Brussels, 02/04/2001 (Agence Europe) - The EU and NATO discussed their political and military activities in Macedonia and in the Valley of Presevo (southern Serbia), at the "crisis management coordinating meeting" between the EU's Political and Security Committee (Cops) and the NATO Permanent Council, at EU Council Headquarters on Monday. A few hours before his further departure for Skopje with Commissioner Chris Patten, the High Representative for Cfsp, Javier Solana, recalled the major outlines of the political strategy defined by the EU to play in favour of passing from military intervention to political dialogue.
The "Europe Commission", proposed by the EU to institutionalise the dialogue between the government and opposition (see EUROPE of 29 March, p.3), should meet for the first time in Skopje Monday evening in the presence of Javier Solana. Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski, Solana told the press on Sunday, that himself told him over the phone that he would be chairing the meeting of the Commission, and that its work would go hand in hand with that of the Committee for Relations with the EU of the Macedonian Parliament.
The dialogue committee, he recalled, will focus on three issues: political reform, economic reform and inter-ethnic dialogue.
In parallel, Mr Solana and Mr Patten will, during their visit, continue to prepare the signing of the stability and association agreement between the EU and Macedonia, on 9 April in Luxembourg. They are expected to insist that all Macedonia's political forces will take part in the signing ceremony.
NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson, for his part, took stock of the deployment of KFOR troops for surveillance of the border between Kosovo and Macedonia. He reminded the press that he had called for an additional one thousand men and that Spanish, Swedish and German troops as well as French, British and American surveillance means have already been made available for KFOR, to reinforce the forces already deployed in this area. "Arrests have already been made", stressed Lord Robertson.
During this meeting, the EU and NATO confirmed their common approach, said COPS President-in-Office Anders Bjuner, who insisted on territorial stability, the checking of extremist activity and encouragement to dialogue. Lord Robertson said they were working as a team and ensuring that their actions are of a complementary nature.
During the visit by Mr Solana and Mr Patten, the Commission recalled that aid of EUR 40 million to FYROM is planned in the EU Budget 2001. The corresponding aid programme is "being finalised". Among these projects are support of EUR 5 million to the University of South East Europe in Tetovo, the funds being transferred to OSCE in "coming weeks". The Commission will, moreover, be sending a team to assess the needs of the Tetovo region, as soon as it is "sufficiently safe". Romano Prodi, however, reportedly ruled out any exceptional or additional financial aid to Skopje. He said, on Saturday in Greece, that the EU is "not the Red Cross" (according to AFP). Commission aid to Macedonia amounted to EUR 475 million between 1992 and 2000, recalls the Commission.