NATO’s relations with Montenegro
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 defence reforms, as well as practical cooperation in other areas. Montenegro agreed with NATO its first Individual Partnership Programme (IPP) in January 2008, which lays out the programme of cooperation between the country and NATO. 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.
Montenegro gained independence from its state union with Serbia in June 2006. The country seeks to draw closer to Euro-Atlantic standards and institutions, with the eventual aim of joining the Alliance. As with all NATO’s Partner countries, the extent of cooperation ultimately depends on Montenegro's desire to pursue democratic, institutional and defence reform processes.
How does cooperation work in practice?
Following independence, Montenegro is undertaking a wide-ranging programme of structural and institutional reforms. The instruments available within the Partnership for Peace (PfP) can greatly assist in this process and the country has developed recently its first Individual Partnership Programme (IPP). Areas of cooperation, reform plans and political dialogue processes will be detailed in this document, which is jointly agreed with NATO for a two-year period.
More…
How did relations with Montenegro evolve?
The NATO Allies recognised Montenegro’s independence very shortly after it was declared in June 2006 and invited the country to join the Partnership for Peace (PfP) at the November 2006 Riga Summit. The country formally joined the Partnership in December of that same year. In April 2007, Montenegro delivered a PfP Presentation Document to the Allies detailing the country’s aims and proposals for cooperation within the PfP framework. The document became the basis of the country’s first IPP agreed in January 2008.
More…
