WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3948/97 by Johannes SWOBODA to the Council. Initiative to resolve the Kosovo question
Date: 1997-12-15
Institutions: European Parliament, SWOBODA
Subjects: Kosovo, arms limitation, diplomatic relations, international sanctions, international security, peacekeeping, terrorism, the EU's international role

22. 6. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 196/41

(98/C 196/57)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3948/97

by Johannes Swoboda (PSE) to the Council

(15 December 1997)

Subject: Initiative to resolve the Kosovo question

France and Germany have launched an initiative to resolve the Kosovo question.

To what extent has this initiative been coordinated with the Council, and what are the initial reactions of the
various parties involved to this initiative?

Answer

(7 April 1998)

1.
France and Germany informed the Council of their initiative, including the letter they sent to President
Milosevic, following consultation with the other members of the European Union and the Contact Group. In their
letter, they made it clear that their initiative should be seen in the context of finding a solution to the problems in
Kosovo  and  ending  the  international  isolation  of  the  Federal  Republic  of  Yugoslavia,  both  in  the  interest  of
stability  for  the  region  and  for  Europe.  Unfortunately,  as  with  so  many  other  initiatives  by  the  international
community, theirs seems to have fallen on deaf ears for the time being.

2.
The Council, for its part, is keeping close track of the situation in Kosovo. Its President made a statement on
the subject to the European Parliament at its plenary session on 11 March 1998 and will keep the appropriate fora
of the Parliament informed of developments.

The Council recently adopted a series of measures designed to put pressure on Belgrade to find a peaceful
3.
settlement to the Kosovo problem. These comprise an arms embargo, a refusal to supply equipment that might be
used for internal repression or terrorism, a moratorium on export credit and a ban on visas for a list of Serbian
officials identified as having clear security responsibilities in Kosovo.

This  decision,  taken  following  discussion  among  Foreign  Ministers  on  13  March  1998,  underlines  the
seriousness with which the European Union takes recent developments in Kosovo. The European Union intends
to maintain the pressure on the Belgrade authorities to launch a meaningful dialogue without preconditions. We
expect both them and the Kosovar Albanian leadership to shoulder their responsibilities › the interests of the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, including Kosovo, and the stability of the region depend upon it.

(98/C 196/58)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3959/97

by Johanna Maij-Weggen (PPE) to the Commission

(12 December 1997)

Subject: Chinese population policy

Is the Commission aware of the reports of large-scale enforced sterilizations in Tibet which apparently took place
between September and October 1996 (according to TSG Nieuwsbrief NL)?

Is the Commission aware that the Chinese authorities operate a compulsory lottery system to determine whether
a married couple can still have children?

Does the Commission share the view that the Chinese population policy is designed to reduce the number of
Tibetans?

Is the Commission prepared to protest to the Chinese authorities about this turn of events?

Is the Commission prepared to raise this question in the UN Commission for Human Rights?

Can the Commission indicate what steps it has already taken against China with regard to the population policy?