During the first few years of its existence, the state sought to be recognized as the sole successor to Yugoslavia, but other former Soviet republics opposed these claims. The United Nations rejected the request to include Yugoslavia. Eventually, after the ouster of Slobodan Milosevic as president of the federation in 2000, the country abandoned these aspirations and accepted the opinion of the Badinter Arbitration Committee on joint succession. He reapplied for UN membership on 27 October and was admitted on 1 November 2000.
Manual
The FRY was initially ruled by Slobodan Milosevic as President of Serbia (1989-1997) and then President of Yugoslavia (1997-2000). Milosevic installed and forced the removal of several federal presidents (such as Dobrica Cosic) and prime ministers (such as Milan Panic). However, the Montenegrin government, which initially ardently supported Milosevic, began to graduallydistance themselves from his politics. This led to a regime change in 1996 when his former ally Milo Đukanović changed his policy, became the leader of Montenegro's ruling party, and subsequently sacked former Montenegrin leader Momir Bulatović, who remained loyal to the Milošević government. Since from that time Bulatović was appointed to the central posts in Belgrade (as Federal Prime Minister), Đukanović continued to govern Montenegro and further isolated it from Serbia. Thus, from 1996 to 2006 Montenegro and Serbia were nominally a single country. Management in every possible political, economic and social segment was carried out at the local level, in Belgrade for Serbia and Podgorica for Montenegro.
Union of Serbia and Montenegro
As a loose union, or confederation, Serbia and Montenegro were united only in certain areas, such as defense. The two constituent states functioned separately during the entire period of the existence of the Federal Republic and continued to operate within the framework of a separate economic policy, as well as using separate currencies (the euro was the only legal tender in Montenegro). On May 21, 2006, a referendum on the independence of Montenegro was held, and 55.5% of voters voted for independence. The last remnants of the former Yugoslavia, 88 years after its creation, came to an end with the official declaration of independence of Montenegro on June 3, 2006 and the official declaration of independence of Serbia 5June. After the dissolution, Serbia became the legal successor of the union, and the newly independent Montenegro again applied for membership in international organizations.
The consequences of the disaster
After the collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, only the republics of Serbia and Montenegro agreed to retain the Yugoslav state, and in 1992 adopted a new constitution for the new Yugoslavia. After the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, the new state followed a wave of democratic change. It abandoned communist symbols: the red star was removed from the state flag, and the communist coat of arms was replaced by a white double-headed eagle with the coats of arms of Serbia and Montenegro inside. The new state also created a single-person office of president, initially appointed with the consent of the republics of Serbia and Montenegro until 1997, after which the president was democratically elected.
Creation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
With the collapse of Yugoslavia and its institutions between 1991 and 1992, the question arose of the unity of the two republics that remained in the crumbling federation: Serbia, Montenegro; as well as Serb-majority territories in Croatia and Bosnia that wanted to remain united. In 1991, as a result of diplomatic negotiations led by Lord Carrington with six leaders, all the republics, with the exception of Serbia, agreed that Yugoslavia disintegrated and each of its autonomous parts should become an independent state. The Serbian government was surprised and outraged by Montenegro's decision in favor of endingYugoslavia, since the Bulatovich government was previously closely associated with the Milosevic government in Serbia. The collapse of Yugoslavia began in 1991, when Slovenia, Croatia and Macedonia declared independence. Then the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was formed.
Third Yugoslavia
December 26, 1991, Serbia, Montenegro and Serbian rebel territories in Croatia agreed that they would form a new "third Yugoslavia". Efforts were also made in 1991 to include the Social Revolutionary Bosnia and Herzegovina into the federation, where negotiations are underway between Milosevic, the Serbian Democratic Party of Bosnia and the supporter of Bosniak unification, Bosnian Vice President Adil Zulfikarpasic. Zulfikarpašić believed that Bosnia could benefit from being united with Serbia and Montenegro, so he supported an alliance that would ensure the unity of Serbs and Bosniaks. The flag of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia did not differ in any way from its predecessor country.
