A4-0178/96

Resolution on the communication from the Commission on the reconstruction in former Yugoslavia: EU aid administration and internal aid coordination (COM(95)0582 - C4-0519/95)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the communication from the Commission on the reconstruction in former Yugoslavia: EU aid administration and internal aid coordination (COM(95)0582 - C4-0519/95) ,

- having regard to the Dayton Peace agreement, and in particular annex 10 on civilian implementation of the Peace Settlement,

- having regard to the Conclusions of the Bosnia Peace Implementation Conference, London, 8-9 December 1995,

- having regard to the Chairmen's conclusions of the first and second meetings of donors on the reconstruction of Bosnia-Herzegovina (Brussels, 20-21 December 1995 and 12-13 April 1996),

- having regard to the UN Security Council resolutions, in particular Resolution 1031 (1995) of 15 December 1995, and to the first report by the High Representative to the Secretary-General of the UN of 13 March 1996,

- having regard to the conclusions of the Council, in particular of 4 December 1995, 29/30 January 1996, 26/27 February 1996, 11 March 1996, 22 April 1996 and 13/14 May 1996,

- having regard to its resolutions of 21 September 1995 (( OJ C 269, 16.10.1995, p. 145.)), 26 October 1995 ((OJ C 308, 20.11.1995, p. 145.)), 14 December 1995 (( OJ C 17, 22.1.1996, p. 147.)), 18 January 1996 ((OJ C 32, 5.2.1996, p. 95.)), 15 February 1996 ((OJ C 65, 4.3.1996, p. 154.)), 29 February 1996 ((OJ C 78, 18.3.1996, p. 33.)), 14 March 1996 ((OJ C 96, 1.4.1996, p. 297.)) and 18 April 1996 ((See Minutes of that Sitting, Part II, Item 13.)),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on External Economic Relations and the opinions of the the Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Budgetary Control (A4-0178/96),

A. whereas the reconstruction of the war-stricken areas of former Yugoslavia, and in particular of Bosnia-Herzegovina, is crucial in order to create a climate of stability and security and to further cooperation between the peoples and the states in the region,

B. whereas the international community has agreed, in particular at the London Peace Implementation Conference, to support economic reconstruction in Bosnia and Herzegovina 'on the basis of appropriate burden-sharing within the international community of the overall effort needed to secure and implement the peace¨,

C. whereas the elements of political conditionality attached to the assistance stem from the General Framework Peace Agreement and are clearly set out in the Conclusions of the Peace Implementation Conference,

D. whereas the High Representative will monitor the implementation of the Peace Agreement and mobilise and, as appropriate, coordinate the activities of the civilian organisations and agencies involved,

E. whereas the Council, in its conclusions of 30 October 1995, confirmed the willingness of the EU to 'contribute to the international effort aimed at the reconstruction of the regions devastated by the war¨ and to 'coordinate its action with the other members of the international community in order to provide long-term assistance with the objectives of supporting economic development, reinforcement of civil society, reconciliation and regional economic cooperation¨,

F. whereas, even with international support, the reintegration of the various parties into a multi-ethnic united state, Bosnia-Herzegovina, will be a long process in view of the extreme difficulty of reconciling ethnic differences,

1. Welcomes the results of the first and second meetings of donor countries and organisations on the reconstruction of Bosnia-Herzegovina held in Brussels on 20-21 December 1995 and 12-13 April 1996;

2. Is concerned about reports tabled at the second donors' conference which indicated:

(a) that only US$ 350 m of the US$ 600 m raised at the first donors' conference had actually been committed by April 1996,

(b) that 70% of donor resources had been provided as grants made to support specific projects or as 'in kind' assistance, but that very few donors had given cash grants to support recurrent or other expenditure,

(c) that less than 9% of donor resources had gone to social sectors,

(d) that less than 2% of donor resources had gone towards landmine clearance;

3. Stresses the need for an equitable burden-sharing within the international community to ensure adequate funding; congratulates the Commission for its rapidity in reacting to the challenge of economic reconstruction;

4. Calls on the other donors, in particular the US, Japan and the Islamic countries, to undertake sufficient long-term commitments in order to contribute effectively to the complete reconstruction programme;

