WRITTEN QUESTION E-0426/00

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Council

(17 February 2000)

Subject: Kosovo detainees in Serbia

On the occasion of a hunger strike (from 24 December 1999 to 6 January 2000) and a demonstration on 5 January 2000, both organised in Brussels by Kosovars from the Albanian World League to demand the release of Kosovar detainees in Serbia, I was received on 5 January 2000 by an official on the staff of the High-Ranking Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy and by the Portuguese Chairmanship of the European Union. Both bodies declared that they were prepared to arrange for the situation of the Kosovar detainees to be placed on the agenda of the European Council of Ministers on 24-25 January. A reading of the reports of proceedings indicates that this item was not discussed at the said Council.

I wish to ask the following questions:

1. How will the Council respond to the European Parliament resolution of 16 September 1999, in which the Presidency is urged to hold direct talks with the Serbian government on releasing all political prisoners?

2. When will the Council debate the situation of Kosovar Albanians detained in Serbia?

3. Is the Council prepared to table and support a resolution at the UN Security Council calling for the release of Albanian detainees in Serbia? If not, why not?

4. Is the Council prepared to make the lifting of sanctions against Yugoslavia and Serbian participation in implementing the Stability Pact for South-East Europe dependent on a solution to the problem of the Albanian detainees? If not, why not?

Reply

(8 June 2000)

The Council has taken note of the resolution of the European Parliament of 16 September 1999 to which the Honourable Member refers. In current circumstances the Council is not in a position to have

direct contacts with the Serbian government, nor is it likely to have any influence with Serbia over the release of political prisoners. However the Council fully shares the Honourable Member's concern over of the fate of the Kosovar prisoners still held in Serbia. It supports all efforts by the international community, among others the ICRC, to obtain the release of all political prisoners. The EU welcomes the releases already obtained by ICRC.

At its meeting on 14 and 15 February, the Council agreed to maintain its overall policy framework of applying maximum pressure on Mr Milosevic. Its decision to suspend the flight ban in the light of calls by the opposition was therefore coupled with an extension of the visa restrictions currently in force and an enhancement of the effectiveness of the existing financial sanctions. Any future decision by the Council on the lifting of sanctions would depend on a number of factors, and could only be taken on the basis of an assessment of the overall situation.

The Council took note of the appeal launched on 23 February by the Kosovo Transitional Council, urging the international community, and the UN Security Council in particular, to put maximum pressure on the Belgrade authorities to release all detainees from Kosovo held unlawfully in Yugoslav prisons. The Member States of the European Union will certainly support any UN initiative to contribute to a solution of the problem. In this context, the Council took good note of the proposed measure by the head of the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo, Mr Kouchner at the UNSC to appoint a special representative who would take this issue up with the Belgrade authorities.

The Honourable Member can remain assured that the Council will continue to consider progress in democratic freedoms and respect for the rights of minorities, including the fate of the Kosovar detainees, as one of the key elements for a change in sanctions policy targeting the Belgrade regime. The Council is keeping the situation in the region, and EU policies towards the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, under constant review.