Milosevic continued negotiations with Zulfikarpasic on the inclusion of Bosnia in the new Yugoslavia. However, efforts to incorporate the whole of Bosnia into the new Yugoslavia effectively petered out by the end of 1991, when Izetbegović planned to hold an independence referendum while the Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats formed autonomous territories.
Quarrel between fraternal peoples
Since 1996, the first public signs of political discord betweenparts of the Montenegrin and Serbian leadership. By 1998, when Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Đukanović came to the fore in a power struggle with Montenegrin President Momir Bulatović, the republic pursued a different economic policy, adopting the Deutsche Mark as its currency. In the autumn of 1999, after the Kosovo war and the NATO bombing campaign, Đukanović (who by now firmly held power in Montenegro as Bulatović had been completely ousted) prepared a draft document en titled Platforma za redefiniciju odnosa Crne Gorei Srbije ("Platform for Federal Republic of Yugoslavia"), calling for major changes in the division of administrative responsibilities within the FR of Yugoslavia, although it still officially sees Montenegro as a joint state with Serbia. Milosevic did not respond to the Platform, deeming it unconstitutional.
Rising voltage
Political relations in the federal state became increasingly tense, especially against the backdrop of a wave of assassinations of top political, criminal and state business figures in both republics (Zeljko "Arkan" Rozhnatovic, Pavle Bulatovic, Chika Petrovic and Goran Žugić), and also two attempts on the life of opposition politician Vuk Drašković. By October 2000, Milosevic had lost power in Serbia. Contrary to expectations, Đukanovićan's reaction to the change of power in Belgrade was not to further push the agenda set out in his "Platform", but to suddenly start pushing for full independence, therebydiscarding it completely in the process. Subsequent governments of Montenegro pursued pro-independence policies, and political tensions with Serbia simmered despite the political changes in Belgrade. All these passions were a natural result of the history of the creation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Establishment of a confederation
In 2002, Serbia and Montenegro came to a new agreement to continue cooperation, which, among other changes, promised the end of Yugoslavia. Both countries were previously part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On February 4, 2003, the federal assembly of Yugoslavia created a free state union, or confederation, the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. An agreement was reached on a new constitutional charter that would provide the basis for governing the country.
Independence of Montenegro
On Sunday, May 21, 2006, Montenegrins voted in the independence referendum. 55.5% supported independence. Such a number of "yes" votes was necessary for the dissolution of Yugoslavia. The turnout was 86.3% and 99.73% of the more than 477,000 votes cast were valid.
The subsequent declaration of independence by Montenegro (in June 2006) and Serbia (5 June) ended the confederation of Yugoslavia and thus the last remaining remnants of the Federal Republic.
Economic development of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The state suffered significantly economically due to the collapse and inefficient management of the economy, andalso an extended period of economic sanctions. In the early 1990s, the FRY suffered from the hyperinflation of the Yugoslav dinar. By the mid-1990s, the FRY had overcome inflation. Further damage to Yugoslav infrastructure and industry caused by the Kosovo War left the economy only half as large as in 1990. Following the ouster of former Federal Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in October 2000, the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition government implemented stabilization measures and embarked on an aggressive market reform agenda. After resuming membership in the International Monetary Fund in December 2000, Yugoslavia continued to reintegrate with the rest of the world by joining the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The smaller Republic of Montenegro separated its economy from federal control and from Serbia during the Milosevic era. Subsequently, the two republics had separate central banks, while Montenegro began to use different currencies: it first adopted the Deutsch brand and continued to use it until it fell into disrepair and was replaced by the euro. Serbia continued to use the Yugoslav dinar, renaming it the Serbian dinar.
The complexity of political relations in the FRY, slow progress in privatization and stagnation in the European economy have hurt the economy. Arrangements with the IMF, especially the requirements for financial discipline, were important elements in policy making. Serious unemployment waskey political and economic issue. Corruption is also a major problem with a large black market and a high degree of criminal involvement in the formal economy.
