Serbia and Montenegro
| Савезна Република Југославија Државна Заједница Србија и Црна Гора |
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Savezna Republika Jugoslavija Državna Zajednica Srbija i Crna Gora |
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| Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992–2003) State Union of Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006) |
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| Official language | Serbian | ||||
| Capital | Belgrade | ||||
| Head of state |
President of the FR of Yugoslavia 1992–1993: Dobrica Ćosić 1993–1997: Zoran Lilić 1997–2000: Slobodan Milošević 2000–2003: Vojislav Koštunica President of Serbia and Montenegro 2003–2006: Svetozar Marović |
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| Head of government |
Prime Minister of the FR Yugoslavia Prime Minister of Serbia and Montenegro |
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| surface | 102,350 km² | ||||
| population | 10,829,175 (July 2005) | ||||
| Population density | 105 inhabitants per km² | ||||
| currency | Serbia: Dinar Kosovo and Montenegro: Euro |
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| founding | April 27, 1992 (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) February 4, 2003 (Serbia-Montenegro) |
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| resolution | June 3rd / 5th June 2006 | ||||
| National anthem | Hej Sloveni | ||||
| Time zone | UTC +1 | ||||
| License Plate | SCG | ||||
| ISO 3166 | CS, SCG, 891 | ||||
| Internet TLD | .yu (.cs was reserved but never delegated) | ||||
| Phone code | +381 (used by Serbia today) | ||||
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Serbia and Montenegro ( Serbian Србија и Црна Гора / Srbija i Crna Gora ), also called "Serbia-Montenegro" or Serbia / Montenegro , was a federal state in Southeastern Europe . It existed under this official name from February 4, 2003 to June 3, 2006, consisted of the states of Serbia and Montenegro and thus replaced the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which had existed since April 27, 1992, was territorially and legally identical . This was the largest successor state of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia , which collapsed in the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s, and was also called the rest of Yugoslavia in the international public at the time . The legal successor to Serbia and Montenegro is the Republic of Serbia , which is also a member of the UN . In early June 2006, Montenegro declared after a referendum for independent .
Administrative and military control of Kosovo has been with the United Nations and KFOR since the end of the Kosovo war in 1999 (i.e. for almost three and a half years of Serbia-Montenegro's existence) .
history
In 1992 the republics of Serbia and Montenegro formed the "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" ( Savezna Republika Jugoslavija ), also known as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRJ or FRY) and the rest of Yugoslavia . On February 4, 2003, this was transformed into the Confederation of Serbia and Montenegro ( Srbija i Crna Gora ).
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
On April 27, 1992, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was founded from the republics of Serbia and Montenegro. A new constitution had previously been passed with 73 votes against, one against and three abstentions by the remaining MPs in the Federal Parliament of the SFRY, the Kosovar Albanians boycotted the vote on the new constitution and the proclamation of the FR of Yugoslavia. On the night of April 23rd to 24th, 1992, the new constitution was approved by the parliaments of Serbia and Montenegro. In a referendum on March 1, 1992 in Montenegro, with a turnout of 65%, around two thirds voted for the new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was elected by both chambers of the Federal Parliament, the Federal Assembly, for a period of four years; re-election was permitted. The citizens elected the first chamber, the chamber of citizens, while the second chamber, the chamber of the republics, was composed of representatives from the parliaments of the two constituent republics. The president was allowed to dissolve the federal parliament. The prime minister as head of government was entrusted by the state president to form a government and parliament had to express its confidence in him. The ministerial and state presidents were not allowed to come from the same republic. Jurisdiction rests with a constitutional court, a supreme court and the courts of the republics. The previous organs of the SFRY continued their functions until the organs of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia were constituted. On May 4, the Yugoslav Presidency found that the affairs of the Yugoslav People's Army in Bosnia and Herzegovina no longer fell under the jurisdiction of the Yugoslav authorities.
