Montenegro will hold early general elections on March 29 this year, instead of 2010, in order to secure stability amid global financial crisis, the country's President, Filip Vujanovic, said.

Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic's coalition is expected to win the upcoming vote, after having governed for more than a decade. Since its independence from Serbia in 2006, the country’s top priorities are NATO and EU membership.

Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic submitted a formal application for European Union membership in December during a meeting with the rotating EU Council French President, Nicolas Sarkozy.