The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro started the process of Accession to the European Union in November 2005, when negotiations over a Stabilisation and Association Agreement began. In May 2006, Montenegro voted for independence in a referendum and the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro was dissolved. Serbia continued with the existing negotiations, and separate negotiations were launched with Montenegro in September 2006. The Agreement was initialled on 15 March 2007 and officially signed on 15 October 2007. In 2010, the Commission issued a favourable opinion on Montenegro's application, identifying seven key priorities that would need to be addressed for negotiations to begin, and the Council granted it candidate status. In December 2011, the Council launched the accession process with a view to opening negotiations in June 2012. The accession negotiations with Montenegro subsequently began on 29 June 2012. With all the negotiating chapters opened, the country enjoys a widespread support among EU members' officials, and accession of the country to the EU is considered possible by 2025. In its 2016 assessment of the accession progress, European Commission has identified Montenegro as having the highest level of preparation for membership among the negotiating states. Until 2020, Montenegro had received €507 million of developmental aid from the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, a funding mechanism for EU candidate countries.