On May 31, the Socialist Party of Serbian President Milošević won the election to the Yugoslav federal parliament and received an absolute majority. The opposition parties Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) led by Vuk Drašković and the Democratic Party (DS) boycotted the elections. The nationalist Serbian Radical Party (SRS) of Vojislav Šešelj was the second strongest party in Serbia with 28% and came in Montenegro with 10%; a newly formed communist party came to about 10% in Montenegro. The Kosovar Albanians boycotted the parliamentary elections. Local elections were also held in the FR of Yugoslavia. CSCE election observers found that the conditions for free and fair elections were not met. After the constitution of both chambers of parliament, the parliament elected Dobrica Ćosić as president on June 15 . The non-party Milan Panić was appointed Prime Minister on July 1 and formed a government of socialists. However, the Serbian President Milošević remained the most powerful man in the FR of Yugoslavia. In a referendum in the predominantly Serbian areas of Croatia and Bosnia in June 1992, the majority voted to remain with the rest of Yugoslavia; the Bosnian Serbs proclaimed the Republika Srpska under their leader Radovan Karadžić . Milošević and the Yugoslav government supported the Serbs in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
On July 1st, the new dinar was introduced, the equivalent of 10 old dinars and pegged to the US dollar. In May 1992 the Kosovar Albanians elected Ibrahim Rugova from the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) as president and the LDK as the strongest party in autonomously organized presidential and parliamentary elections . On September 26, 1991, 90% of Kosovars voted for Kosovo's independence. The new leadership of the Kosovar Albanians did not recognize the FR of Yugoslavia. The Kosovar parliament and government went into exile in Albania. The LDK called for passive resistance.
The EC and the USA withdrew their ambassadors from Yugoslavia in May and did not recognize the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as the legal successor to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On May 27, 1992, the EC decided to impose sanctions on the FR of Yugoslavia. They included a trade embargo, the blocking of Yugoslav accounts abroad with the banning of most remittances, and the suspension of economic cooperation and the granting of export credit assistance. On May 30, the UN Security Council passed resolution 757 on stricter sanctions against the FR of Yugoslavia. These included a full trade embargo, a ban on oil deliveries and the cessation of air traffic to the FR of Yugoslavia. The Yugoslav foreign balances were frozen and financial transactions were prevented. This resolution called for the FR of Yugoslavia to comply with previous UN Security Council resolutions, the withdrawal of the Yugoslav army from Bosnia-Herzegovina, the disarming of Yugoslav soldiers who remained in Bosnia-Herzegovina and an end to the forced relocations. On June 8, the Yugoslav General Staff announced the completion of the withdrawal of the Yugoslav army from Bosnia-Herzegovina. Contrary to the resolutions, the soldiers of the Yugoslav army from Bosnia-Herzegovina and the equipment remained under the control of the Serbian Bosnians. According to the decision of the International Court of Justice, the FR of Yugoslavia was not held directly responsible for the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, but it did not do anything to prevent the war and was jointly responsible in this sense.
On September 19, 1992, the UN Security Council resolved with Resolution 777 that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), consisting of Serbia and Montenegro, could not automatically become the legal successor of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as a member state of the UN, but could instead be anew like the other successor states apply for membership. The General Assembly of the United Nations in New York confirmed this by majority vote (approval of 127 countries with 26 abstentions and six votes against). The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is therefore no longer allowed to take up the seat of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the UN General Assembly. However, since the FRY had always unwaveringly viewed itself as identical to this under international law and refused to accept the contrary resolution, it lost its seat in the UN General Assembly.
On December 20, 1992, early elections to the Chamber of Citizens took place in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, as well as presidential and parliamentary elections in the two republics of Serbia and Montenegro. The Socialist Party of Serbia remained the strongest party, but lost an absolute majority, the Serbian Radical Party gained significantly and became the second strongest force. The bourgeois opposition parties received 40 seats. In both republics, the socialist parties were confirmed in the parliamentary elections. Slobodan Milošević was re-elected in the first ballot against Milan Panić, Momir Bulatović was re-elected as Montenegrin President in the runoff election on January 10, 1993. International election observers discovered irregularities in the elections.
