EU attacked for Bosnia aid ban

Date: 11/09/1997

By Mark Turner

AS THE tension in Bosnia rises palpably before this weekend's local elections, the European Commission has come in for strong criticism from EU national governments over its selective support for the divided country.

Foreign Affairs Commissioner Hans van den Broek's decision this summer to freeze aid to the Republika Srpska (RS) has been attacked on both legal and political grounds.

At a recent meeting of the Union's political directors, things got so bad that France's Jacques Blot declared: “In terms of our policy towards Bosnia, we have two problems - Russia and the European Commission.”

This comment “brought the house down”, according to one insider, and left senior Commission official Vasco Ramos red-faced.

Under attack was Van Den Broek's decision to block 35 million ecu worth of aid to the Serb-dominated half of Bosnia, which he claimed would go into the pocket of indicted war criminal Radovan Karadzic.

But EU governments said the move contravened decisions taken by European leaders both in Brussels and at a key conference in Sintra in April.

According to the political directors, the Commission has clearly failed to implement its mandate to support those Serb municipalities which are cooperating with the Dayton Accord.

The Luxembourg presidency is also adamant that there is no need for a new Council of Ministers' decision to restart the aid flow.

The dispute comes at a highly sensitive time for the ex-Yugoslav Republic. The RS is currently embroiled in a bitter power struggle between Karadzic, based in Pale, and President Biljana Plavic in Banja Luka. Inter-ethnic unease in Bosnia is high as the country goes to the polls.

National officials warn that in this context Van Den Broek's position is unhelpful, to say the least. “Even the Americans are now financing the RS, and the Union is laying itself open to criticism yet again that it is slow to respond to circumstances,” said one diplomat.

“Unfreezing the money would give an important signal, both in Bosnia and to the international community.”

But a Commission spokeswoman defended its decision. “We fear that if we support infrastructure projects, the money will go straight to Karadzic and his supporters who control the construction sector,” said Lousewies van der Laan.

She added that only 35 of a total of 85 million ecu had been suspended, and said that the Commission continued to support humanitarian operations and inter-entity projects in the RS.

“We are doing what we can, but faced with huge accounting problems we must be sure the money does not get into the wrong hands - otherwise we would also face strong criticism,” said Van der Laan.

National diplomats remain unconvinced. “Yes, corruption is a problem, but that is true throughout the country. We simply do not believe that all money for infrastructure projects would go to Karadzic,” said one.

Council lawyers are now studying the legality of the Commission's decision and are expected to report back to EU foreign ministers before they meet in Brussels next Monday (15 September).