Brussels, 22/07/2003 (Agence Europe) - As expected, Monday's External Relations Council formally decided to extend the Concordia military mission in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to 15 December. No decision, however, has been reached on taking over command of the mission from France.
In its conclusions, the Council insisted that extending the mission would "contribute to the stability" of the country and that this was done with NATO capability and equipment. The Council expressed its appreciation for France's "performance" for commanding the mission but had not yet agreed about who would take over. Whilst awaiting the opinion of the EU Military Committee (which normally should be submitted on Monday morning), "It welcomed the offer from UROFOR" to take over from France. The decision will not be taken until several weeks from now but everything points to Eurofor probably being appointed to command Concordia, say sources familiar with the dossier. Finally, the Council notes the interest shown by Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski for sending an EU police mission to his country, at the end of the Concordia mandate. It will also analyse this possibility with the authorities of the country and with the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). To this end, a mission to assess requirements to achieve this will be sent to FYROM.