Brussels, 04/06/2002 (Agence Europe) - - Given that the Amber Fox Operation in Macedonia expires on 26 October and that the continuation of this mission under European Union responsibility could be compromised as Greece is blocking the agreement on EU access to NATO means, one may wonder what the future of Amber Fox is, and, at the end of the day, it cannot be ruled out that the operation will no longer prove necessary, said one expert.
There are therefore several possibilities. First of all, the task force to protect international monitors will perhaps no longer be necessary, now that the situation in Macedonia has stabilised and the implementation of the provisions of the Ohrid agreement have been completed. Furthermore, in the case of new troubles or other difficulties in Macedonia, it may also be decided that there should be recourse to the KFOR posted in Kosovo (even though it will be considerably reduced by the end of the year), if the problem raised by Greece is not yet resolved. It would also be possible to imagine another way of assuring the protection of monitors. And, at any rate, it will be necessary to verify whether the Macedonian government still believes at the end of the month of October that it is essential to keep a prolonged, albeit small, military presence there, and whether it makes an official request along these lines. All the above hypotheses are therefore "open", and the situation will be clearer "by the month of September or October", said the same expert.