Council invites Georgievski to present end-June outcome of negotiations over institutional reform in Macedonia

Luxembourg, 11/06/2001 (Agence Europe) - In its conclusions on the Western Balkans, Monday's General Affairs Council reiterated its concern at the deterioration of security in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and once again condemned the terrorist acts of ethnic Albanian extremists. The Council welcomed the strategy of President Trajkovski for disarmament and encouraged the Macedonian authorities to implement it as soon as possible. "A comprehensive, concrete and substantive reform package ensuring rights of all people in the country, regardless of their ethnic origin is urgently required", says the Council, inviting Prime Minister Georgievski to present the results of on-going negotiations at its meeting of 25-26 June.

The Council warmly welcomed the promulgation of the constitutional framework for provisional self-government in Kosovo and urged all ethnic communities to seize this chance, and to participate in the election process and the future provisional institutions of self-government. It also welcomed measures taken by UNMIK to counter illegal border crossings and illegal possession of arms, as well as the imminent adoption of a regulation to help combat terrorism in Kosovo.

The Foreign Ministers decided to forward the report on the review of the Stabilisation and Association Process to the European Council of Gothenburg.

In its report on the review of the Stabilisation and Association Process, the Council refers to progress made an efforts that remain to be made in each State to have emerged from the former Yugoslavia. Operational Conclusions confirm the desire of the Fifteen to maintain a certain balance between pressure and signs of encouragement addressed to each country. Here are the main conclusions on:

• Albania: the Council welcomes the Commission's report on the high-level EU-Albanian working group. It acknowledges Albania's substantial progress and invites the Commission to present a draft mandate in view of negotiating a stabilisation and association agreement, if possible by the end of the year. To support the reform process in view of preparing these negotiations, the Council approved the setting up, as soon as possible, of a joint consultative task force.
• Bosnia-Herzegovina: the Council appreciates the efforts of the new Council of Ministers of Bosnia-Herzegovina and recalls that a certain number of measures, demanded by the Zagreb Summit, should be implemented by the country's authorities before mid-2001 so that the Commission can study the feasibility of a new phase of the stabilisation and association process. The Council is waiting for the Commission's report on the state of progress in implementing these measures.
• Croatia: underpinning that the future signing (the process was launched on 14 May) of a stabilisation and association agreement would for the first time allow for the establishment of mutual contractual relations between the Union and Croatia, the Council agrees to maintain the joint consultative task force and the formalisation of the political dialogue through a joint EU and Croatia declaration.
• Yugoslavia: the Council welcomes the great progress achieved by the FRY to consolidate democracy and promote the necessary economic and legal reforms. It is in favour of holding the first meeting of the EU-FRY consultative task force, if possible at the end of July, as first step towards a stabilisation and association agreement. The Council hopes that the Donor conference of 29 June will be a success.