European Union is against Montenegro’s policy

The negotiations pertaining to the future of the Yugoslavian federation are entering their final phase, and now they more and more look like a fake. This time, the negotiations (between the representatives of Serbia and Montenegro) are taking place in Brussels. The agreement about the meeting was achieved between Voislav Kostunica, the leader of Yugoslavia, Serbian premier Zoran Djindjic, the leader of Montenegro Milo Djukanovic, and European Union’s representative Javier Solana in Belgrade on January 25.

The government of Montenegro keeps insisting that the present Yugoslavia will not survive and they will continue to push the idea of an independent Montenegro, according to the head of the Montenergro foreign ministry said. It was added that they had started negotiations with the European Union only because of their wish for a dialogue and corporate relations with the EU.

In the meantime, the administration of the European Union firmly stands for the preservation of Montenegro’s status as a part of Yugoslavia. The EU is concerned with the fact that the centrifugal processes in the region may not bring good for a united Europe. Javier Solana said that it was necessary to avoid the further division of the Balkans. Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou stated during a meeting with the delegations from Austria and Italy that the EU was against the possible referendum about the status of Montenegro, and called upon Montenegro and Serbia to proceed from the interests of an all-European perspective.

Montenegro itself thinks that the European Union is trying to persuade them in the preservation of the bad federal model. Branko Lukovac, the foreign minister of Montenegro, said that it was better for the republic to develop regional cooperation, being an independent subject. The premier of Montenegro rejected the latest offer from the president of the country, Voislav Kostunica, pertaining to the establishment of a Security council on the federal level. February was set as the deadline for the solution of the crisis.

If Montenegro’s claims are not acknowledged, then the government of the republic will carry out a referendum about the status of the territory this spring. In this case, Belgrade will have to give up and start coordinating the actions of the internationally recognized Serbia and Montenegro.

Belgrade is not going to give up. Stefan Branisavlevic, a columnist from Komentar news center, said that the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) was doing its best to ease the future division of the Serbian ethnic and historical territories. DOS does not at all help Serbian refugees return to their homes in Kosovo, and it does not help Kosovo to be incorporated into the federation again – it actually assists in separatism in Montenegro, Vojvodina, and Raska. This is not really surprising, for DOS consists of anti-Serbian parties, which set up a coalition, despite the differences in their programs. Their common goal was to overthrow Slobodan Milosevic. As far as president Kostunica is concerned, the Serbian people put their faith in him, but it turned out that he became a cover up for the intrigues of the pro-Western Serbian puppets. What is the point of the preservation of the Yugoslavian federation in this case?

Sergey Stefanov PRAVDA.Ru

Translated by Dmitry Sudakov