The sanctions against Yugoslavia were monitored from January 1, 1993. They led to a severe economic crisis. The Yugoslav dinar lost value and inflation ran rampant. Unemployment rose sharply. Despite the embargo, Russia and Romania delivered weapons to the rest of Yugoslavia. On January 1, 1993, UN peacekeeping forces were stationed on the border between Yugoslavia and Macedonia . After the constitution of the Chamber of Citizens in January 1993, the Federal Assembly overthrew the Yugoslav Prime Minister Panić by a large majority. President Dobrica Ćosić entrusted the Montenegrin Radoje Kontić (DSP) with forming a government on February 9th. On March 2, Kontić was elected Prime Minister by the Federal Assembly and on March 3, 1993, both chambers of the Federal Assembly expressed their confidence in the new minority government. The government was tolerated by the SRS of Šešelj. In February 1993 the UN Security Council passed a resolution to establish a UN war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. In March 1993, Bosnia and Herzegovina brought charges against the FR of Yugoslavia at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
On June 1, 1993, at the request of the SRS and supported by SPS and DPS, the Yugoslav parliament decided to initiate impeachment proceedings against President Ćosić for violating the constitution. Both chambers of the Federal Assembly deposed Ćosić and on June 25 elected the previous President of the Serbian Parliament Zoran Lilić (SPS) as the new Yugoslav President. The leader of the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) Vuk Drašković was temporarily arrested and severely ill-treated.
After the Bosnian Serbs rejected the peace plan for Bosnia-Herzegovina in August 1994, the Yugoslav government stopped delivering arms to the Bosnian Serbs' rebels on August 4th and broke off political and economic relations. Only the delivery of humanitarian goods was excluded. The UN sanctions were initially relaxed. From September 16, 1994, the stationing of UN observers on the border between Yugoslavia and Bosnia-Herzegovina began after the Yugoslav leadership had agreed to the surveillance. After the Croatian army took Krajina, which was previously controlled by Serbs, in early August 1995, numerous Krajina Serbs fled to Yugoslavia. After the conclusion of the peace talks mediated by the USA, the EU, Russia and the UN in Dayton on November 21, 1995 on the end of the Bosnian War, the UN Security Council suspended the sanctions against Yugoslavia on November 23 and later lifted them completely. The Dayton Peace Agreement was signed in Paris on December 14, 1995.
Relations with the Republic of Croatia were normalized in early 1996; on April 8, Yugoslavia and Macedonia signed an agreement on the normalization of relations. In the first half of 1996 the EU member states normalized their relations with Yugoslavia. Great Britain and Austria established diplomatic relations on April 16 and Germany on April 17.
On November 3, 1996, elections to the Chamber of Citizens and local elections took place in both republics. Together with the Alliance of Yugoslav Left (JUL) of Milošević's wife Mirjana Marković and the New Democracy party, the SPS won 64 seats; together with the Socialist Party of Montenegro (DPS) they obtained a majority. The opposition alliance Zajedno from the SPO of Vuk Drašković, DS of Zoran Đinđić , DSS of Vojislav Koštunica and the Citizens' Alliance (GSS) of Vesna Pešić had 22 seats; Vojislav Šešelj's SRS received 16 mandates. Other seats went to smaller parties and representatives of ethnic minorities. Kontić was confirmed as prime minister and formed a coalition government from the alliance of the Serbian Left Alliance and the DPS. In the second round of local elections in Serbia on November 17, 1996, the opposition alliance Zajedno won in 15 of 18 large cities. As a result, numerous election results were canceled and new elections were held on November 27th, which Zajedno boycotted because of feared election fraud. In the new elections, the previous incumbents were victorious again. Mass protests began against the local election results. An OSCE report dated December 27, 1996 found that the opposition had won in 13 of 18 major cities and 9 of 16 electoral districts in Belgrade. On January 3, 1997, the Serbian leadership only partially recognized the election victory of the opposition, including in the capital Belgrade and Niš. Only after further protests did the Serbian parliament pass a special law on February 11 to recognize the local election results of November 17, 1996. The Zajedno opposition alliance broke up after a few months due to internal differences and disputes.
At the beginning of July 1997 the Serbian Republic President Milošević resigned, was elected President of Yugoslavia on July 15, 1997 and sworn in on July 23. He was still the most powerful politician in Yugoslavia. The previous Yugoslav President Lilić lost to the nationalist challenger Vojislav Šešelj in the runoff election for Serbian President on October 5. However, since the turnout was too low, the election was invalid. When the election was repeated on December 7th, Yugoslav Foreign Minister Milan Milutinović (SPS) ran, was elected in the runoff election on December 27th and was appointed to office on December 29th.
