Montengro has taken two important steps forward: it signed an SAA with the EU and adopted a new constitution (cf. Wikipedia, BIRN, and this blog). As Euractiv remarks, "it will still take years for Montenegro to join the EU". Montenegro has not even formally applied for EU membership. Progress is needed especially in the field of rule of law and the fight against organised crime and corruption... as in all its neighbouring countries.

The EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program (EUMAP) recently published a call for papers on "Across Fading Borders: The Challenges of East-West Migration in the EU" (click here to download the call for papers (pdf)). EUMAP calls for articles about the impact and background of intra-EU mobility and migration, both in the countries of destination and the countries of origin. EUMAP would especially welcome contributions on one of the following themes: Policy responses to East-European migration in the countries of destination. East-European migration and the multicultural society. Immigration from the new Member States in comparison. The impact of emigration on the countries of origin. The Central European Member States as immigration countries. Selected papers will be featured on eumap.org. Accepted authors will receive an honorarium of €200. Papers should be written in English and be between 1,500-2,000 words. Papers should be submitted by 19 November 2007 to Joost van Beek.

The German Ministry of Finance plans a High-Level Meeting on Remittances in Berlin from 28-30 November. According to Worldbank estimates, remittances to developing countries (about 250 billion dollars) are about double as high as world-wide development aid and much higher than foreign direct investments. The most important countries of origin of remittances are the US, Saudi-Arabia, and Germany. Most remittances from Germany go to Turkey, Italy, and to Serbia and Montenegro.