Resolution on the situation in Kosovo and the reconstruction of South-Eastern Europe
Date: 1999-07-22
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Kosovo, Western Balkans, cooperation policy, democratisation, economic reconstruction, financial aid, peacekeeping, the EU's international role

C 301/30

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

18.10.1999

Thursday 22 July 1999

PART II

Texts adopted by the European Parliament

1.  Kosovo

B5-0007, 0009, 0020 and 0022/99

Resolution on the situation in Kosovo and the reconstruction of South-Eastern Europe

The European Parliament,

−  having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Kosovo and the former Yugoslavia,

−  having  regard  to  the  conclusions  of  the  Presidency  of  the  European  Council  in  Cologne  on  3  and

4 June 1999,

−  having regard to UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999), the full withdrawal of all Serb security
forces,  the  end  of  NATO’s  air  campaign,  as  well  as  the  development  of  the  Kosovo  International
Security  Force  (KFOR)  and  the  setting  up  of  the  UNMIK  (UN  Interim  Administration  Mission  in
Kosovo),

−  having  regard  to  the  Military  Technical  Agreement  between  KFOR  and  the  governments  of  the

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia, agreed on 9 June 1999,

−  having regard to the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe signed by the Council on 10 June 1999,

−  having regard to the ‘Western-Balkans’ chapter, as stated in the conclusions of the EU General Affairs

Council held in Luxembourg on 21-22 June 1999,

−  having  regard  to  the  report  of  the  United  Nations  Inter-Agency  Needs  Assessment  Mission
(16-27 May 1999) and the IMF/World Bank reports on the economic consequences of the Kosovo
crisis,

−  having  regard  to  the  Commission’s  announced  intention  of  setting  up  a  European  Agency  for

Reconstruction in Kosovo,

A.  noting  with  deep  satisfaction  that  close  cooperation  between  the  European  Union  and  its  Member
States, the USA and the Russian Federation has made it possible to reach an agreement, putting an end
to the conflict concerning Kosovo,

B.  aware  of  the  immense  human  suffering  that  was  caused  by  this  conflict,  especially  as  regards  the
brutality of the process of ethnic cleansing against the population of Kosovo, resulting in the brutal
destruction of human lives and property and hundreds of thousands of people being forced to leave
their homes,

C.  recalling its resolutions of 14 April 1999 (1) on the results of the Berlin Summit and the Financial
perspective and 6 May 1999 (2) on the Financial Perspective; whereas the Commission should present
in accordance with the declaration on heading 4 of the interinstitutional agreement of 6 May 1999,
on the  basis  of  the  estimated  requirements  for  the  Balkans  and  especially  for  Kosovo,  a  draft
programme with the necessary proposals in the budget framework together with a proposal for the
revision of the financial perspective;

1.
Considers that the reconstruction of Kosovo, as well as the development of a comprehensive EU
policy, together with an extended Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe would make the Region part of
‘the European Peace in the Balkans area’ and should therefore be considered as an absolute priority for the
EU;

Calls on all parties to cooperate fully with KFOR in the implementation of UNSCR 1244 (1999) and

2.
therefore to cease all ethnic violence from whatever quarter;

(1)  Minutes of that Sitting, Part II, Item 23.
(2)  Minutes of that Sitting, Part II, Item 17(e).

18.10.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 301/31

Thursday 22 July 1999

3.
Calls on the KLA to honour the commitments it has made to NATO and therefore to comply with the
international community’s demands to work together with all residents of Kosovo for the future of this
region and the creation of a democratic, multi-ethnic Kosovo;

4.
Urges the Council to apply the necessary pressure so that KFOR makes full use of its mandate to
disarm  all  the  military  and  paramilitary  groups,  with  regard  in  particular  to  the  KLA,  and  to  set  up
gradually joint police units;

5.
Calls on the Commission and the Council to come forward with the necessary proposals to provide
for substantial financial and other aid to assist the safe return of all refugees and displaced persons to their
homes in Kosovo;

6.
Recognises the urgent need  to  bring  to justice  the  perpetrators  of  atrocities,  ethnic  cleansing  and
genocide in order to rebuild in the region the common sense of rule of law, respect for human rights and
order and justice for the victims, and thereby to establish the basis for interethnic reconciliation;

Calls on the Council and the Member States to give their cooperation to the investigations being
7.
carried  out  by  the  International  Criminal  Court  for  the  former  Yugoslavia  and  furthermore  to  use  all
suitable means to bring the main criminals, including Mr Milosevic, before the Tribunal in The Hague,
in accordance with the arrest warrant issued on 24 May 1999;

Calls on all parties concerned in the region to set up a special enquiry commission to investigate with
8.
a view to identification the bodies found in dozens of mass graves in order to help relieve the sorrow of
relatives and honour the victims;

9. Welcomes the proposal by the Commission and the Council to start up the process of economic and
social reconstruction in Kosovo, and urges them to put the necessary proposals as soon as possible to the
European Parliament for a rapid decision; therefore calls on the EU and other donors to provide the funds
needed for the reconstruction of Kosovo, while seeking to avoid doing it exclusively by reallocating from
funds to other recipients of foreign aid;