In the Yugoslav republic of Montenegro there was a power struggle within the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro (DPS) between the president, party chairman and close allies of Miloševićs Momir Bulatović and Prime Minister Milo Đukanović . On July 11th, Bulatović was overthrown as party leader and replaced by Đukanović. Bulatović resigned from the DPS and founded the Socialist People's Party (SNP), which was closely associated with the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS). In the presidential election in Montenegro on October 5, Đukanović faced incumbent Bulatović and won the runoff on October 19, 1997. In February 1998 he took office as President of the Republic of Montenegro. He commissioned the non-party Filip Vujanović as Prime Minister to form a new government made up of the DPS and Social Democrats (SDP). The new Montenegrin leadership strove for greater independence from the federal government and Serbia. On January 1, 1999, Montenegro decided to introduce the Deutsche Mark as its currency and to establish its own customs border.
On 28 November 1997, resigned in Kosovo KLA at the funeral of a policeman shot by Albanian Kosovar teacher for the first time in public on. The Serbian special police MUP attacked several villages in the Drenica region in February 1998 in order to kill KLA leaders. This led to the Drenica massacre . There were further massacres in March with many victims. An armed conflict broke out between the Yugoslav and Serbian security forces and the Albanian resistance group UÇK on the other side (see Kosovo War ). The OSCE and the Kosovo Contact Group called on both sides to find a peaceful solution to the conflict. In resolution 1160, the UN Security Council decided on an embargo against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and called for negotiations to reach a solution to the Kosovo conflict. In a referendum in April, the Serbian citizens rejected any international mediation.
At the instigation of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević, the Yugoslav Prime Minister Radoje Kontić was overthrown by the Yugoslav parliament on May 19. On May 21, 1998, President Milošević appointed Momir Bulatović as the new Prime Minister, whom Parliament expressed its confidence in. The government of the Republic of Montenegro recognized neither the Yugoslav parliament nor the Yugoslav government Bulatović and distanced itself from the FR of Yugoslavia and Serbia. On May 31, the DPS won the early parliamentary elections in Montenegro in an alliance with the Social Democrats (SDP). The Yugoslav federal government did not recognize the parliamentary elections in Montenegro. The composition of the Chamber of Republics changed as a result of the elections.
In June the civil war in Kosovo intensified . On September 23, 1998, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1199, in which it condemned the violence of the Yugoslav army and Serbian security forces and called on the Kosovar Albanians to renounce violence and to free access to humanitarian organizations in Kosovo. However, he rejected a UN mandate for the military implementation of a humanitarian aid operation. The NATO demanded in an ultimatum until October 13, 1998 the withdrawal of Yugoslav troops large contingents and heavy weapons from Kosovo, under threat of air strikes. The Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević agreed to a ceasefire and the withdrawal of the army, apart from a few units and Serbian security forces, from Kosovo in the Holbrook-Milošević agreement. The army withdrew heavy weapons from Kosovo. The OSCE sent 2,000 observers to oversee the ceasefire. After the peace negotiations in Rambouillet between February and March 1999 failed because the Yugoslav delegation rejected the Rambouillet Agreement , NATO issued an ultimatum to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on March 19 to accept the Rambouillet Agreement. The Kosovo-Albanian delegation signed the Rambouillet Agreement on March 18, 1999, which saw Kosovo remain as part of the Yugoslav Republic of Serbia with extensive autonomy, NATO troops should be stationed in Kosovo and ensure the security that the UÇK should provide be disarmed. The OSCE withdrew its observers from Kosovo on March 22nd. NATO began air strikes against Yugoslavia on March 24th. The Yugoslav army moved more units to Kosovo. On June 9, Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević approved the G8 Group's peace plan of May 6, 1999. The Yugoslav army and the Serbian security forces should withdraw from Kosovo. NATO suspended air strikes on June 10th. On the same day, the UN Security Council passed resolution 1244: The UN established a civil interim administration of UMNIK, the NATO-led KFOR with Russian participation took over military control in Kosovo with a UN mandate, but the province remained part of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia. On June 12, KFOR began to be stationed, the Yugoslav army and the Serbian security forces withdrew. The DM was introduced as a currency in Kosovo. The UN Security Council lifted the embargo against Yugoslavia, but the EU and Western states maintained sanctions as the Milošević regime was still in power. However, food was delivered to the civilian population.
