European Parliament resolution on the OSCE
Date: 1999-12-15
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, EU relations, Kosovo, OSCE, arms control, diplomatic relations, settlement of disputes

C 296/126

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.10.2000

Wednesday 15 December 1999

10.
Invites its ad-hoc delegation monitoring the elections to the Duma on 19 December 1999 to take
this opportunity to use its influence with the Russian authorities and in particular the Duma parliamentar-
ians to contribute to a swift political solution of the conflict and to convey the message that Russia’s
current way of dealing with the Chechen problem is unacceptable to any democratic country;

11.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Council of
Europe, the OSCE, the Secretary General of the United Nations, the Russian State Duma and the Federal
Council and the authorities in Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia.

24. OSCE summit in Istanbul

B5-0315, 0320, 0321, 0322 and 0324/1999

European Parliament resolution on the OSCE

The European Parliament,

+ having regard to the Final Declaration of the OSCE at the Istanbul Summit on 19 November 1999,

+ having regard to the adoption of the European Security Charter on 19 November 1999,

+ having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Kosovo and in Central Asia,

+ having regard to its previous resolutions on the OSCE, EU conflict prevention and the European Civil

Peace Corps,

+ having regard to the two OSCE reports on the situation of human rights in Kosovo issued in Vienna

and Pristina on 6 December 1999,

A.

B.

recognising the importance of the role of the OSCE for achieving democratic and peaceful develop-
ment in Europe,

underlining the importance of the adoption of the European Security Charter in strengthening security
and stability in Europe,

C. welcoming the decision to establish a taskforce to develop Rapid Expert Assistant and Cooperation
Teams (REACT) to enable the OSCE to respond quickly to demands for civilian assistance, and hoping
that the taskforce will soon come up with more details concerning its implementation, particularly as
regards its cost, staffing requirements, and commitments on the part of OSCE participating states,

D.

concerned by continuing instability in Kosovo, in particular concerning minorities,

E.

F.

G.

H.

I.

preoccupied by the lack of democracy in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the difficulties
encountered in the implementation of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and
Herzegovina,

recognising the important role played by neighbouring countries which function as stabilising factors
in the Balkans,

concerned by the increase in international terrorism, violent extremism, organised crime and drug and
arms trafficking in Central Asia with very negative consequences in the Caucasus,

sharing the OSCE’s concerns about finding a peaceful settlement to the Trans-Dniestrian problem as
well as other crises,

underlining the need for the OSCE to work with other organisations and institutions with coordinated
approaches in order to avoid duplication,

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 296/127

1. Welcomes the results of the Istanbul Summit and the OSCE’s efforts to prevent and resolve conflicts
peacefully and underlines its full support for the OSCE, whose drive for peace and democracy cannot be
underestimated;

Wednesday 15 December 1999

2. Welcomes the fact that all 54 OSCE members have signed the European Security Charter formalising
existing norms about security cooperation and observance of human rights and reinforcing OSCE capacity
to send civilian help to crises;

3.
Points out that the new security charter, intended to prevent wars before they break out, stipulates
that conflicts with regional implications can no longer be regarded as the internal affairs of a single coun-
try and that the OSCE carries a special responsibility to uphold this principle;

4. Welcomes the invitation to the chairman of the OSCE to visit the North Caucasus region on
14/15 December 1999 and urges the Russian government to allow this mission to enter Chechnya itself
with a view to alleviating the plight of the refugees and contributing to a political solution to the crisis;

5. Welcomes the revision of the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty, updating the original
1990 arms control pact, which aims to create more transparency by opening it to new members and
urges all CFE parties to ratify the revised Treaty without delay;

Underlines the fact that this pact stipulates that a state may not deploy forces in another state with-

6.
out the host country’s consent;

7.
Supports strongly the OSCE Mission in Kosovo for its efforts to promote and protect human rights
and establish respect for the rule of law and reiterates its appeal to all parties to contribute towards peace
and democracy in Kosovo, including the establishment of a legitimate government and full respect for the
rule of law, human rights and minority rights;

