No More &

The BBC reports the Montenegro has voted to secede from Serbia and become its own sovereign nation. The tiny state that has been incorporated into Serbia and Yugoslavia since 1918 will now finally will be independent for the first time in 80 years. The Belgrade Agreement of 2002 made provisions so that Serbia would be the successor-state should Montenegro decide to leave the union. This means that Serbia will keep the seat in the U.N. as well as other such organizations and agreements. Montenegro is a state of only about 650,000 people and with only a few thousand votes uncounted about 55% of the population voted to secede. Montenegro will also now face an easier chance at petitioning the EU for membership, because Serbia has neglected to deal with certain human rights violations and war crimes.

Montenegro's Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic has been arguing that his republic would complete its integration with the EU much more quickly if it negotiated with Brussels as an independent state.
EU officials are doubtful, citing Montenegro's poor administrative capacity and its modest results in tackling corruption and organised crime. But if the suspension of talks with Serbia persists for more than a few months, Montenegro's independence advocates may yet be proved right, and Podgorica could overtake Belgrade in its talks with the EU.

Ramble On encourages Montenegro to become more zealous in its prosecution of organized crime, and then hopefully they will be considered for EU membership, which will result in the stabilization of Montenegro as well as the enlargement of the EU.