Serbia and Montenegro (Serbian: Србија и Црна Гора / Srbija i Crna Gora, abbreviated as СЦГ / SCG) the State Union [of] Serbia and Montenegro, was a confederated union of Serbia and Montenegro, which existed between 2003 and 2006. The two republics, both of which are former republics of the SFR Yugoslavia, initially formed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992. In 2003, the FRY was reconstituted as a State Union Serbia and Montenegro.
On May 21, 2006, Montenegro held a referendum to seek full independence. Final official results indicated on May 31 that 55.5% of voters had elected to become independent. The state union effectively came to an end after Montenegro’s formal declaration of independence on June 3, 2006 and Serbia’s formal declaration of independence on June 5. Many view this as symbolizing the final end of what was left from the former Yugoslavia.
A loose confederation, Serbia and Montenegro was a union only in certain political areas (e.g. defence). The states had separate economic policies and currencies. The country did not have a unified capital, dividing its common institutions between Belgrade.
In 2002, Serbia and Montenegro came to a new agreement regarding continued co-operation, which, among other changes, promised the end of the name Yugoslavia, since they were part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On February 4, 2003, the federal parliament of Yugoslavia created a loose confederation – State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. A new Constitutional Charter was agreed to provide a framework for the governance of the country.
On Sunday, 21 May 2006, Montenegrins voted on an independence referendum, with 55.5% supporting independence. Fifty-five percent or more of affirmative votes were needed to dissolve the state union of Serbia and Montenegro. The turnout was 86.3% and 99.73% of the more than 477,000 votes cast were deemed valid.
The subsequent Montenegrin proclamation of independence on June 3, 2006 and the Serbian proclamation of independence on June 5 ended the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro and thus the last remaining vestiges of the former Yugoslavia.
Serbia and Montenegro had an area of 102,350 square kilometres (39,518 sq mi), with 199 kilometres (124 mi) of coastline. The terrain of the two republics is extremely varied, with much of Serbia comprising plains and low hills (except in the more mountainous region of Kosovo) and much of Montenegro consisting of high mountains. Serbia is entirely landlocked, with the coastline belonging to Montenegro, which also possessed the only fjord in southern Europe. The climate is similarly varied. The north has a continental climate (cold winters and hot summers); the central region has a combination of a continental and Mediterranean climate; the south enjoyed an Adriatic climate along the coast, with inland regions experiencing hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall inland.
Belgrade, with its population of 1,574,050, is the largest city in the two nations: and the only one of significant size. The country’s other principal cities were Novi Sad, Niš, Kragujevac, Podgorica, Subotica, Priština, and Prizren, each with populations of about 100,000-250,000 people.