Strasbourg, 16/11/2000 (Agence Europe) - "This year fortunately opened with the democratic change in Croatia. It continued with the victory of democratic forces in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. We hope it will end with the consolidation of democracy, on 23 December, at the legislative elections in Serbia", said EU Council President Pierre Moscovici in a declaration to the Zagreb Summit requested by the Parliament on the EU/Balkans Summit on 24 November in Zagreb. Mr Moscovici recalled that the EU has already acknowledged the fact that the countries concerned have the "potential of being accession candidates", and announced: "We hope to confirm this offer to the summit in Zagreb, while defining, for each country, the stages that must be crossed and the reforms accomplished along the way, and, finally, give concrete substance to Community support of prime importance for accompanying this process". The consequences of the decisive democratic changes that have come about in the regions will be drawn at the highest level and support will be given to the process of reconciliation between the FRY and its neighbouring countries. Furthermore, Mr Moscovici:
- answered Dutch Green member Joost Lagendijk, Rapporteur on the Erupean Agency for Reconstruction. He supported extending the scope of the Agency "which has proved its worth in Kosovo" to the whole of FRY. The rapporteur considers this is a "new beginning" allowing lessons to be learnt from the errors of the past, and he called for the regulation to also give the amount required for financing the Agency's activity (5.5 billion in seven years). Otherwise, he said, our debate today serves no purpose.
Bart Staes (Green, Belgium) said he was pleased that Parliament pressure (mainly following the ad hoc mission to the country by Terry Wynn and Doris Pack) had convinced the European Commission to "review its plans" and to present a new and far better proposal. Ms Pack (CDU), Chair of the EP Delegation for relations with South East Europe, said wastage and futile intervention should be avoided.
- answered Spanish Socialist Carlos Westendorp, Rapporteur on the CARDs programme (revision of the financial aid agreements to Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, FRY and FYROM), by pointing out that the Presidency's aim is to reach an agreement on this regulation during the General Affairs Council of 20 November, to announce it on 24 November at the Zagreb Summit. The amount of the financial reference for CARDS over the 2000-2006 period was recently the subject of an agreement between the Fifteen. It is for around EUR 4.65 billion (see yesterday's EUROPE, page 7). Mr Westendorp (who was High Representative for the international community in Bosnia) urged for more effective and coordinated aid allowing the EU to have sufficient visibility. "But we cannot do the miracle of feeding the five thousand", he affirmed.
The Parliament then approved the revised regulations:
1. Regulation on the European Agency for Reconstruction (Lagendijk Report), consulted in one EP reading, approved the proposals aimed above all at simplifying the decision-making procedures and decentralising the activity of the Agency (beginning by opening an operational centre in Pristina, without this, says the EP, prejudging the opening of other operational centres in the FRY). The Parliament, moreover, hopes that the Agency, over and beyond what the Commission proposes, will extend its activities to supporting the civil society, restoring the rule of law and the return of displaced persons, and asks to be consulted on the appointment of the Agency's director upon the Agency's dissolution when the Commission considers it has fulfilled its mandate.
2. Regulation on aid to Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, FRY and FYROM, the CARDS programme (Westendorp report). The Parliament has amended the proposal, which essentially aims to improve the speed, quality and visibility of such aid, providing for a single legal base for the countries concerned. Among the amendments adopted, one specifies that the financial reference amount illustrating the will of the legislative authority amounts to EUR 5.5 billion (this amount must appear in the regulation, says the EP), while others insist on adequate European Parliament information.