Brussels, 15/01/2001 (Agence Europe) - As we announced, on the basis of a communication from the Commissioner responsible for the environment, Ms. Wallstrom, in agreement with President Prodi and the Commissioner for External Relations, Mr. Patten, the Commission will on Wednesday discuss the situation in the Balkans, following a decade marked by conflict that has left traces that need tackling in both the short and medium-term. The Commission had announced such a discussion following the emotion caused by information on the possible impact of the use of munitions armed with depleted uranium on soldiers and civilians during NATO's campaigns in former Yugoslavia. The Commission, which played a leading role in the development of the regional programme for environmental reconstruction in the region, committed, in 2000, as its own contribution to the programme, 5 million euro, 3 million of which to set up institutions active in this field and 2 million to tackle environmental problems in certain particularly vulnerable places in Macedonia and Albania.
The Commission should, on Wednesday, in order to tackle the consequences of the use of depleted uranium in the Balkans, envisage: - short term measures, based on the opinion of independent scientific experts, provided for in the context of the Euratom treaty. - longer-term measures to be undertaken in the framework of the regional environmental reconstruction programme, following a comprehensive environmental impact assessment - which could demand an adjustment to its existing assistance programmes.