Agence Europe, Thursday 23 July 1998

Brussels, 22/07/1998 (Agence Europe) - During the traditional meeting at the beginning of the Presidency with the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs, on Monday 20 July in Brussels, EU Council President Wolfgang Schüssel was questioned above all on the crisis in Kosovo. He announced that, on Thursday, the political leaders of the Fifteen must examine the question of the province's future status. There are currently talks of a range of options on different degrees of "enhanced status" for Kosovo, and the Contact Group on former Yugoslavia plans to study these options, noted the Austrian foreign minister, who added: "I do not agree" that only the Contact Group should deal with the matter, as the European Union as a whole has particular responsibility in the region. According to Mr Schüssel, one of the tasks that the future Planning Cell of the EU Council for CFSP could usefully take on would be precisely that of studying and proposing "made to measure" solutions on questions such as this. "Indee

d, we recently noted that, each time a crisis breaks out, there are such problems of minorities at the base", remarked Mr Schüssel. Also, in response to Dutch Liberal Mr Bertens and Italian member of the Liberal Group Mr La Malfa, who, respectively, raised questions on the risk of "spillover" of the Kosovo crisis in Macedonia and conflict between the Serbs and Albanians, Mr Schüssel replied there had already been spillover, but that he did not fear such conflict, mainly because the Albanian authorities have so far shown a great sense of responsibility. Due to the danger of spillover, Mr Schüssel is personally in favour of a military presence on the borders not only with Macedonia (through extension of the UNPREDEP mandate, decided on Tuesday 21 July by the Security Council) but also with Albania. In this context, Mr Schüssel welcomed the fact that a mission of OSCE observers had been able to go to Kosovo even if the FRY is not currently a member of the organisation. He pointed out that he had sent the secret

ary general from his own ministry in Belgrade to Pristina and also to the headquarters of the UCK, the Kosovo Liberation Army, in order to obtain first hand information. In response to Spanish Socialist Mr Baron, who said President Milosevic dialogues with everyone except the EU, and that he continues above all to refuse to speak to the EU envoy (ED.: and the OSCE envoy) Felipe Gonzalez, Mr Schüssel said the OSCE wishes to obtain an opening in Belgrade for the former Spanish prime minister and that, for the first time in recent days, one has the impression there is not "total refusal" of a Gonzalez mission on the part of the Serbs.