Montenegro Signs NATO’s PfP Status of Forces Agreement
On December 12 2008 at a ceremony at the Department of State, Montenegrin Ambassador to the United States Miodrag Vlahovic signed NATO’s Partnership for Peace (PfP) Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) for which the United States is the depositary government. Montenegro was invited to join Partnership for Peace at the NATO Summit in Riga in November 2006. The SOFA provides certain protections for Montenegrin forces in other NATO Partner countries.
The signing of this agreement is another welcome indication of Montenegro’s growing integration into the Euro-Atlantic community.
Montenegro, Montenegrin/Serbian: Црна Гора, Crna Gora is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south and borders Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the north and east, the disputed entity of Kosovo to the north and east, and Albania to the south. Its capital and largest city is Podgorica, while Cetinje is designated as the Prijestonica (Пријестоница), meaning the former Royal Capital City.
The use of the name Montenegro began in the 15th century when the Crnojevic dynasty began to rule the Serbian principality of Zeta; over subsequent centuries Montenegro was able to maintain its independence from the Ottoman Empire. From the 16th to 19th centuries, Montenegro became a theocracy ruled by a series of bishop princes; in 1852, it was transformed into a secular principality. After World War I, Montenegro was absorbed by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which became the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929; at the conclusion of World War II, it became a constituent republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. When the latter dissolved in 1992, Montenegro federated with Serbia, first as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and, after 2003, in a looser union of Serbia and Montenegro. In May 2006, Montenegro invoked its right under the Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro to hold a referendum on independence from the state union. The vote for severing ties with Serbia exceeded 55% - the threshold set by the EU - allowing Montenegro to formally declare its independence on 3 June 2006.
This is the smallest of the former Yugoslav republics, with a population of 620,145 according to the 2003 census. Out of these, 70 percent belong to one form or another of Orthodox Christianity. The largest ethnic group of the population is Montenegrins, at 43 percent, then Serbs at 32 percent, followed by Bosnians , Albanians, Croatians and other smaller ethnic groups.
Montenegro became a member of the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Council of Europe and Montenegro is also a founding member of the Union for the Mediterranean.
The Government of Montenegro has begun the process of forming new, professional armed forces for the self-defense of the country in line with NATO standards.
The military forces of Montenegro were formed on the basis of those troops located on the territory of Montenegro at the time that the independence referendum was passed. In June, the government adopted a strategy document—the National Security Strategy of Montenegro —that lays out the early stages of the process of reforming the armed forces. The Defense Strategy, Military Doctrine, the Law on Defense, and the Law on the Armed Forces are still in draft form. Based on a decision by President Filip Vujanovic on 29 July 2006, the draft has been abolished and Montenegro’s armed forces is to be transformed into a professional force. The new government has also created a Ministry of Defense, which did not exist previously. The reform process began by cutting the armed forces from 6000 service members in 2004 to 2500 in late 2006.
The military force now consists of the following organizational elements:
General Staff of Montenegro Armed Forces
Honor Battalion
Military Police Company
Special Operations Brigade
Training and Support Brigade
Air Force Base
Naval Base.
Montenegro is one of the newest members of the Partnership for Peace, joining in December 2006. Within this framework NATO and Montenegro are developing cooperation with a focus on democratic, institutional and defense reforms, as well as practical cooperation in other areas. Montenegro agreed with NATO its first Individual Partnership Program (IPP) in January 2008, which lays out the program of cooperation between the country and NATO.
According to the IPP, in 2008 Montenegro continues implementation of IPP with a focus on: Language Training, Medical Services, Military Education, Consultation, Command and Control, Defense Policy and Strategy, Defense Planning, Budgeting and Resource Management, Civil Emergency Planning and Disaster Preparedness, Logistics. Montenegro will also develop IPP for the period 2009-2010.
At the NATO Summit in Bucharest in April 2008, following Montenegro's decisions to develop an Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) with NATO, Montenegro was invited to progress to the next step towards membership to begin an Intensified Dialogue (ID) with NATO on the full range of political, military, financial, and security issues relating to their Euro Atlantic aspirations.
In June 2008, Montenegro presented its Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) to deepen cooperation with NATO, and a first round of staff-level consultations opened the country’s Intensified Dialogue with NATO on its membership aspirations and related reforms.
On December 15 2008 Montenegro filed a formal application for EU membership during the final days of the French EU Presidency, despite the fact that the forthcoming Czech Presidency is more supportive of the Balkan country's accession bid. In the presence of Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, Montenegro's Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic officially presented his country's EU candidacy to French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysée Palace in Paris.
The anticipated move by Montenegro is expected to encourage Serbia and Albania to follow suit and formally apply for EU membership.
References:
- PfP Consortium of Military Academies and Security Studies Institutions http://consortium.pims.org
- PIMS Members Site https://members.pims.org
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization http://www.nato.int
- International Relations and Security Network http://www.isn.ethz.ch/
- Government of Montenegro http://www.gov.me/eng/
- Vojska Crne Gore http://www.vcg.cg.yu/