Brussels, 30/08/2001 (Agence Europe) - NATO announced on Thursday in Skopje that over one third of the weapons due to be handed in by the UCK have now been collected and General Gunnar Lange notified President Trajkustin of this result so that the Macedonian president might begin work on Friday. The Alliance has thus fulfilled the condition set by the Macedonian Parliament before debates may begin on the adoption of the reforms contained in the political agreement signed on 13 August between the Macedonian and the Albanian parties. On Thursday afternoon, after having met the country's chief security officials to study the data provided by NATO, President Boris Trajkovski noted that the conditions for launching the parliamentary procedure had now been fulfilled. NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson had warned on Wednesday that the Macedonian parliament was under the "moral obligation" to adopt the reforms provided for in the agreement. "Just as I expect the insurgents to deliver on their commitments, I expect the Macedonian members of Parliament also to recognise their responsibilities", he declared, adding that "it is not just the number of weapons that counts but the fact that the UCK is surrendering these weapons and is disbanding". Given the criticism not just on the number of weapons but also on the age of the weapons, George Robertson gave his assurance that, after the first days of arms collection, the UCK is keeping to its commitments on two points, quality and quantity. The collection of weapons and votes in Parliament should go hand in hand. The first two voting sessions should take place during the weapons collection process and the third and last vote once the process is complete.
Furthermore, Macedonian Foreign Minister Ilinka Mitreva was to meet his Austrian counterpart in Vienna on Thursday, after going to Switzerland and Germany. The Macedonian Defence Minister, on visit also, was in Germany, where the Bundestag approved to send 500 soldiers to the Operation Essential Harvest. The president of the EPP-ED Group at the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering (CDU) welcomed the "clear majority" (497 for, 130 against and 8 abstentions) which voted within the Bundestag in favour of German troops taking part in the NATO operation. "The Bundestag's decision is not only valid for the mission in Macedonia but is also a positive decision for strengthening the European pillar within the Atlantic Alliance and for stabilising the Union's common foreign and security policy", Mr Pöttering stresses in a press release.
The 30-day period planned for the NATO mission will end on 26 September, the Atlantic Alliance announced on Thursday, suggesting an increased role for the European Union and the OSCE at the end of Operation "Essential Harvest".