5. Stresses the importance of committing money which has been promised as soon as possible;

6. Agrees with the priorities identified by the Commission, the World Bank, the EBRD and the IMG for the Programme for recovery and growth in Bosnia and Herzegovina;

7. Stresses the importance of achieving practical results in terms of peace before the September elections;

8. Stresses however:

- the paramount importance of housing rehabilitation, in particular for returning refugees; recognizes the great efforts made by the Commission in this respect,

- the need to speed up efforts for landmine clearance,

- the crucial importance of funding specific projects for institution strengthening, including civilian administration (tax and customs administration, monetary authorities, agencies for implementing assistance),

- the need to favour systematically those projects which will support close cooperation between the Entities of the Republic of Bosnia- Herzegovina, as well as regional and local cooperation;

9. Stresses furthermore that:

- it must be constantly emphasized that continuing aid is dependent on all parties respecting human rights and the rule of law, cooperating with the International War Crimes Tribunal, dismantling the war industry and cooperating in arms control,

- poverty alleviation should be a primary aim of reconstruction; in particular moves should be made towards establishing a coherent social welfare system,

- in developing projects emphasis should be given to the need to reinvigorate the local economy by the use where possible of local suppliers and labour force. To this end welcomes the efforts already made by the Commission to provide work for demobilized soldiers,

- projects should as far as possible promote social integration by the development of schemes accessible to differing communities or through the use of ethnically mixed labour force,

- aid for recurring expenditure such as salaries for doctors and teachers should be a priority;

International Coordination

10. Acknowledges the efforts to set up efficient coordination systems for international assistance; considers that a certain clarification should occur on the respective roles of the High Representative and the main donors, such as the World Bank and the EU, represented by the Commission;

11. Considers furthermore that specific efforts should be exercised at EU level, in order to coordinate assistance by the Union and by the Member States;

12. Calls on the Commission to furnish information on reconstruction aid granted under PHARE and the exercise of conditionality, given that the condition of freedom of media is not realized in any of the entities;

13. Emphasizes that donor resources should be channelled into projects identified as priorities by the agencies on the ground in Bosnia;

14. Underlines the importance of operating a coherent system for implementing political conditionality, responsibility for which should clearly lie with the High Representative;

Macro-economic Issues

15. Remarks that the macro-economic situation of Bosnia-Herzegovina is particularly difficult, inevitably delaying intervention by IFIs. External assistance therefore needs to be in the form of grants rather than loans in the short term;

16. Welcomes the agreements which have made possible settlement of Bosnia- Herzegovina's debt arrears with the IMF and the World Bank, as well as its membership in those institutions;

17. Stresses the importance of dealing swiftly with the problem of EIB debt arrears, in order to mobilize as soon as possible EIB funds for reconstruction; considers that the Union should take an initiative in this matter; recalls that negotiations with the Paris Club and the London Club on debt rescheduling are still on-going;

Croatia

18. Calls for the immediate start of preparatory work for damage assessment and project identification in the war-stricken areas of Croatia so that, once political conditions are considered fulfilled, implementation can take place without delay;

19. Stresses, in that context, that no consideration should be given to resuming negotiations for a cooperation agreement with Croatia, nor to its admission to the PHARE programme until the international community is satisfied that Croatia is actively supporting the Dayton Peace Agreement in all its respects;

In conclusion

20. Insists yet again on the need for donors to select high-impact, high visibility projects with high employment potential, which will favour inter- entity and inter-state cooperation and visibly express international solidarity and reinforce implementation of political conditionality; stresses the need for donors to develop coherent guidelines for procurement procedures and favour mobilisation of private funds by supporting guarantee programmes covering political risks;

21. Urges the Commission to avoid any measures which recognize the different entities as political bodies, and recommends seeking cooperation with local partners, at the same time avoiding time-consuming bureaucracy;

22. Takes note that the Commission has prepared a specific legal base for reconstruction assistance to Bosnia-Herzegovina;

23. Is concerned by the absence of the representatives of Republika Srpska at the second donors' conference; maintains however that international assistance for reconstruction should benefit all the people of Bosnia- Herzegovina, within the framework of political conditionality defined by the Dayton Peace Agreements;

24. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the governments of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia and the High Representative for the Implementation of the Peace Agreement.