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Montenegro - The newest country in Europe



Montenegro (/mɒntɪˈneɪgroʊ/ or /mɒntɪˈniːgroʊ/), Montenegrin/Serbian: Црна Гора, Crna Gora (pronounced [ˈt͡sr̩naː ˈɡɔra], listen ), Albanian: Mali i Zi ([ˈmali i ˈzi])) is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south and borders Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the north and east, the disputed entity of Kosovo to the north and east, and Albania to the south. Its capital and largest city is Podgorica, while Cetinje is designated as the Prijestonica (Пријестоница), meaning the former Royal Capital City.[5].

Montenegro is a member of the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Council of Europe and Montenegro is also a founding member of the Union for the Mediterranean. It is also a potential candidate for membership in the European Union and NATO.

A sovereign principality since the Late Middle Ages,[6] Montenegro saw its independence from the Ottoman Empire formally recognized in 1878. From 1918, it was a part of various incarnations of Yugoslavia. On the basis of a referendum held on 21 May 2006, Montenegro declared independence on 3 June. On 28 June 2006, it became the 192nd member state of the United Nations,[7] and on 11 May 2007 the 47th member state of the Council of Europe.[8] On 15 December 2008, Montenegro presented it's official application to the European Union, with the hopes of gaining EU candidate status by 2009.[9]