Montenegro–NATO relations
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The accession of Montenegro to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
, took place on 5 June 2017. In December 2009,
Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...
was granted a Membership Action Plan, the final step in an application for membership in the organization. A formal invitation was issued by the alliance on 2 December 2015,Montenegro invited to join Nato
BBC, 2 December 2015, Retrieved 2 December 2015.
with accession negotiations concluded with the signature by the Foreign Ministers of an Accession Protocol on 19 May 2016. Montenegro officially joined
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
on 5 June 2017.


Background

The
State Union of Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
applied to
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
's
Partnership for Peace The Partnership for Peace (PfP; french: Partenariat pour la paix) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) program aimed at creating trust between the member states of NATO and other states mostly in Europe, including post-Soviet states; ...
(PfP) program in June 2003.
Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...
declared independence on 3 June 2006 and soon after opened a Permanent Mission to NATO in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
. The new country subsequently joined PfP at the
2006 Riga summit The 2006 Riga summit or the 19th NATO Summit was a NATO summit held in the Olympic Sports Centre, Riga, Latvia from 28 to 29 November 2006. The most important topics discussed were the War in Afghanistan and the future role and borders of the ...
. In November 2007, Montenegro signed a transit agreement with NATO, allowing the alliance's troops to move across the country. Montenegro then signed an agreement with the United States, in which Montenegro would destroy its outdated weaponry as a precondition for NATO membership. In late 2007, Montenegro's Defense Minister
Boro Vučinić Boro Vučinić ( sr-cyrl, Боро Вучинић; born 1954 in Titograd) is the former head of the Montenegrin National Security Agency, as well as the former Minister of Defense and the former Minister of Urban Planning of Montenegro. As Minist ...
said that Montenegro would intensify its accession to the alliance after the 2008 Bucharest summit. Montenegro entered Intensified Dialogue with NATO in April 2008, and adopted an
Individual Partnership Action Plan Individual Partnership Action Plans (IPAP) are plans developed between NATO and different countries which outline the objectives and the communication framework for dialogue and cooperation between both parties. NATO launched the IPAPs initiati ...
in June 2008. It was invited to join the Adriatic Charter of NATO aspirants on 25 September 2008. The country then applied for a Membership Action Plan on 5 November 2008 with support of Prime Minister
Milo Đukanović Milo Đukanović ( cnr, Мило Ђукановић, ; born 15 February 1962) is a Montenegrin politician serving as the President of Montenegro since 2018, previously serving in the role from 1998 to 2003. He also served as the Prime Minister o ...
, which was granted in December 2009. Montenegro also began full membership with the Adriatic Charter of NATO aspirants in May 2009. Montenegro began to contribute its
national armed forces National Armed Forces (NSZ; ''Polish:'' Narodowe Siły Zbrojne) was a Polish right-wing underground military organization of the National Democracy operating from 1942. During World War II, NSZ troops fought against Nazi Germany and communist pa ...
to NATO foreign military operations. The country deployed 40 soldiers, a three-member military medical team, and two officers under German command to
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
in 2010. Montenegrin peacekeepers were also deployed to
Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
and
Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
. Montenegro has received support for its membership bid from several NATO countries, including
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
,
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, Germany and the United States. In December 2013, '' Dnevne Novine'' reported that NATO had decided that Montenegro would join NATO at the same time as Macedonia, whose membership has been vetoed by Greece over the
Macedonia naming dispute The use of the country name "Macedonia (terminology), Macedonia" was disputed between Greece and the North Macedonia, Republic of Macedonia (now North Macedonia) between 1991 and 2019. The dispute was a source of instability in the Balkans#W ...
, making accession unlikely in 2014. In March 2014, Montenegrin Prime Minister
Milo Đukanović Milo Đukanović ( cnr, Мило Ђукановић, ; born 15 February 1962) is a Montenegrin politician serving as the President of Montenegro since 2018, previously serving in the role from 1998 to 2003. He also served as the Prime Minister o ...
