Montenegro Becomes 47th Council Of Europe Member

"I have the historic honor to greet you on behalf of the citizens and leadership of Montenegro," Rocen said. "This is a great day for us -- a day when we have become a fully fledged member of the Council of Europe, the oldest, distinguished pan-European organization."

In a separate development, Serbia is due today to take over the Council of Europe's chairmanship.

Serbia is taking over the six-month rotating chairmanship despite concerns among some Council of Europe officials about the election of an ultranationalist, Tomislav Nikolic, as the speaker of Serbia's parliament.

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