Brussels / Athens, 08/01/2001 (Agence Europe) - After Belgian Defence Minister Andre Flahaut, Greek Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos has also written to his Swedish counterpart Bjorn von Sydow stating that the EU should seek an enquiry into the possible links between the use of weapons containing depleted uranium in NATO's campaigns in the Balkans and illnesses - in particular, cases of leukemia - and deaths of soldiers of EU member countries engaged in these campaigns (see above). Mr. Tsohatzopoulos called for the classification of all instances of blood diseases in the past decade so as to ascertain whether there has been any increase in the incidence of such diseases recently. While awaiting the conclusions of the meeting of the Interim Political and Security Committee on Tuesday, a group of Greek experts arrived in Kosovo on Monday to investigate possible contamination, especially in the town of Kurosevac where Greece's SFOR contingent is stationed.
In Brussels, in answer to questions on Monday, European Commission spokespeople said that the role the European Commission and other EU institutions could play in this affair depended on the outcome of the enquiry into the impact of the use of depleted uranium; should an environmental or health impact be noted, it is clear that the EU will have its word to say, especially as its programmes for Kosovo and those being prepared for Serbia cover these aspects.
In a statement Friday evening, President Prodi said: "The Commission is particularly concerned by the impact of years of conflict on health and the environment in the Balkan region. My heartfelt sympathy goes out to the families of all the victims and more generally to all those who have suffered from years of tragic conflict. Together with public authorities, international organisations and others, we will play our part with the greatest care and sense of urgency in collecting an analysing all relevant information on the situation in the region. I have therefore asked the Commission services to coordinate our assistance programmes and contact local authorities to provide any help in monitoring the health and environmental situation on the ground. The role of the European Union in the reconstruction of the region has never been more important. Our policies, recently confirmed by the Nice Summit, show the way forward to a European future of peace, democracy and reconciliation".
Friday, a spokesperson for the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) said that samples taken by UNEP in November on 11 of the 112 sites bombarded in 1999 in Kosovo with depleted uranium shells demonstrated that 8 of these 11 sites were contaminated. According to UNEP, the sample chosen was "representative of the 112 sites". UNEP Director, Klaus Topfer, stressed that the goal of the enquiry was to "determine whether the use of depleted uranium during the conflict may pose health and environmental risks, either now or in the future". You may recall that UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had asked for such an enquiry last year, and that NATO had provided the UN with a list of places that had been shelled or bombed with munitions equipped with depleted uranium. The Alliance acknowledges the use of 31,000 depleted uranium shells in Kosovo during the campaign of Spring 1999, whereas in Bosnia 10,000 shells of this type are said to have been fired.