WRITTEN QUESTION P-1386/01 by Guido Podestà (PPE-DE) to the Council. Escalation of violence in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Date: 2001-05-07
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: North Macedonia, extremism, political crisis, the EU's international role, violence

C 364 E/96

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.12.2001

Agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last year shows their commitment to economic
reform and the wish to establish a satisfactory economic policy record. This is, however a lengthy process
and confidence for investment will increase in Nigerian only when results become clearer. This is why the
Union and other international organisations attempt to take a long-term perspective as opposed to short-
term measures, which are likely to be ineffective. There have been too many false starts in Nigeria.

In the light of the Cotonou Agreement, the Community is seeking to address business, investment, trade
and developmental issues in Nigeria. Obviously Sharia is one of the factors in this equation and Union
concerns for the human rights situation is part of this dialogue but this must be taken forward in a sensible
way due to the extreme political sensitivity of the matter.

The Union has, via a declaration by the Presidency (30 January, 2001) called upon the government to
respect international human rights covenants and reaffirmed its willingness to support the consolidation of
democracy and respect for human rights. This support is planned to be part of future assistance to
Nigeria particularly via the strengthening of civil society.

(2001/C 364 E/104)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1386/01

by Guido Podest(cid:224) (PPE-DE) to the Council

(7 May 2001)

Subject: Escalation of violence in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

The spiral of violence which has been triggered in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia by
Albanian extremists is jeopardising the stability of the country, to the extent that there is talk of a new
(cid:145)powder keg(cid:146) in the Balkans. The fears unleashed by the Albanian minority(cid:146)s demands are linked not so
much to the call for autonomy as to the creation of a (cid:145)Greater Albania(cid:146) which would lead to the outbreak
of a further conflict in the Balkans.

In both social and economic terms, FYROM has suffered greatly as a consequence of the war in Serbia and
has taken in many Albanian refugees from Kosovo.

The recent signing by Macedonia and the EU of a stability and association agreement is a reaffirmation of
the EU(cid:146)s support for Macedonia as it gradually aligns itself with the Union.

What steps is the Council planning to take in order to make Macedonia(cid:146)s borders more secure and to
prevent the infiltration of Albanian weapons and guerrilla fighters?

What action does the EU intend to take in association with its international partners in order to remedy
this state of affairs before it degenerates?

Is the Council thinking of calling on the UN Security Council to issue an additional mandate to K-FOR in
Macedonia, so that the security forces are not required to restrict their activities to border checks but may
be allowed to intervene under the mandate which may be conferred upon them and in line with what the
European Parliament(cid:146)s President Nicole Fontaine called for in her opening speech at the Stockholm
European Council?

Reply

(27 September 2001)

The Council is seriously concerned about the level of tension and violence (cid:129) which the EU has repeatedly
condemned in the firmest terms (cid:129) in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. These incidents are
a dangerous provocation from ethnic Albanian extremists aimed at drawing the government of FYROM
into the spiral of a full-scale conflict.

20.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 364 E/97

there is also better news and room for hope:

the Secretary-General/High Representative,
But
Mr Javier Solana, through his strong personal commitment and numerous visits to the country since the
beginning of the crisis, was instrumental in getting the interethnic dialogue under way, within the (cid:145)all party
Europe Committee(cid:146); on 13 May a (cid:145)Government of national unity(cid:146), including main ethnic Albanian political
parties, was finally formed, which was warmly welcomed by the Council as an important step towards
closer cooperation between different ethnic communities in the country. The signature of the Stabilisation
and Association Agreement with FYROM on 9 April has been a powerful lever in the hands of the EU, and
the agreement will remain an important instrument for engaging the FYROM government.

The EU has clearly stressed the need for the new government to produce quickly concrete results,
particularly on issues related to the situation of minorities (i.e. new TV Channel in Albanian language,
progress on the Albanian language South East Europe University in Tetovo, early reconstruction of
building damaged by armed clashes etc). The European Union will support FYROM(cid:146)s efforts to this end.
The EU feels that the delivery of early concrete results is vital in order to keep the political process going,
to isolate extremists and to bring FYROM closer to Europe.

The EU message was clearly spelled out by the EU Ministerial Troika, which visited Skopje on 16 May
2001, to all its interlocutors.

(2001/C 364 E/105)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1387/01

by Roger Helmer (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(7 May 2001)

Subject: Use of EU Institutions(cid:146) facilities

Could you please advise whether or not you consider
for a Principal
Administrator at DG Environment to use the facilities of the EU Institutions to promote an (cid:145)e-mail flood(cid:146)
to the e-mail address of President George Bush of the USA, to protest against his policy on Kyoto?

it appropriate behaviour

Is this not an inappropriate use of the facilities of the EU Institutions, inappropriate behaviour by a civil
servant and an affront to a friendly and allied nation?

Answer given by Mrs Wallstr(cid:246)m on behalf of the Commission

(18 July 2001)

E-mail is a relatively new tool and no detailed code of conduct for its use within the Commission currently
exists although an Internet Charter is being prepared at the moment.

However each member of staff, prior to being given access to the Internet and external e-mail facilities,
signs the following agreement: (cid:145)I will use the facilities granted to me essentially for the purposes of my
professional duties at the Commission. I will use the Internet for private purposes only in so far as such
use does not run counter to the interests of the service or hamper the smooth running of the institution.(cid:146)

In general terms e-mail flooding is not considered acceptable and the incident to which the Honourable
Member refers has been investigated accordingly.

The mail originated from (cid:145)Friends of the Earth(cid:146) who sent it to several different members of staff. As far as
could be ascertained there was only one Principal Administrator who merely sent it to two external
contacts for information.