Paris, 2 December 2005: From to 21-24 November 2005, Assembly President Stef Goris (Belgium, Liberal Group), accompanied by João Mota Amaral (Portugal, Federated Group), Rapporteur for the Defence Committee on European forces in south-west Europe, visited Skopje, Pristina and Sarajevo in order to meet local authorities and international representatives. Mr Mota Amaral is to present a report on “The European Forces in the Balkans” at the forthcoming plenary session (5-7 December 2005).

In Skopje, which the delegation visited at the invitation of the President of the National Assembly, Ljupčo Jordanovski, they also met President Branko Crvenkovski, Prime Minister Vlado Bučkovski, the Minister for Internal Affairs, Ljubomir Mihajlovski, and the members of the foreign affairs and the defence and security committees of the National Assembly. In addition, members of the delegation had a meeting with Brigadier General Jurgen Scholz, Head of the EUPOL Proxima Mission. Prime Minister Vlado Bučkovski is one of the guest speakers at the Assembly’s plenary session (he is scheduled to speak at 15.00 on Tuesday, 6 December 2005).

In Pristina the delegation met Lieutenant General Giuseppe Valloto, Commander of KFOR, Werner Wnendt, Head of the OSCE Mission, Jean Doussourd, Director of the Department of Justice/Police (UNMIK), the Special Representative of the EU High Representative, Fernando Gentilini, and the Deputy Prime Minister of the Provisional Government, Adem Salihu.

In Sarajevo its members met the Head of the EU Police Mission, Commissioner Kevin Carty, Senior Deputy High Representative Dr Martin Ney and the Commander of EUFOR Althea, Major General A. David Leaky.

President Goris and Rapporteur Mota Amaral congratulated the authorities in Skopje on having secured the “favourable opinion” of the European Commission, which means that the country may become an official candidate for accession to the European Union if the European Council takes the requisite decision, most probably at its summit meeting on 15 December 2005.

The EUPOL Mission Proxima in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is due to end soon, but there was general agreement among the authorities of the country that EU assistance to improve the capabilities of the police force and help reform the judiciary system would still be needed for some time beyond the end of 2005.

As regards Kosovo, where the process for determining the province’s future status was just starting when the Assembly delegation arrived, the President said that the EU could be a strong factor for stabilisation if it provided a clear perspective for the future. At present the clan structure of Kosovar society was still standing in the way of modernisation while organised crime was hampering economic development. The judiciary was still very fragile and a European Police Mission would certainly help improve the development of an effective judiciary and police force with all round capabilities.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is about to start negotiations with the EU on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement, the delegation took note of the many problems that still need to be solved. The worst of these are the country’s economic development and high rate of unemployment. President Goris and Rapporteur Mota Amaral were told that corruption and organised crime are undermining economic recovery. They took the view that the creation of a single police force for both entities was an encouraging step forward for the purpose of tackling these problems. However, it would probably take five years or so to complete the restructuring process.

President Goris said a bigger effort was needed to encourage civil society to become more involved in political life. He regretted that the nationalist parties, which had been at the root of the conflict between Bosnians, Croats and Serbs, were still wielding power, partly as a result of implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement.

With respect to EUFOR Althea mission, the impression given was that it was doing very well in implementing its mandate, and that teething problems had been solved. Rapporteur Mota Amaral said after the meetings that national armed forces should pay more attention to language training in order to facilitate coordination within an EU military force. EU member states should also put more emphasis on making helicopters available as they have proved to be a very effective force multiplier and are a vital means of transport given the mountainous area around the capital. Finally, action should be taken to improve the interoperability of European forces with particular reference to communications equipment. He did not expect major troop reductions to take place in the foreseeable future. Military representatives had indicated that a reduction from the current level of 7000 troops to 6000 was a possibility and that EUFOR’s tasks would increasingly shift from the military to the security sector.

If you wish to download Mr Mota Amaral’s report, please consult the Assembly’s website (http://assembly.weu.int).

If you wish to attend the plenary session, please contact mremise@assembly.weu.int