NATO and different countries, that state the objectives and the communication framework for dialogue and cooperation between both parties...
in June 2008 and was invited to join the Adriatic Charter
Adriatic Charter
The Adriatic Charter is an association formed by Albania, Croatia, Republic of Macedonia and United States of America for the purpose of aiding their attempts to join NATO. The Charter was signed on 2 May 2003 in Tirana under the aegis of USA...
of NATO aspirants on September 25, 2008.
Montenegro has begun to contribute its national armed forces
Military of Montenegro
The Military of Montenegro consists of an army, navy and air force. Conscription was abolished in 2006; the military is now a fully professional standing army....
to NATO foreign military operations. The country plans to deploy 40 soldiers, a three member military medical team, and two officers under German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
command to Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
in 2010. Montenegrin peacekeepers will also be deployed to Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
and Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
.
Montenegro has received support for its membership bid from several NATO countries, including Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Within Montenegro, 40% of Montenegrins are in support of NATO membership while 44% are opposed according to a January 2010 poll.
Political views
The ruling Democratic Party of Socialists of MontenegroDemocratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro
The Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro is the ruling social-democratic political party in Montenegro....
and Socialdemocratic Party of Montenegro maintain a strong desire for Montenegro to become NATO member state. In early 2009 they launched a two-year campaign with the aim of promoting accession to NATO, which is handled by the MAPA media agency under theatrical director Radmila Vojvodić. The ruling coalition of PM Milo Đukanović claims Montenegro cannot afford to remain neutral and identifies NATO and the EU as a common process of Euro-Atlantic integrations. According to a demographic breakdown of polling, citizens of pro-Serbian or pro-Russian political orientation, Eastern Orthodox Christian conservatives, women and the undereducated are the main groups that do not support NATO membership. The campaign has been somewhat successful, but received criticism from the Nansen Dialogue Centre for significant financial investment in a biased and propagandist campaign during a recession. As a direct response, the establishment of the Serb National List group launched the "No to NATO!" campaign, on a much smaller scale.
The leading opposition political party, the Socialist People's Party of Montenegro
Socialist People's Party of Montenegro
The Socialist People's Party of Montenegro is a socialist opposition political party in Montenegro. It has 16 MPs in the Parliament of Montenegro, which it won on the 2009 parliamentary election...
, has remained ambiguous on the question of NATO membership. Although strong supporters of European integration, they maintain that EU and NATO integrations are completely separate paths and endorse holding a referendum. SNP CG has generally avoided giving a direct answer, but it is indirectly opposed to NATO membership. The New Serb Democracy
New Serb Democracy
New Serb Democracy is a political party in Montenegro, formed on 24 January 2009 as a merger of the Serbian People's Party and the People's Socialist Party of Montenegro....
is an outspoken opponent of NATO membership, supporting a referendum and convinced there would be a negative outcome. The Movement for Changes
Movement for Changes
Movement for Changes is a political party in Montenegro which has a proclaimed goal to integrate their country into the European Union and to support political and economic reforms to bring it into line with European norms...
is completely neutral and supports holding a referendum, and acknowledging its result. According to Strategic Marketing's poll on the question as to whether to schedule a referendum, 72% of respondents support holding it. CATI's poll from 11-15 December 2009 on the question of its result yielded the following: 44% would vote against it, 40% would vote in favor, while 8% is unsure.
Negotiation progress
| Event | Date | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partnership for Peace Partnership for Peace Partnership for Peace is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation program aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union; 22 States are members... |
14/12/2006 | ||||||
| Individual Partnership Action Plan Individual Partnership Action Plan Individual Partnership Action Plans, or IPAPs, are plans developed between NATO and different countries, that state the objectives and the communication framework for dialogue and cooperation between both parties... |
20/06/2008 | ||||||
| Intensified Dialogue | 03/04/2008 | ||||||
| Membership Action Plan | 04/12/2009 | ||||||
| Invitation to join | |||||||
| Accession protocol | |||||||
| Ratification by: | |||||||
| Albania Albania Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea... |
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| Belgium Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many... |
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| Bulgaria Bulgaria Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east... |
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| Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
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| Croatia Croatia Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ... |
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| Czech Republic Czech Republic The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest.... |
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| Denmark Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark... |
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| Estonia Estonia Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies... |
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| France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
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| Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
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| Greece Greece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe.... |
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| Hungary Hungary Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The... |
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| Iceland Iceland Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population... |
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| Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... |
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| Latvia Latvia Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden... |
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| Lithuania Lithuania Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark... |
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| Luxembourg Luxembourg Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south... |
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| Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
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| Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... |
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| Poland Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... |
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| Portugal Portugal Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the... |
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| Romania Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea... |
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| Slovakia Slovakia The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south... |
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| Slovenia Slovenia Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of... |
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| Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... |
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| Turkey Turkey Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe... |
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| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
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| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
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| Full membership | |||||||
See also
- Foreign relations of MontenegroForeign relations of MontenegroIn a referendum on 21 May 2006, the people of Montenegro opted to leave the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. This was confirmed with a declaration of independence by the Montenegrin parliament on 3 June 2006...
- Accession of Montenegro to the European UnionAccession of Montenegro to the European UnionThe State Union of Serbia and Montenegro started the process of Accession to the European Union in November 2005, when negotiations over a Stabilisation and Association Agreement began. In May 2006, Montenegro voted for independence in a referendum and the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro was...