25/07/2002 (Agence Europe) - NATO is examining the possibility of strengthening its military presence in Macedonia, to ensure the safety of additional international monitors who will be sent to Macedonia for the legislative elections of 15 September. The 700 military of the Amber Fox Task Force from eleven Allied countries are already entrusted with the task of extracting OSCE and EU monitors from danger. The Union is to take over from NATO on 26 October but only after agreement on access to Allied assets, which is still blocked by the Greek-Turk problem. Some experts, however, say one may envisage European command even on the basis of a temporary arrangement. In his letter to Chirac and Blair (see EUROPE of 24 July, p.5), Guy Verhofstadt seems to share this view: "We cannot accept the fact that a policy essential to the Union should remain blocked by problems which are foreign to it", he writes.