In July 1999, demonstrations by the Serbian opposition against the Yugoslav socialist government began. In 2000 the Yugoslav constitution was changed. The direct election of the president by the people for a four-year term was introduced. On September 24, 2000, the presidential election and the election to the Chamber of Citizens took place. According to official sources, the candidate of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) candidate Vojislav Koštunica won the most votes in the first ballot with 48.22%, but missed an absolute majority against the incumbent President Milošević, whereupon a runoff election was necessary. OSCE election observers and large sections of the population saw Koštunica as the clear winner, with more than 50%. A runoff election between Koštunica and Milošević was ordered for October 8th. In the elections to the Chamber of Citizens, the DOS achieved 59 seats, the combined list of SPS and JUL 44 seats, the Socialist People's Party of Montenegro (SNP) of Bulatović 28 and the nationalist SRS of Vojislav Šešelj 3 seats, the Serbian People's Party (SNS) and other representatives each received 2 seats of the 138 seats. The DPS of the Montenegrin President Đukanovic boycotted the elections. On October 2, mass protests and a general strike broke out in Serbia against the alleged election fraud and the run-off election on October 8. The candidate Koštunica announced the boycott of the runoff election. On October 4, official announcements were made that the presidential election would be invalid and that incumbent President Milošević would remain in office until the end of his regular term of office in June 2001. This led to a popular uprising in Belgrade on October 5th. Serbian police faced a large crowd of protesters outside the Yugoslav Parliament building. They stayed peaceful. Numerous police officers showed their solidarity with the demonstrators. The protesters stormed the parliament building. Thereupon Milošević was overthrown and resigned his office and recognized the election victory Vojislav Koštunica (DOS). On October 7, Vojislav Koštunica was sworn in as Yugoslav President and took office.
Only after the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević in October 2000 and the inauguration of his successor Vojislav Koštunica was Yugoslavia re-admitted to the UN in November 2000, after having reapplied as requested. On November 4th, President Koštunica Zoran Zizic (SNP) from Montenegro appointed Prime Minister. It was confirmed by parliament and formed a coalition of the Socialist People's Party of Montenegro (SNP) and the electoral alliance DOS. The combined list of the Serbian Socialist Party (SPS) and JUL went into opposition. The EU and numerous Western states lifted most of the sanctions against the FR of Yugoslavia and resumed diplomatic relations. The Federal Republic concluded the Balkans Stability Pact with the EU. After the Serbian parliamentary elections in December 2000, Zoran Đinđić was elected Serbian Prime Minister in January 2001 and began to reorganize the state. The DOS came to 176 seats and achieved a two-thirds majority. In the early Montenegrin parliamentary elections on April 22, 2001, the government made up of the DPS and Social Democrats (SDP), together with other parties that advocated the independence of Montenegro, won 36 seats, the coalition Together for Yugoslavia made up of the SNP and others won 33 seats Liberal Alliance (LS) 6 seats and other 2 seats. The EU was able to prevent the independence of Montenegro. Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević was arrested on April 1, 2001. The Serbian government extradited him to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague on June 28, 2001. There he was charged as a war criminal. Because of Milošević's extradition, there was a dispute between the Yugoslav federal government and the Serbian government. The Yugoslav Prime Minister Zizic resigned on June 29th. Dragiša Pešić (SNP) was appointed his successor on July 24th and was confirmed by parliament. In August 2001 the Democratic Party of Serbia DSS resigned from the DOS under President Koštunica. The Yugoslav President Koštunica and the Serbian Prime Minister Đinđić got more and more into conflict with each other. On January 1, 2002, the euro replaced the DM as the currency in Montenegro and Kosovo. Elections to a parliament in Kosovo took place at the end of 2001. In March 2002 Ibrahim Rugova LDK was elected President of Kosovo. 2002 resigned the Democratic Party (DS) of the Serbian Prime Minister Đin derić from the Yugoslav coalition government. In the presidential elections in Serbia on September 29 and October 13 and on December 1 and December 15, the turnout was below 50%, making the elections invalid. After the end of the term of office of President Milutinović on December 27, 2002 the office remained vacant. In the Yugoslav Republic of Montenegro, early parliamentary elections took place in October 2002, in which the governing parties DPS and Social Democrats were confirmed in the Alliance for Montenegro. The previous President Đukanović ran as the top candidate. In the presidential elections in December 2002, less than 50% of the votes were cast in both rounds, making the elections invalid. In February 2003 Milo Đukanović was appointed Prime Minister of Montenegro.
