Resolution on the situation in Kosovo

(1999/C 293/17)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

1. stresses the necessity of an active role for the European Union in combating human rights violations and expulsions at the heart of the European continent and, at a later stage, in rebuilding that region;

2. underlines the will of the local and regional authorities to set up twinning arrangements with the local and regional authorities in Kosovo, in order to provide humanitarian relief and to support the re-establishment of local authority administrations and public utility institutions when the refugees return;

3. is convinced that the legitimacy of the European unification depends crucially on the European Union's ability to accept responsibility in and for our continent, prevent aggression and safeguard peace;

4. calls for the preservation and protection of cultural, ethnic and regional characteristics and identities and for the maintenance of people's ties with their countries and places of origin;

5. is convinced that peace and stability in the Balkans will be in the interest of the whole of the European Union;

6. encourages all initiatives to pursue the goal of a multi-ethnic and democratic Kosovo in which all its peoples can live in peace and security; and calls for the proper involvement of Russia in the peace initiatives;

7. expresses its solidarity with the hundreds of thousands of refugees driven by force from their homes; encourages local and regional authorities from all Member States to accommodate on a temporary basis part of the refugee flow coming from Kosovo; and calls on the Member States to take in a greater number of refugees from the region, having regard to an appropriate sharing of the burden in the light of population size and economic strength;

8. demands that all actions carried out by the Serbian forces against the civil population be halted, this being an indispensable prerequisite for an acceptable settlement in Kosovo;

9. demands a political solution leading to the ending of military action and guaranteeing the return of the refugees as soon as possible; and is convinced that such a solution requires the deployment of international military forces for a transitory period and a significant role for the United Nations;

10. firmly believes that humanitarian help and international solidarity should be rounded off by technical help in all political, economic and social areas contributing to democratic development of a civil state respectful of cultural diversities. Financial assistance should be sufficient to meet both the oncosts of experts from local and regional authorities and the implementation costs of individual projects; and requests that substantial financial assistance be given to those local and regional authorities wishing to implement a technical programme with a view to the reconstruction of this region and the restoration of citizens' rights, as soon as the conflict is terminated;

11. is convinced that the essential prerequisites for the pacification and long-lasting economic prosperity of the Balkans are on one hand the EU's willingness to accept due responsibility for the Balkans and on the other hand a high degree of self-government while ensuring that the territorial integrity of the States in this region is respected; and wishes a process to be launched for giving local and regional authorities in the Balkans more responsibilities and promoting the gradual development of local and regional self-government;

12. supports the resolutions of the European Parliament and the Council in which it has been clearly stated that NATO actions are not directed against the Serb or Yugoslav population but are directed against the Milosevic regime given the unceasing violations of fundamental human rights and the process of ethnic cleansing initiated by him;

13. considers that this conflict demonstrates the urgent need to achieve a consistent and real Common Foreign and Security Policy and a European policy on migration and asylum as early as the next Intergovernmental Conference (IGC), which should also provide for the drawing up of a European charter on the rights of citizens and their minority groups;

14. calls for the swift implementation of measures laid down in the Treaty of Amsterdam. The COR wishes as soon as possible the appointment of a High Representative for the common foreign and security policy, the establishment of a policy planning and early warning unit with the participation of the European Commission and the formulation of common foreign policy strategies;

15. calls on the Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission to start elaborating a Balkan stability pact and a reconstruction plan, in association with local and regional authorities.

Brussels, 2 June 1999.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Manfred DAMMEYER