European Union ministers voted on April 23 2009 to pass on to the European Commission the question of Montenegro's application for membership of the EU.

This means that Podgorica will be asked to submit formal replies to a number of questions so that the EC can assess Montenegro's suitability to join the EU.

Montenegro's top three state leaders presented Montenegro's application for EU membership on December 15 2008.

In a statement on April 23, the EU Council said that it reaffirmed "that the future of the
Western Balkans lies in the European Union".

"Each country's progress towards the European Union depends on its individual efforts to comply with the Copenhagen criteria and the conditionality of the Stabilisation and Association Process," the EU Council statement said.

A country's satisfactory track-record in implementing its obligations under a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), including trade related provisions, is an essential element for the EU to consider any membership application, the statement said.

German news agency DPA said that EC officials said that the time that the in-depth study required for the EC to make a decision would depend on the speed with which Monntenegro responded to the EU's questions. The questions seek detail on the implementation of required reforms.

After the EC makes its recommendation, it will be up to EU member states to decide whether to accept it, and when the bloc should open accession talks. Member states will have to agree on the issue unanimously, making it a potentially difficult negotiation.

Prime minister Milo Djukanovic's party won a decisive majority in elections last month. The snap election, held well ahead of time, was in effect a referendum on Djukanovic's approach to resolving the problems of Montenegro's economy, hard hit by the global financial and economic crisis, and as a confirmation of the mandate he sought for the path he was taking towards European integration.