With the adoption of a new constitution in 2003, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia renamed itself “Serbia and Montenegro”. This was agreed on March 14, 2002 through EU mediation in a contract between the government of Yugoslavia and the two republics of Serbia and Montenegro.
Serbia and Montenegro
The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro replaced on 4 February 2003, the hitherto existing Federal Republic of Yugoslavia . This conversion came into force by a parliamentary resolution.
The member states of this state union , a very loose, state union-like association, in which almost all competences lay with the individual states, were not independent members of the UN , but held the joint seat of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the General Assembly .
There was a joint parliament , the so-called "скупштина" ( Skupština Srbije i Crne Gore - Assembly of Serbia and Montenegro) with 126 members and several other joint institutions such as a joint President and a joint Council of Ministers, which comprised five ministries (defense, foreign policy, External economic relations, internal economic harmonization, civil and minority rights). The Serbian-Montenegrin Parliament met in Belgrade ; the Constitutional Court had its seat in Podgorica . The state flag and coat of arms were adopted from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the state anthem continued to be that of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On March 7, 2003, the Assembly of Serbia and Montenegro elected the Montenegrin Svetozar Marović (DPS) as President of the State Union of Serbia-Montenegro, who also assumed the role of head of government.
On March 4, 2005, the mandate of the members of the Union Assembly expired. The republics had not been able to agree on a new election beforehand. Since then, the status of Parliament has not been clarified; at any rate, part of the 2003 constitutional charter was de facto null and void.
The sub-states each had their own economic policy and currency . In the course of the reorganization, the former “Yugoslav New Dinar” (YUM) was renamed the Serbian Dinar (CSD) and was adopted by Serbia as the national currency with unchanged exchange rates. After years of using the Deutsche Mark, Montenegro introduced the euro as legal tender.
Customs controls had existed for a long time between the two countries .
On May 21, 2006, the Montenegrin population voted in a referendum with 55.5 percent yes votes ( voter turnout 86.3%) in favor of statehood for the country. This achieved the mark of 55 percent of the yes votes required by the European Union . On the day after the vote, the EU Foreign Affairs Representative Javier Solana announced that the European Union would “fully respect” the decision of the majority of the Montenegrin population in favor of an independent state. On June 3, 2006, the decision was officially confirmed by the parliament of Montenegro and the country's independence was declared. This sealed the end of the state community of Serbia and Montenegro .
The Serbian parliament, for its part, passed a declaration on June 5 stating the end of the existence of Serbia-Montenegro; it declared Serbia to be the legal successor of the Union under international law . The Serbian state institutions were asked to take over the Union's tasks within 45 days. According to the constitutional charter of Serbia-Montenegro, Serbia is the sole legal successor of the Union, while Montenegro, as the part of the state that has left the Union, has to conclude all internationally valid treaties itself.
geography
The Union of Serbia and Montenegro was in south-eastern Europe ; it was crossed by the traditional transit routes from Central Europe to Greece and Turkey . In addition, there were 591 km of the Danube , which forms the waterway between the Black Sea and Central and Northern Europe .
Serbia and Montenegro bordered Albania , Macedonia , Bulgaria , Romania , Hungary , Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia . There was also access to the Adriatic Sea via the Montenegrin coast .
Natural space
The north of the country was formed by the province of Vojvodina , which belongs to the Pannonian Basin and forms a fertile lowland. The Vojvodina was separated from the Save ( Sava ) and part of the Danube ( Dunav ) from the rest of the country. The Danube and the Tisza ( Tisa ) divide the province into the three regions Batschka ( Bačka ), Banat and Syrmia ( Srem ). In Syrmia, the Fruška Gora range of hills extends up to 539 m on the south bank of the Danube . On the border with Romania, the western foothills of the Banat Mountains rise up to 641 m.
