Montenegro and Europe

Remember what I said a couple of days ago in my comment-post to something published at the blog called Hugin that I titled Montenegro?

Here it is:

And by the way, my theory is that Javier Solana is placing all this roadblocks on the Montenegrin road to independence because as an Spaniard, he is making sure that he won't make things easier for the Basques, the Catalans and the Galizans.

Well, Javier Solana, the Spanish Inquisidor has proven me right. Please, read this note about the reactions in Europe to Montenegro's yes to independence, at the very end you will be able to enjoy a bit of Solana's commitment to fascism.

The article was published by EITb:

Montenegro's independence

Reactions in Europes to Montenegro's Referendum

05/22/2006

The European Union on Monday commended the conduct of Montenegro's independence referendum, and said it would begin talks on trade and financial assistance deals with the tiny republic once the results are confirmed.

"We will fully respect the result of the referendum,'' said EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana. He called on supporters and opponents of independence to honor the outcome of Sunday's vote to secede from Serbia and form a separate state.

Solana, who was instrumental in pressuring Montenegro to remain united with Serbia after the breakup of Yugoslavia, said it was too early to "be precise'' about when the EU might open talks on possible EU membership for Montenegro.

In arguing for independence, the Montenegrin government had repeatedly complained that the union with much bigger Serbia was blocking its efforts to join the 25-nation EU. Preparatory talks with Serbia-Montenegro were frozen earlier this month over Belgrade's failure to deliver top war crimes suspects to the U.N. tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands.

"I cannot tell you exactly when we will start talking to them,'' Solana told reporters. "It is more important that they now talk between themselves.''

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer echoed Solana's statement, saying the alliance had not considered Montenegro's possible membership. The authorities in Podgorica have said they would seek NATO membership after providing support for the alliance's bombing campaign against Serbia in 1999.

Paving the way for Catalonia and Basque Country?

Solana played down suggestions that Montenegro's referendum _ which went ahead after the EU imposed some rules on the percentage of votes needed for it to succeed _ would open the way for other independence referendums in Europe.

Asked whether Spain's Catalonia and Basque regions _ which dispatched delegations to monitor the Montenegro vote _ could hold plebiscites under the same conditions, Solana answered: "This is not a precedent for anyone, it's just for the situation in the Balkans.'' "Anyone who compares Catalonia and the Basque Country with Montenegro is suffering from delirium tremens,'' he said.

EU spokesman Amadeu Altafaj Tardio said the European Commission was still awaiting final confirmation from international vote observers, but said in an initial reaction that the EU welcomed that the referendum "was carried out in a calm manner and with high turnout, which is important for the legitimacy of the vote.''

He said EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn called on "all Montenegrin parties and citizens to preserve their unity and to build a consensus on the unity of the republic, on the basis of European values and standards.'' Altafaj Tardio said that once the results of the independence vote had been confirmed, the commission would move to draft a proposal to start talks on a separate aid-and-trade pact with Montenegro.

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