EU to offer Montenegro talks on closer ties

BRUSSELS, May 23 (Reuters) The European Commission said today it would recommend talks on closer ties with Montenegro, and eventual European Union membership, separate from Serbia after the former Yugoslav republic voted for independence.

European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said he expected Belgrade and Podgorica to hold direct talks on implementing the Montenegrin decision to break up the state union created in 2003 following the break-up of Yugoslavia.

''The European perspective is open to Montenegro, as it is to Serbia once it fulfils the various criteria, in particular the cooperation with the ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal on the former Yugoslavia),'' Rehn said in a statement.

Brussels broke off talks on a first-level association agreement with Belgrade this month after it failed to meet a May 1 deadline to arrest and hand over fugitive genocide indictee Ratko Mladic to the Hague UN tribunal.

Rehn said the EU executive would prepare separate proposals for a negotiating mandate on Stabilisation and Association Agreements with Serbia and Montenegro, and talks with Montenegro could resume where they left off.

His statement raised the prospect that Montenegro, a small, mountainous republic of 650,000 people who already use the euro currency, could race ahead of Serbia in the queue for closer ties with the EU and eventual membership.

Rehn told foreign ministers of the 25-nation bloc last week that Montenegro could easily conclude a first agreement with Brussels by the end of this year, diplomats said.

But EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana voiced concern at the risk of leaving Serbia behind, suggesting talks with Belgrade should be resumed as soon as possible.

EU diplomats said several member states, notably France, the Netherlands, Austria and Greece, had misgivings about putting Montenegro on a faster track.

REUTERS SHR PM1702