In contrast to Vojvodina, the areas south of the Danube and Sava are largely characterized by a hilly and mountainous character. However, the Morava Valley in Serbia forms a path between the Dinaric mountain system in the west and the Carpathian-Balkan mountain range in the east. Thus Serbia and Montenegro had natural transport routes to Greece via the valleys of the Southern Morava ( Južna Morava ) and the Vardar in Macedonia and to Turkey via the Nišava Valley and the Thracian Plain in Bulgaria. The then province of Kosovo was also connected to the rest of Serbia via the Ibar Valley.
The situation was different with the connection between the two republics of Montenegro and Serbia. While the Šumadija - located between Belgrade , the Morava and the Western Morava ( Zapadna Morava ) - is still characterized by gentle hills, higher mountain ranges and deep valleys and gorges form barriers between Serbia and Montenegro that are difficult to overcome towards the southwest. The Tara Gorge in northern Montenegro is the deepest gorge in Europe at over 1000 meters. South of this gorge is the watershed between the Adriatic and the Black Sea. It runs over the Golija , Sinjajevina and Komovi mountain ranges , which rise more than 2000 m . The Dinaric mountain system drops from almost 1900 meters into the fjord-like bay of Kotor towards the Adriatic Sea. Due to the widespread limestone, there is a strong karstification of the mountainous landscape. The highest point in the country was the 2,656 m high Đaravica on the border between Albania and the province of Kosovo.
The few flat areas south of the Danube and Sava are limited to the northern Morava valley, the blackbird field ( Kosovo polje ) and the Podrima in Kosovo and the Zeta plain in southern Montenegro.
climate
The Montenegrin coast has a Mediterranean climate with an average temperature of 25 ° C in summer and 5 to 9 ° C in winter. In contrast, the inland is characterized by a continental climate with hot summers (mean temperature 22 ° C) and cold winters (mean temperature −1 ° C). The average annual precipitation in the lowlands is around 500 mm, at higher altitudes between 800 and 1,600 mm.
population
Serbia and Montenegro was an ethnically diverse state. In the province of Vojvodina alone there are over 26 nationalities. In 1991, only 67.6% of the population belonged to one of the two states-defining nations ( Serbs 62.6%; Montenegrins 5%).
The most important minority in the country are the Albanians , who live mainly in the province of Kosovo i Metohija , but also in neighboring communities in central Serbia and along the Albanian-Montenegrin border. They made up 16.5% of the total population of Serbia and Montenegro.
Other large minorities were Yugoslavs (3.37%), Hungarians (3.32%), Bosniaks or Muslims (3.23%), Roma (1.38%) and Croats including Bunjewatzen (1.28%) . There were also minorities of Slovaks , Romanians , Macedonians , Bulgarians , Ruthenians , Wallachians , Turks , Germans , Czechs , Russians and others.
2002 census
Since the UN- administered province of Kosovo and Metohija remained excluded from the 2002 census, data from 1991 were given in advance. Compared with the 1991 results, the 2002 census shows a dramatic decrease in the number of people who describe themselves as "Montenegrins" in terms of ethnicity. There is a split between those who hold on to the Montenegrin nationality and those who renounce it in favor of the Serbian nationality.
Another very noticeable change can be seen in eastern Serbia. The number of so-called Wallachians in Serbia rose from just under 18,000 in 1991 to 40,000 in 2002.
Apart from this exception, the numbers among ethnic minorities are generally declining - a process that has lasted throughout the 20th century , but may have been accelerated by nationalist pressure, but above all by the dire economic conditions of recent years.
In addition, there is a shift in the ethnic majority in some areas due to the immigration of several hundred thousand Serbian war refugees from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1991 and 1995 and from the province of Kosovo and Metohija after 1999.
Accordingly, the ethnic picture of the province of Kosovo and Metohija, in which the census could not be carried out, is likely to have changed significantly. Especially in those areas where the Albanians made up the majority of the population before 1999, the ethnic composition is likely to have developed in the direction of Albanian homogeneity. Before 1999 there was next to the Serbian minority also a strong minority of Roma , two settlement areas of Croats near Lipljan and Vitina , as well as a group of Turks . The proportion of the population of the Gorans , a Serbian- speaking Muslim ethnic group, is likely to have remained stable , at least in the larger municipality of Dragaš .
