"With a view to the appropriate next steps, member states have agreed to address the matter further" on June 12 at a meeting of EU foreign ministers, said a statement from the EU Council. The EU also urged Montenegro and Serbia to begin a dialogue on their future relations.

The Montenegrin parliament declared independence Saturday in a special session called after last weekend's referendum in which 55.5 percent of voters favored separating from Belgrade.

Serbia and Montenegro were the last two republics that remained allied after the break-up of the former Yugoslavia during the Balkan wars of the 1990s. Under the 2003 union agreement between Belgrade and Podgorica, each republic had the right to hold a referendum on independence after three years.

A "European perspective" for Montenegro

Brussels also acknowledged that Montenegro, like other western Balkan nations, had "a European perspective." Last month, the European Commission said it was possible to

conclude "this year" a stabilization and association accord with the new independent state, the first concrete step toward eventual EU membership. However it added that there would be no shortcut on the path to membership.

While the EU urged Montenegro's government to work with the pro-union opposition in implementing political, social and economic reforms, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on Sunday called on the governments in Podgorica and Belgrade to hold talks to resolve outstanding issues in connection with the separation. Scheffer also said that he acknowledged and respected the decision to separate and talked about the Balkan's "Euro-Atlantic future."

At the extraordinary parliamentary session, deputies approved a declaration of independence which identified the country's integration in the European Union and NATO as key priorities.

The declaration said Montenegro was determined to build its state policy by respecting the principles of the United Nations, EU, Council of Europe and OSCE.

Velvet divorce?

EU officials have urged the Serbian government, whose Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica firmly backed the pro-union bloc in Montenegro, to open talks as soon as possible with their counterparts in Podgorica on a "velvet divorce." However, none of Serbia's top officials attended the Podgorica celebrations.

Instead, Serbia's President Boris Tadic sent a message to the citizens of Montenegro, wishing them "peace, stability and overall prosperity." On its European path "as always in our history, Montenegro will have the closest friend in Serbia," Tadic added.

First steps of independence

The first moves of the newest world's state will be to apply for membership in international organizations, media reported.

"As early as Tuesday, Montenegro will apply for a membership of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)," Montenegrin paper Vijesti reported.

According to the constitutional charter of the vanishing state union, Serbia will inherit membership of the UN and other international and financial organizations.

The new state on the world's map of some 650,000 inhabitants should also form a defense ministry and army headquarters, which will be done within days, Vijesti quoted Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic as saying.

Vujanovic expects that at the next NATO meeting Montenegro will be given the opportunity to join the Northern Alliance's Partnership for Peace Program, a first step towards a full membership. Serbia and Montenegro, the union that replaced rump Yugoslavia, was unable to join the program due to its failure to arrest and transfer to the UN war crimes tribunal a most wanted fugitive, Bosnian Serb wartime military chief Ratko Mladic, believed to be in hiding in Serbia.

Focus on economy

Besides taking first steps on the international and regional political scene, the tiny mountainous republic, considered one of the poorest in the Balkans, will also need to focus on its economy.

As it expects to rely for its economic development mostly on tourism on its small share of the Adriatic coast, Montenegro will have to improve its infrastructure if it wants to attract the hoped-for 900,000 tourists per year.