1. The EU should discontinue its policy of pressuring Montenegro to remain in a single-state union with Serbia and accept whatever solutions Serbia and Montenegro can agree upon for their future relationship, including
the possibility of eventual separation.
2. The EU should be ready to provide impartial technical assistance to Serbia and Montenegro on the practical issues that need to be resolved whatever the form of their ultimate relationship.
3. The EU should not sign a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with Serbia and Montenegro before the status of the third entity of the now defunct FRY, Kosovo, has been resolved.
4. The international community should continue to provide assistance to Montenegro’s reform efforts, strictly conditioned on the government’s performance in carrying out reforms, and should be prepared to suspend or withdraw assistance if progress is not satisfactory.
5. The international community’s assessment of reform progress should be based on concrete evidence of changes in practice, including clear indications that investigations of corruption and organised crime activities are thoroughly pursued, no matter where the investigations lead or whom they involve.
To Serbia and Montenegro:
6. Concentrate on resolving the concrete issues involved in the future relationship, and in particular work constructively to integrate and harmonise economies, in line with the 14 March 2002 Belgrade Agreement and the Constitutional Charter.
To Montenegro:
7. Accelerate reforms in order to regain momentum lost in 2002, in particular by:
(a) increasing the pace of reform of the finance ministry, and especially of public finances;
(b) reinvigorating efforts to combat the grey economy;
(c) continuing reforms of the judiciary and police, including ending politicisation of the criminal justice system;
(d) pursuing all cases involving serious criminal allegations thoroughly, without political interference, wherever they lead and whomever they implicate; and
(e) raising the salaries of senior officials to more realistic levels while at the same time ending the system of offering perks, such as free housing, to certain officials.