10.
Asks the Council and the Member States to play their part in implementing as soon as possible all
the relevant measures according to the political settlement as stated in the Peace Plan for Kosovo, and to
make  available  the  necessary  financial  resources,  with  the  utmost  priority  being  given  to  the
reconstruction of Kosovo and the return of those who have fled the Province and to the Kosovar prisoners
who have been taken to Serbia;

11.
Notes  the  importance  of  the  role  being  undertaken  by  the  European  Union  in  the  rebuilding  of
Kosovo; expresses concern about the multiplicity of international agencies involved in this extensive task;
calls  for  a  hearing  to  be  organised  in  the  early  autumn  jointly  by  its  Foreign  Affairs  and  Budgets
committees  to  suggest  how  the  funds  being  proposed  for  the  reconstruction  of  Kosovo  should  best  be
used;

12.
Urges  the  Commission  and  the  Council  to  ensure,  in  cooperation  with  the  other  donors,  close
coordination of all support efforts to Kosovo and the other countries in the region, in order to make the
joint support for the region as effective and efficient as possible; therefore rejects the Council’s decision to
locate the seat of the Reconstruction agency for Kosovo in Thessaloniki (Greece);

Gives full support to the European Agency for Reconstruction (EAFR) to be set up in Kosovo but
13.
believes that, bearing in mind what happened in Bosnia-Herzegovina, its structure must be decentralised
and flexible in order to improve its effectiveness, encourage the involvement of local firms and facilitate
the  growth  of  a  self-sustainable  and  self-centered  economy;  underlines,  in  this  respect,  that  all  the
procedures must be transparent and that adequate measures must be taken to avoid the mismanagement of
financial resources;

14.
Stresses  the  urgent  need  to  establish  structures  for  temporary  administration,  together  with  the
inhabitants  of  Kosovo,  in  the  towns  and  villages,  and  for  an  international  police  force  and  judicial
organisation for Kosovo;

15. Welcomes the decision by the UN Secretary-General to appoint an EU citizen as civil administrator
for  Kosovo,  and  urges  all  European  institutions  to  collaborate  closely  with  Bernard  Kouchner  in  the
accomplishment of his duties;

C 301/32

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

18.10.1999

Thursday 22 July 1999

16.
Underlines the importance of the presence of Mr Ibrahim Rugova in Kosovo, and calls on the ethnic
Albanian leaderships to put an end to the debilitating divisions among themselves in order to achieve the
establishment of stable, civil democracy in Kosovo with a view to general reconciliation and future new
free elections in the province;

17.
Believes that no reconstruction aid should be given to Serbia as long as Mr Milosevic remains in
power, except for humanitarian aid, but calls for creative ways of supporting the political forces seeking to
bring Yugoslavia into the community of democratic nations;

18.
Stresses the importance of launching actions in favour of democratisation in all the countries of the
region, including FRY, especially at the local level, by developing cooperation between local authorities;
wishes  to  make  clear  once  again  to  the  Government  of  Yugoslavia  that  the  lifting  of  EU  sanctions  is
directly linked to compliance with UN resolutions, including full cooperation with the International War
Crime Tribunal;

19.
Calls on the Council to reiterate its support for the democratic government of Montenegro and its
President, Mr Djukanovic; underlines the legal position of Montenegro as a sovereign republic within the
Yugoslav  Federation,  and  demands  that  the  Serb  authorities  and  the  army  of  the  Federal  Republic  of
Yugoslavia respect the autonomy of Montenegro;

20.
Calls on the Council and the Commission to provide compensation for the economic and financial
losses  suffered  because  of  the  Kosovo  war  by  the  surrounding  states,  FYROM,  Albania,  Bulgaria,
Romania and Bosnia-Herzegovina, and to take account of the special needs of Montenegro;

21.
Urges the Commission and the Council furthermore to fully involve the countries of the region in
all aspects of the preparation and implementation of the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe; calls on
them to present rapidly to the European Parliament a proposal for a common strategy for Eastern Europe
in order to strengthen relations between the European Union and the countries of South-Eastern Europe
and between the countries of the region;

Believes that the recent crisis also demonstrates the importance of speeding up preparations for the

22.
enlargement of the Union;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the UN, the UN
23.
Interim  Civil  Administration  in  Kosovo,  the  President  and  Government  of  the  Federal  Republic  of
Yugoslavia, the Kosovo Transitional Council and the governments of Albania, Montenegro, the Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia.

2.  Death sentence on Mr O¨ calan

B5-0006, 0012, 0018, 0023 and 0026/99

Resolution on the death sentence on Mr O¨ calan and the future of the Kurdish question in Turkey

The European Parliament,

−  having  regard  to  its  previous  resolutions  on  Turkey  and  the  Kurdish  question,  in  particular  its

resolutions of 25 February 1999 (1) and 6 May 1999 (2),

−  having regard to the report to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe of the ad hoc
Committee to ensure the presence of the Assembly at the trial of Abdullah O¨ calan of 21 June 1999,

−  having regard to the statement by the EU Presidency of 29 June 1999,

(1)  OJ C 153, 1.6.1999, p. 39.
(2)  Minutes of that sitting, Part II, Item 26(b).