stated the desire for Montenegro to join NATO, and in May 2014 expressed the hopes an invitation to join the organization will be favoured at the 2014
NATO summit A NATO summit is a summit meeting that is regarded as a periodic opportunity for heads of state and heads of government of NATO member countries to evaluate and provide strategic direction for Alliance activities. NATO summits are not regular ...
in September. Russian MP Mikhail Degtyarev of the nationalist
LDPR ) , abbreviation = LDPR (English)ЛДПР (Russian) , native_name = , newspaper = ''For the Russian People'' , youth_wing = , seats1_title = Seats in the Federation Council , seats1 = , seats2_title ...
warned that NATO membership would make Montenegro "a legitimate target of Russian missiles." On 29 May 2014, the Slovenian (Karel Erjavec & Roman Jakič) and Croatian (Vesna Pusić & Ante Kotromanović) foreign and defense ministers sent a letter to the
Secretary General of NATO The secretary general of NATO is the chief civil servant of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The officeholder is an international diplomat responsible for coordinating the workings of the alliance, leading NATO's international staff ...
, stressing the importance of inviting Montenegro into NATO. The Slovene defense minister also stated that he expects Montenegro to receive a NATO invitation during NATO's 2014 Summit in Wales. However, later that year NATO announced that it would not be offering any new countries membership into the organization that year. Analysts confirmed this as a sign that NATO members are becoming skeptical about further Eastern expansion following
Russia's annexation of Crimea In February and March 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. This event took place in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity and is part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian War. The events in Kyiv ...
, due to worries about Russian retaliation to new security guarantees to countries so close to its borders. In June 2014, then NATO secretary-general
Anders Fogh Rasmussen Anders Fogh Rasmussen (; born 26 January 1953) is a Danish politician who was the 24th Prime Minister of Denmark from November 2001 to April 2009 and the 12th Secretary General of NATO from August 2009 to October 2014. He became CEO of politi ...
suggested that NATO would open "intensified talks" with the aim of inviting Montenegro to join the alliance by the end of 2015, but that Montenegro would not get an invitation to join the NATO summit in September. Further assessment of Montenegro's progress was expected by the end of 2015. A formal invitation was issued by the alliance on 2 December 2015. Final accession talks began in February 2016, and concluded in May, allowing Montenegro to take an "observer" status pending ratification by the governments of the other members, as well as by Montenegro's own parliament. Pro-Russian opposition parties argued that a referendum on NATO membership should be held simultaneously to parliamentary elections in October 2016, though the government suggested that the elections were a de facto plebiscite on the issue. Pro-NATO parties advanced in the election result. The
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...
voted on the Resolution of Ratification (Resolution of Advice and Consent to Ratification (Treaty Doc. 114-12)) on 28 March 2017.
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
signed a
presidential memorandum A presidential memorandum is a type of directive issued by the president of the United States to manage and govern the actions, practices, and policies of the various departments and agencies found under the executive branch of the United State ...
on 11 April 2017. Ratification by each member state was completed with Spain's ratification on 10 May. On 28 April 2017 Montenegro's parliament ratified the accession treaty. Montenegro officially joined NATO as a member state on 5 June 2017. The reaction of the Russian government to Montenegro's bid to join NATO had been increasingly hostile culminating in an attempt to stage a coup d'état on 16 October 2016, on the day of the
parliamentary election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
that allegedly would have included assassination of Montenegro's prime minister
Milo Đukanović Milo Đukanović ( cnr, Мило Ђукановић, ; born 15 February 1962) is a Montenegrin politician serving as the President of Montenegro since 2018, previously serving in the role from 1998 to 2003. He also served as the Prime Minister o ...
, according to the statements made by Montenegrin officials. The coup plot involved Russian nationals, including a Russian military intelligence officer previously expelled from Poland. Tensions between the countries went on unabated thereafter.


