Anthony Browne, Europe Correspondent for The Times, believes that a freshly independent Montenegro could look forward to fulfilling its ambition of joining Europe as soon as 2010.

Now Montenegro is a separate country, must the membership talks start again?

No. The talks between Serbia-Montenegro and the EU have been highly unusual in that although they were part of the same country, the two regions operated in completely different ways.

Serbia-Montenegro was essentially two countries welded together which had very little in common in terms of internal markets, law, anti-corruption measures or the general machinery of the state.

To accommodate these differences the two halves had been carrying out separate negotiations running alongside each other. But the twin-tracking was not totally independent, Montenegro would not have been able to join without Serbia - they had to pass all of the hurdles together.

How far along are the talks?

The Stability and Association Agreement is the first stage, a kind of ante-chamber for the talks which lead to EU membership. It's about setting the real basics for a liberal democratic state such as the ability to hold free and fair elections and getting the infrastructure in place to distribute farming subsidies.

Once the agreement has been achieved, there is a series of steps which a country must follow to gain entry to Europe. The first of these is to apply formally for membership. If successful, a country is granted candidate status. This is where Turkey and Croatia are.

From here there are then entry talks which lead, eventually, to membership. However, the association talks between Serbia-Montenegro were suspended earlier this month over Serbia's failure to hand over General Ratko Mladic.

What happened?

This really upset Montenegro, which felt that its reputation was tainted because it was yoked to a country considered one of the international bad guys. When there were sanctions against Serbia, Montenegro suffered. The suspension of talks with Serbia meant that its talks were frozen too - even though it had no control over the activities of General Mladic.

A crucial part of the pro-independence campaign was that it would be able to pursue its relationship with Europe untainted. It thinks, probably quite rightly, that it will be able to become a member much more quickly.

Is an independent Montenegro a good candidate for EU membership?

It is in many ways an ideal candidate, but a lot depends on the state of its economy and its infrastructure. The question is how quickly it can enshrine EU laws into its own domestic law, and how deeply it is engrained with corruption and organised crime.

In a small country it's far easier to implement the various measures because there are fewer groups with a vested interest to oppose them. It would also be relatively easy for the EU to absorb such a tiny country, as it would have very little say in the way it is run.

Compare this to Turkey which, if it joined, would be the largest country in the EU. If negotiations are successful, it is quite possible that Montenegro could join as early as 2010.

As Montenegro prepares the ground for a marriage to the EU, what will happen to Serbia?

There are two hurdles which Serbia has still to cross to revive talks: firstly, they will have to give up General Mladic which is a huge issue internally as he still retains widespread support among nationalists. This is why the United Nations believes Serbia may be colluding in his remaining a fugitive.

The other issue is over whether Kosovo will remain as a province of Serbia. Talks about its future are about to start which could lead to Kosovo also becoming an independent country. The future for Serbia remains very uncertain.

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