EUROPE AGREES AID FOR ALBANIA

By Helen Cranford in Brussels, Bruce Johnston

in Rome and Tim Butcher in Brindisi

The European Union's foreign ministers yesterday pledged humanitarian aid for Albania.

The move came as Italy, which has taken in 12,000 refugees from Albania in recent weeks, barred Albanian boats from reaching Italian ports.

But it was not clear whether EU nations would send troops to protect convoys carrying food and medicine through bandit country.

"Britain is happy to play a part in the humanitarian aid programme and recognises that those taking part must do so without danger to their own safety." said Malcolm Rifkind, the Foreign Secretary. "But the Red Cross does not want military intervention. That suggests we must maximise the help we give that organisation. It would not be appropriate to commit ourselves to military protection."

Mr Rifkind's remarks were echoed by the German Foreign Minister, Klaus Kinkel who said Albania must first contain the chaos. "Albania has to create conditions for a humanitarian aid mission and for the security of advisers," he said.

But the Italian Foreign Minister, Lamberto Dini, said Europe had agreed to send a "multilateral protection force" to guarantee the security of European missions and aid shipments.

Yesterday's meeting had produced a unanimous request to Italy to undertake its leadership, he said. "The protection force will be made up of the countries which want to take part," said Mr Dini, who added that he was "extremely satisfied with the outcome of the meeting".

Emma Bonino, the EU commissioner for humanitarian aid, had warned that rapid humanitarian intervention could not be ensured unless there was a guarantee that aid would reach its destination.

"Without security forces it is not possible to bring aid to the most vulnerable of the population, and there is the risk of creating more problems if a convoy arrives in southern Albania without protection," she said. "It is almost a provocation, an invitation to pillaging."

An advisory mission is due to arrive in Albania within a matter of days which should clarify what is needed, said Mr Rifkind. "At the moment it is not even clear whether the humanitarian workers simply need an escort or whether we are talking of clearing a path through bandit lines," he said.

"I don't dispute in certain circumstances that some military help might be needed. But we must clarify the situation first."

Those in need comprise up to 3,000 people in orphanages, hospitals and nursing homes. Food stocks and medicine are available in Italy, Bosnia and Croatia. These could be mobilised in two or three days.

The Red Cross sees a need for about 10,000 tons of food particularly flour. How much is needed will depend on how long the crisis lasts. "There is plenty that the EU could do. But a lot depends on the Albanian authorities themselves," said Mrs Bonino.

Meanwhile, the Italian navy was ordered to enforce a blockade in the Adriatic.

Naval sources said the policy of escorting any ship carrying Albanians into Italian ports was being stopped because of concern that the arrivals might not be legitimate refugees but economic migrants.

In future, the ships will be screened at sea to assess whether the occupants were genuine refugees.

The change of policy will be difficult to carry out, however, as the Albanians are invariably desperate by the time they have crossed the 50 miles of sea to Italy.

Bad weather meant the number of Albanian ships crossing the southern Adriatic dropped to a trickle over the weekend. But shots were fired yesterday from a crowded Albanian fishing vessel at the Italian navy cutter that was towing her into Italian waters. The Albanian cargo ship Haftetato also arrived yesterday with 350 Albanians, mainly women and children.