Administrative structure
The two republics of Montenegro and Serbia were divided into 197 large municipalities ( opštine , singular opština ). 176 of them were in Serbia, while Montenegro consisted of 21 large municipalities. Serbia was also divided into 30 districts ( okruzi , singular okrug ), each of which comprised several large municipalities. The two autonomous provinces ( autonomne pokrajine , singular autonomna pokrajina ) Vojvodina and Kosovo i Metohija also belonged to Serbia .
| Surname | Capital | flag | coat of arms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Republic of Yugoslavia / State Union of Serbia and Montenegro | Belgrade |
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| Republic of Serbia | Belgrade |
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| Republic of Montenegro | Podgorica |
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economy
Economically, Serbia and Montenegro was one of the weakest countries in the Balkans. The average net income in July 2005 was EUR 250 per month (EUR 3,000 annual income). The foreign debt in 2004 was around 9.75 billion euros.
Thanks to the high level of mechanization, agriculture was mostly pursued as a sideline. The mineral resources (lignite, copper ores, bauxite, crude oil and gas) were the basis for heavy industry, which, however, was seriously damaged by the embargo that was lifted in 1996. The last unemployment rate was 20% (as of 2005).
Since 2004, Serbia and Montenegro has been attracting foreign companies such as Mercator (retail), dm-drogerie markt , Metro AG and numerous banks. Representatives of the Serbian and Italian car manufacturers Zastava and Fiat signed an agreement in Turin for the license and production of the Punto in the Zastava plant in Kragujevac .
Sports
Olympic teams of Serbia and Montenegro participated in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. In the men's Olympic water polo tournament, the country's selection won the silver medal in Athens. The only individual Olympic medal in the history of Serbia and Montenegro was won by the marksman Jasna Šekarić , who had also been successful for the SFR and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The Serbian-Montenegrin national soccer team took part in the 2006 World Cup in Germany , where they were eliminated after the group stage. The participation of Serbia-Montenegro was a curiosity insofar as the state no longer existed at the beginning of the World Cup. However, since the team had qualified as “Serbia-Montenegro”, FIFA insisted that it enter the World Cup as such. The same case was in the 2006 World Basketball Championship and the 2006 World Volleyball Championship . A team from both countries also performed there again.
literature
- Walter Lukan (Ed.): Serbia and Montenegro. Space and population, history, language and literature, culture, politics, society, economy, law (= Osthefte. Special volume 18). LIT, Vienna 2006, ISBN 3-8258-9539-4 .
Web links
- Link collections on Serbia and Montenegro of the Eastern Europe Network ( Memento from January 21, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Statoids.com
- ↑ Article 60 Constitutional Charter of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro (PDF; 187 kB)
- ↑ a b c d e Andreas Schwarz: 20 years ago: The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is proclaimed. In: pelagon.de. April 27, 2012, accessed October 26, 2015 .
- ↑ See in detail Andreas Zimmermann , State successors in international law treaties (= contributions to foreign public law and international law; Vol. 141), Springer, Berlin / Heidelberg / New York 2000, ISBN 3-540-66140-9 , pp. 98 ff . , 308 .
- ^ Resolution adopted by the General Assembly. (PDF; 18 kB) Admission of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia tomembership in the United Nations. In: United Nations. November 1, 2000, accessed May 29, 2019 .
- ↑ Pelagon, A. Schwarz, 20 Years Ago: The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is proclaimed, 2012
- ↑ Compact Ploetz , Chapter Successor States of Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia since 1992 , pp. 519-520.
- ↑ Pelagon, essay A. Schwarz: 20 years ago: The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is proclaimed , April 27, 2012.
- ↑ Compact Ploetz, Die Nachfolgestaaten Yugoslaviens, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1992–2003 , pp. 519–520.
- ↑ Urs Saxer, The international control of self-determination and the emergence of the state (= contributions to foreign public law and international law; Vol. 214), Springer, Heidelberg [u. a.] 2010, ISBN 978-3-642-10270-7 , pp. 581 f.
- ↑ Pelagon essay by A. Schwarz, 20 years ago: The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is proclaimed , April 27, 2012.
- ↑ Compact Ploetz, The Successor States of Yugoslavia, Serbia-Montenegro from 2003 , p. 520.
- ↑ Cf. Angelika Nußberger , Das Völkerrecht: Geschichte - Institutions - Perspektiven , orig. Edition, CH Beck, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-406-56278-5 , p. 42 .