8.
Calls on all parties concerned to make full use of the possibilities offered by the Stability Pact for
South-Eastern Europe and to transform the promising basis laid down at the Cologne Summit into reality,
respecting their individual financial, political and moral commitments, and insists that the people of the
FRY be allowed to embrace democracy and respect for human rights;

Hails the recent thaw in relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, the
9.
disputed Armenian enclave inside Azerbaijan, and encourages the OSCE to play a more significant role
in the search for a solution; hopes that conflicting oil interests will not further complicate the security
situation;

10.
Insists on the need for further efforts by all parties concerned to reach a final settlement for the
Trans-Dniestrian conflict, such as the full withdrawal of Russian troops from Moldova by the end of 2002,
the willingness of the Republic of Moldova assisted by the OSCE to facilitate the settlement process and a
commitment by Russia to dismantle two of its four bases in Georgia by mid-2001;

11.
Praises the work done by the OSCE representation in Belarus in promoting democratic institutions
and compliance with OSCE commitments, thus facilitating a resolution of the constitutional controversy in
the country; stresses that only a genuine political dialogue in Belarus can pave the way for free and demo-
cratic elections and offers its help to foster such a dialogue, which would include opposition politicians
who have gone into exile;

Calls on the OSCE to invite the EU High Representative for the CFSP and the EU Commissioner for
12.
External Relations to relevant meetings of the OSCE Permanent Council in order to enhance the conver-
gence and coherence of OSCE and EU operations and facilitate the development of common projects;

13.

Calls upon the OSCE members to reconcile aspirations with financial resources;

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Wednesday 15 December 1999

Fully supports the ongoing activities of the OSCE Commissioner for minorities and welcomes the

14.
extension of his mandate;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Secretary-Gen-

15.
eral of the OSCE and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

25. Climate change

B5-0314/1999

European Parliament resolution on climate change: follow-up to the Fifth Conference of the Parties
to the UNFCCC (Bonn, 25 October to 5 November 1999)

The European Parliament,

+ having regard to the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

(UNFCCC) of December 1997 (1),

+ having regard to its earlier resolutions relating to climate change, as set out in the preamble to its
resolution of 17 September 1998 on climate change in the run-up to Buenos Aires (November
1998) (2) and to its resolution of 7 October 1999 on climate change: preparing for implementation
of the Kyoto Protocol (3),

+ having regard to the conclusions of the Environment Councils of 24/25 June 1999 and 12 October

1999,

+ having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parlia-

ment entitled ‘Preparing for Implementation of the Kyoto Protocol’ (COM(1999) 230),

+ having regard to the fifth Conference of the Parties (COP5) to the United Nations Framework Conven-

tion on Climate Change held in Bonn from 25 October to 5 November 1999,

+ having regard to the statements made by the Council and the Commission to Parliament on 6 October

and 15 December 1999,

A. whereas the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) climate models predict further tem-
perature increases of about 2 °C by the year 2010 compared with 1990 levels; whereas, if further
temperature increases are to be limited to 1,5 °C by 2100 and 0,1 per decade, and sea-levels are to
rise no more than 2 cm per decade, industrialised countries need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
by at least 35 % between 1990 and 2010 (4),

B. whereas the human dimension of vulnerability to climate change is being frequently, and tragically,
underlined, as illustrated most recently by the devastating cyclone in India and the flooding in parts of
France in November 1999; whereas the disruptive changes experienced in many parts of the world are
consistent with many of the anticipated impacts of climate change including persistent alteration of
regional weather patterns, frequent tropical storms, more widespread occurrence of mosquito-borne
diseases such as malaria, desertification, decreased productivity in fisheries and agriculture, extensive
coastal erosion and flooding of low-lying land which may well lead to large-scale demographic migra-
tions,

(1)
FCCC/CP/1997/L.7/Add1.
(2) OJ C 313, 12.10.1998, p. 169.
(3) See ‘Texts adopted’ of that sitting, Item 9.
(4) EEA report: Environment in the European Union at the turn of the century.