Kosovo crisis poses dilemma for EU

Date: 03/09/1998

Simon Taylor
AUSTRIAN Foreign Minister Wolfgang Schüssel will call this weekend for an increase in humanitarian aid for tens of thousands of ethnic Albanians who face a harsh winter and plunging night-time temperatures in Kosovo.

European leaders are increasingly worried about the fate of more than 200,000 refugees driven from their homes by six months of fighting between Serbian forces and the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).

At this weekend's informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Salzburg, Schüssel will seek agreement on the best way to tackle the worsening crisis in the province.

The EU is also expected to approve a ban on flights by Yugoslav carriers in response to the situation in Kosovo by next Monday (7 September).

Agreement on the ban had been held up by Greek opposition, but Athens has now dropped its objection in return for a commitment from the Austrian presidency to discuss the EU's sanctions policy and relations with Belgrade at this weekend's meeting.

During their talks, foreign ministers face the difficult task of identifying what political action is needed to deal with the latest instalment of the conflict in former Yugoslavia.

Schüssel wants to use the Salzburg meeting to focus on how the United Nations could best settle the dispute by encouraging a "wide-ranging exchange of views" between the EU member states which have seats on the Security Council and non-members.

Some EU governments believe that the only way to force a hard man like Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic to make concessions is to back up political pressure with threats of military action, but there is broad agreement that moving beyond the current mixture of sanctions against Serbia to military measures such as a 'no fly' zone would require a UN resolution.

In what is widely seen as the latest test of the EU's ability to operate a common foreign policy, Council of Ministers officials argue that foreign ministers should try to broaden the Union's role in tackling the crisis beyond just providing humanitarian aid.

One option might be for the EU to expand on the work it has already done to encourage a political dialogue between Belgrade and the KLA. The Union's official position still falls short of backing KLA demands for full independence, although the ethnic Albanian community, which makes up 90% of Kosovo's 2 million inhabitants, is increasingly in favour of a full break from Belgrade.

Instead, the Union has been working on drawing up options to present to the two sides which could form the basis for a political dialogue. These include working models of 'autonomy' and devolved political structures from within the EU.

However, the chances of a negotiated settlement have significantly deteriorated over the past month, with further attacks on villages and the deaths of three ethnic Albanian relief workers in central Kosovo last week.

"The negotiating track is a very difficult one when villages are being burned and aid workers are being killed," said a senior western diplomat.

Schüssel also wants the meeting to examine ways for the EU to support parties and public figures in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia who are prepared to cooperate with the Union's goals and to work towards peace.