TRAVEL REPORT The Hon. Michael Atkinson MP Attorney-General ...

SERBIA AND MONTENEGROGeneral BackgroundSiM is the largest of the five states to emerge from the former SocialistFederal Republic of Yugoslavia . Located in the centre of the BalkanPeninsula, it has an area of 102,173 kmz (about half the size of Victoria), apopulation of 8.2 million (7.5 million in Serbia and 700 000, in Montenegro)and borders with Albania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina .The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (F.R .Y .) was officially dissolved on4 February 2003 after the Federal Parliament proclaimed the establishment ofthe state of 'Serbia and Montenegro' . The proclamation was preceded by theadoption of the Constitutional Charter and the accompanying law on itsimplementation by the Chamber of Citizens and the Chamber of Republics ofthe F .R.Y . parliament . Both the Charter and the Law on Implementation hadpreviously been adopted by the parliaments of the republics of Serbia andMontenegro .As the F .R.Y .s successor state, Serbia and Montenegro will assume theF.R.Y .s seat in the United Nations . Some formerly federal powers, such asborder control and monetary policy, are devolved to the member states .However, the Constitutional Charter's requirement of 'free flow of people,goods, services and capital' should eliminate trade barriers between Serbiaand Montenegro .The Republics have the right to hold referendums on independence afterthree years, a key clause for Montenegro's pro-independence Governmentunder Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic .Latest DevelopmentsNovember 2003With the government facing a no-confidence motion, the ParliamentarySpeaker and acting President, Natasa Micic, disbanded the Parliament of theRepublic of Serbia (the largest of the entities that comprise Serbia andMontenegro) on 13 November and scheduled parliamentary elections for28 December, 2003 . Micic's role as acting President also ceased with thedissolution of Parliament .The 16 November presidential election in the republic of Serbia failed owing tolow voter turnout (a minimum of 50 per cent is required by law) . This was thethird unsuccessful attempt, following failed elections on 29 September, 2002and 8 December, 2002 .Bilateral RelationsAustralia and Serbia and Montenegro (SiM, formerly the Federal Republic ofYugoslavia (F .R.Y .)) enjoy cordial relations based on strong community links .In the 2001 Australian Census, 55,362 people advised their birthplace as inthe F.R.Y ., and 49,195 people advised they spoke Serbian at home .Travel Report, Hon . Michael Atkinson, MP. and Ms . Vint Ciccarello MP., August, 2004 84