Serbia and Montenegro

Serbia and Montenegro is the name of the union of Serbia and Montenegro, two former Yugoslav republics joined together into a loose federation. It is located on the west-central Balkan Peninsula.

Serbia and Montenegro came to an agreement only to cooperate in some political fields (e.g. a defence union). The states have their own economic policies and currencies. Serbia and Montenegro does not have a unified capital any more. Though most institutions are in Belgrade, some have been moved to Podgorica.

The temporary constitution called Constitutional charter was adopted on February 4, 2003, in the Skupstina. Each of the two states may seek full independence via a referendum to be held in 2006.

Државна заједница Србија и Црна Гора
Državna zajednica Srbija i Crna Gora

Flag	File:G845 yugoslavia.gif
(In detail, with new flag info)	(Full size)

National motto: none

Unofficial: Only Unity Saves the Serbs

Official language

Serbian language written in Cyrillic¹

Capital

Belgrade²

President³

Svetozar Marović

Area
- Total
- % water

Ranked 105th
102,350 km²
0.25%

Population
- Total (2000)
- Density

Ranked 70th
10,662,087
104/km²

Independence
- Declared
- Recognised

(Regained from Ottoman Empire)
1877
1877

Currency

In Serbia, the Serbian dinar (in Kosovo also the euro), in Montenegro the euro

Time zone
- in summer

CET (UTC+1)
CEST (UTC+2)

National anthem

Hej Sloveni

Internet TLD

.yu still used (.cs reserved)

Airline carriers

Jat Airways and Montenegro Airlines

Calling Code

381

¹ More languages are official at various local levels.

²Court of Serbia and Montenegro is in Podgorica

³Also Chairman of the Council of Ministers

History

Main articles: History of Serbia and Montenegro, History of Yugoslavia

Upon its creation in 1992, the United Nations, and many individual states (especially the United States) had refused to recognise the remaining confederation of Serbia and Montenegro as the continuation of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, although they accepted it as constituting a state. This was due to the ongoing Yugoslav wars, which had prevented agreement being reached on the disposition of federal assets and liabilities, particularly the national debt. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was finally re-admitted to the United Nations in 2000 after several years of suspension.

In 2002, Serbia and Montenegro came to a new agreement regarding continued co-operation, which, among other changes, promised the end of the name Yugoslavia. On February 4, 2003, the federal parliament of Yugoslavia created a loose commonwealth of Serbia and Montenegro called Serbia and Montenegro.

Political divisions

Main article: Internal structure of Serbia and Montenegro

Serbia, Belgrade - the capital, and the capital of Serbia and Montenegro
- the Vojvodina province, Novi Sad - the capital
- the Kosovo and Metohia province, Priština - the capital
Montenegro, Podgorica - the capital, and the judicial capital of Serbia and Montenegro

Economy

Main article: Economy of Serbia and Montenegro

Mismanagement of the economy, an extended period of economic sanctions, and the damage to Yugoslavia's infrastructure and industry caused by the Kosovo War have left the economy only half the size it was in 1990. Since the ousting of former Federal Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in October 2000, the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition government has implemented stabilization measures and embarked on an aggressive market reform program. After renewing its membership in the International Monetary Fund in December 2000, Yugoslavia continued to reintegrate into the international community by rejoining the World Bank (IBRD) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). A World Bank-European Commission sponsored Donors' Conference held in June 2001 raised $1.3 billion for economic restructuring. An agreement rescheduling the country's $4.5 billion Paris Club government debts was concluded in November 2001; it will write off 66% of the debt; a similar debt relief agreement on its $2.8 billion London Club commercial debt has been reached in July 2004; 62% of the debt have been written off. The smaller republic of Montenegro severed its economy from federal control and from Serbia during the Milosevic era and continues to maintain its own central bank, uses the euro instead of the Yugoslav dinar as official currency, collects customs tariffs, and manages its own budget.

The southern Serbian province of Kosovo, while technically still part of Serbia (according to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244), is moving toward local autonomy under the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and is dependent on the international community for financial and technical assistance. The euro and the Yugoslav dinar are official currencies, and UNMIK collects taxes and manages the budget. The complexity of Serbia and Montenegro political relationships, slow progress in privatization, and stagnation in the European economy are holding back the economy. Arrangements with the IMF, especially requirements for fiscal discipline, are an important element in policy formation. Severe unemployment remains a key political economic problem.

Transportation

Main article: Transportation in Serbia and Montenegro

Map of Serbia and Montenegro

Serbia, and in particular the valley of Morava is often described as "the crossroad between the East and the West", which is one of primary reasons for its turbulent history. The valley is by far the easiest way of land travel from continental Europe to Greece and Asia Minor.

Major international highways going through Serbia are E75 and E70. E763/E761 is the most important route connecting Serbia with Montenegro.

The Danube, an important international waterway, flows through Serbia. The largest sea harbour is Montenegro's Bar.

Miscellaneous topics

External link

Template:Serbia and Montenegro

minnan:Srbija kap O·-soaⁿ