JOINT DECLARATION ON A POLITICAL DIALOGUE
BETWEEN THE EU AND MONTENEGRO
Letter from Rt Hon Geoff Hoon MP, Minister
for Europe, Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the Chairman
I am writing to advise you of the Presidency's
proposal for a Joint Declaration on a political dialogue between
the EU and Montenegro. This political dialogue will take place
through: high-level meetings between Montenegro and the EU, in
the Troika format; bilateral and multilateral exchange of information
on foreign policy decisions; and contacts at parliamentary level.
This dialogue is part of the Stabilisation and Association process
and runs in parallel to, but separate from, the Stabilisation
and Associations negotiations.
On 21 May 2006, in a referendum assessed as
free and fair by the international community, the Republic of
Montenegro voted for independence from the State Union of Serbia
and Montenegro (SaM). Independence was formally declared on 3
June and the UK recognised Montenegro as an independent sovereign
state on 13 June. On 5 June, the National Assembly in Belgrade
declared the Republic of Serbia to be the continuing international
personality of SaM. This was in accordance with the SaM Constitutional
Charter and is a position which the UK accepts.
Serbia has inherited the Joint Declaration on
a political dialogue between the EU and SaM, and the Presidency
now proposes a new version for Montenegro, albeit based closely
on the text of the SaM Declaration. This is very much a procedural
process. I enclose for your information a draft copy of the Joint
Declaration. We do not expect this draft to change significantly
but I shall send you the final version when it emerges.
24 July 2006
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