Opinion polls

According to a government poll in March 2014, 46 percent of Montenegro's populace supported NATO membership, while 42 percent opposed it. A poll in July 2015 from the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights, which receives financial support from NATO, found that 36.6 percent support membership, to 37.3 percent against, with sharp divisions between ethnic groups: 71.2 percent of Montenegrin Albanians and 68 percent of Montenegrin Bosniaks support membership, while only 11.3 percent of
Montenegrin Serbs Serbs of Montenegro ( sr, / ) or Montenegrin Serbs ( sr, / ),, meaning "Montenegrin Serbs", and meaning "Serbs Montenegrins". Specifically, Their regional autonym is simply , literal meaning "Montenegrins",Charles Seignobos, Political Histo ...
do. Russian MP Mikhail Degtyarev of the Nationalist
LDPR ) , abbreviation = LDPR (English)ЛДПР (Russian) , native_name = , newspaper = ''For the Russian People'' , youth_wing = , seats1_title = Seats in the Federation Council , seats1 = , seats2_title ...
threatened in May 2014 that NATO membership would make Montenegro "a legitimate target of Russian missiles."


Political views

The ruling
Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro The Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro ( cnr, Демократска партија социјалиста Црне Горе, Demokratska partija socijalista Crne Gore, DPS) is a populist political party in Montenegro. A former long-time ...
and
Social Democratic Party of Montenegro Social Democratic Party of Montenegro ( cnr, Социјалдемократска партија Црне Горе, Socijaldemokratska partija Crne Gore), or just the Social Democratic Party, abbr. SDP is a nationalist and social democratic polit ...
maintain a strong desire for Montenegro to become a NATO member state. In early 2009 they launched a two-year campaign with the aim of promoting accession to NATO, which is handled by the MAPA media agency under theatrical director
Radmila Vojvodić Radmila is a popular given female name in Serbia. It is derived from the Slavic words ''rada'' (the feminine of ''rade'' meaning "happiness") and ''mila'' ("sweet"). Nicknames Rada, Radka, Radushka, Radica, Lala, Mila, Mi Famous bearers *Radm ...
. The ruling coalition of PM
Milo Đukanović Milo Đukanović ( cnr, Мило Ђукановић, ; born 15 February 1962) is a Montenegrin politician serving as the President of Montenegro since 2018, previously serving in the role from 1998 to 2003. He also served as the Prime Minister o ...
claims Montenegro cannot afford to remain neutral and identifies NATO and the EU as a common process of Euro-Atlantic integrations. According to a demographic breakdown of polling, citizens of pro-Serbian or pro-Russian political orientation, Eastern Orthodox Christian conservatives, women and the undereducated are the main groups that do not support NATO membership. The campaign has been somewhat successful, but received criticism from the Nansen Dialogue Centre for significant financial investment in a biased and propagandist campaign during a recession. As a direct response, the establishment of the group launched the "No to NATO!" campaign, on a much smaller scale. The memory of NATO's 1999 bombing campaign of the then
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
and resulting civilian casualties form a crucial part of the opposition to NATO membership in Montenegro. The leading opposition political party, the
Socialist People's Party of Montenegro The Socialist People's Party of Montenegro ( sr, Социјалистичка народна партија Црне Горе, Socijalistička narodna partija Crne Gore, SNP) is a political party in Montenegro. It is a social-democratic and ...
, has remained ambiguous on the question of NATO membership. Although strong supporters of European integration, they maintain that EU and NATO integrations are completely separate paths and endorse holding a referendum. SNP CG has generally avoided giving a direct answer, but it is indirectly opposed to NATO membership. The
New Serb Democracy New Serb Democracy (, NSD; officially abbreviated NOVA) is a Serbian nationalist right-wing political party in Montenegro, formed on 24 January 2009 as a merger between Serb People's Party and the People's Socialist Party of Montenegro. Since 2 ...
is an outspoken opponent of NATO membership, supporting a referendum and convinced there would be a negative outcome. The
Movement for Changes Movement for Changes (, PZP) is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist, Souverainism, sovereignist and conservative List of political parties in Montenegro, political party in Montenegro. Its current leader is Nebojša Medojević, the party's ...
is completely neutral and supports holding a referendum, and acknowledging its result. According to
Strategic Marketing Marketing strategy allows organizations to focus limited resources on best opportunities to increase sales and achieve a competitive advantage in the market. Strategic marketing emerged in the 1970s/80s as a distinct field of study, further build ...
's poll on the question as to whether to schedule a referendum, 72% of respondents support holding it. CATI's poll from 11–15 December 2009 on the question of its result yielded the following: 44% would vote against it, 40% would vote in favor, while 8% is unsure. According to a poll released in October 2009, 31.2% of Montenegro's populace supported NATO membership, while 44% opposed it. A poll by
Ipsos Ipsos Group S.A. () (an acronym of ) is a multinational market research and consulting firm with headquarters in Paris, France. The company was founded in 1975 by Didier Truchot, Chairman of the company, and has been publicly traded on the Pa ...
in March 2014 found that 46% supported membership versus 42% who were opposed. A December 2015 poll found support at 47%, opposition at 39%, with the remaining 14% undecided. Opposition parties, including
Socialist People's Party of Montenegro The Socialist People's Party of Montenegro ( sr, Социјалистичка народна партија Црне Горе, Socijalistička narodna partija Crne Gore, SNP) is a political party in Montenegro. It is a social-democratic and ...
, have argued that membership should be approved in a national referendum. A political crisis followed the government's announcement of intention to join NATO; large protests, supported by pro-Serbian parties, were held in
Podgorica Podgorica (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; Literal translation, lit. 'under the hill') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd ...
in mid-October 2015 that culminated in a riot in the capital on 24 October. Đukanović accused Serbia and Russia of supporting. A split in the ruling coalition followed in January 2016. NATO membership was an issue of debate during the October 2016 parliamentary election. The Democratic Party of Socialists, which had governed Montenegro since 1991 and supports membership, won the election with 41% of the popular vote.


Ratification timeline


Full membership

Montenegro became the 29th member of
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
on 5 June 2017 when it deposited its instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty with the U.S. State Department in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
On 7 June 2017, The
Flag of Montenegro The flag of Montenegro ( cnr, Застава Црне Горе, Zastava Crne Gore) has a red field with gold border and the coat of arms of Montenegro in its center. It was officially adopted on 13 July 2004, when the then Republic of Monteneg ...
was raised at NATO Headquarters in a special ceremony to mark the country's accession to NATO. Flag raising ceremonies were also held simultaneously at
Allied Command Operations Allied Command Operations (ACO) is one of the two strategic commands of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the other being Allied Command Transformation (ACT). The headquarters and commander of ACO is Supreme Headquarters Allied Powe ...
in Mons and
Allied Command Transformation Allied Command Transformation (ACT) (French: ''Commandement allié Transformation'') is a military command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), formed in 2003 after restructuring. It was intended to lead military transformation of ...
in
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.


See also

* Foreign relations of Montenegro *
Accession of Montenegro to the European Union Accession of Montenegro to the European Union is on the current agenda for future enlargement of the EU. Shortly after voting for independence from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro in a referendum in 2006, Montenegro began the process o ...


References


External links


NATO's relations with Montenegro
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montenegro-NATO relations Foreign relations of Montenegro National security of Montenegro NATO relations Montenegro and NATO