[ALBSA-Info] EU gets tough with Macedonia rebels, chides Turkey

[Gazhebo at aol.com]

EU gets tough with Macedonia rebels, chides Turkey

By Gareth Jones

  
BRUSSELS, July 16 (Reuters) - The European Union on Monday signalled a 
clampdown on ethnic Albanian rebels fighting in Macedonia and moved to 
bolster democratic changes in neighbouring Serbia by approving a new 
financial package. 

EU foreign ministers also slammed NATO member Turkey over its continued 
refusal to allow the creation of an EU military rapid reaction force that 
would have automatic access to NATO assets. It said Ankara's stance could 
harm its bid to join the wealthy 15-nation Union. 

At their monthly meeting in Brussels, the ministers agreed to impose travel 
restrictions on 38 ethnic Albanian rebels operating in or around Macedonia, 
but said the EU would wait to assess progress in peace talks before 
implementing a ban. 

EU and U.S. envoys are trying to coax Macedonia's majority Slav and minority 
Albanian communities into agreeing a package of reforms to help halt five 
months of guerrilla warfare which threatens to tear the tiny ex-Yugoslav 
republic apart. 

Commenting on the plans to crack down on Macedonia's ethnic Albanian rebels, 
Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel said: "This sends a strong signal to 
the extremists." 

"This shows that respect for the ceasefire and for the political dialogue are 
essential," said Michel, whose country holds the EU's rotating six-month 
presidency. 

Asked why the EU would delay implementation of the visa ban, EU foreign 
policy chief Javier Solana said it reflected the delicate state of the 
negotiations. 

"We want to give a bit of time (for the negotiations) and to implement (the 
ban) at a moment we consider right," he said. 

The EU hopes the rebels will voluntarily lay down their weapons if 
Macedonia's political parties can reach agreement on a package of political 
and constitutional reforms. 

As the ministers met in Brussels, a senior Macedonian government source told 
Reuters in Skopje that the negotiations with the ethnic Albanian parties were 
"completely stalled." 

AID FOR SERBIA 

The ministers also approved a package of loans and grants to Yugoslavia worth 
300 million euros ($257.1 million). Diplomats denied Serbian Prime Minister 
Zoran Djindic's suggestions that EU aid was slow in arriving. 

The EU has taken a leading role in providing financial aid since Belgrade 
transferred ex-president Slobodan Milosevic to the U.N. war crimes tribunal 
in The Hague. 

EU Commissioner for External Affairs Chris Patten said the ministers had 
agreed that the package would consist of 225 million euros in loans and 75 
million euros in grants. 

The Commission had pushed for a bigger share of grants to ease the financial 
pressure on debt-laden Yugoslavia. 

Much of this money will go to paying off existing debts to the European 
Investment Bank (EIB), clearing the way for the bank to commence long-term 
investments in the Balkan country, he said. 

Patten said the first tranche of the macrofinancial help would reach Belgrade 
by September. 

His spokesman Gunnar Wiegand told reporters an additional 150 million euros 
-- part of a total 240 million euros earmarked by the Commission for energy, 
farm and other projects -- would start to flow "very soon." 

TURKEY STIRS ANNOYANCE 

EU ministers expressed frustration with Turkey's refusal to cooperate over 
the planned 60,000-strong EU military force, which is meant to complement 
NATO in crisis management tasks 

"The general feeling is that Turkey should not try to slow down the 
establishment of a European defence policy and that it should use more 
European methods to defend its position," French Foreign Minister Hubert 
Vedrine said. 

Ankara demands a say in the decision-making of the putative force, fearing 
that otherwise it could one day be used against Turkish interests in the 
Aegean and Cyprus, another EU candidate country expected to join the bloc by 
2004. 

The EU ministers issued a statement on the Middle East in which they urged 
Israel to consider allowing "a third-party monitoring mechanism" as part of 
confidence-building measures to help revive the battered Middle East peace 
process. 

Belgium said it had won the support of its EU partners for the Union to play 
a more active role in peace efforts in and around its former colony, 
Democratic Republic of Congo.