The EU's chief foreign policy envoy, Javier Solana, in a statement on Sunday urged Montenegro's independence movement to accept proposals designed to shape a referendum on its future.
Montenegro, the small Balkan republic that was once part of Yugoslavia and now remains in an uneasy federation with the much larger Serbia, is planning to hold a vote in mid-May that could lead to its becoming an independent state.
How the referendum is conducted is widely seen as critical to the stability of the region, with Western officials fearing that a disputed outcome could lead to unrest, or a possible movement to split the mountainous country geographically.
Solana and his envoy to the region, Miroslav Lajcak of Slovakia, have urged Montenegro's pro-independence government and its opposition, which wants to remain in the union with Serbia, to agree on clear rules ahead of the vote. The envoys have suggested that the country be allowed to secede if at least 50 percent of the electorate take part in the vote, and if at least 55 percent of voters choose independence.
In the statement issued on Sunday, Solana's office urged the Montenegrin government to follow the opposition's example.
"A similar decision by the government coalition would allow the referendum process to begin immediately, under the best auspices and with the full backing of the European Union," said Christina Gallach, Solana's spokeswoman.
It was Solana himself who brokered a new Constitution in 2003 between Serbia and Montenegro, bringing a formal end to the Yugoslav federation. The 2003 agreement provided for the possibility of a referendum this year.
On Saturday, Montenegro's opposition parties agreed to back the European proposals. A meeting of European foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium, was expected to endorse the recommendations yesterday.
But the Montenegrin government has indicated it is against the guidelines. It wants the secession vote to be valid if at least 41 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots. It is not clear whether it would accept the 55 percent approval requirement or whether it would press for approval by a simple majority of those who vote.
With opinion polls indicating a narrow margin of voters in favor of separation from Serbia, the Montenegrin government is concerned that the Europeans' proposed guidelines would give the pro-Serb minority an unfair hold over the republic.
"The decision belongs to the majority and not the minority," Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic said on Thursday, regional news agencies reported.
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