Vote could help end MEDA row

Date: 20/06/1996

By Elizabeth Wise

HOPES of an end to the protracted dispute which has prevented a dozen Mediterranean nations from receiving funding promised them by EU leaders last summer are set to be given a significant boost by MEPs.

Voting today (20 June) on the MEDA funding package, the European Parliament is expected to extend an olive branch to Greece which could help convince Athens to lift its objections to the plan.

Funding has been held up by Greek objections to giving money to Turkey - one of 12 countries eligible for MEDA funding - since Turkish citizens planted their flag on an Aegean island Greece considers its own.

As Athens and Ankara wrangle over the Imia rocks (referred to as Kardak by Turks), the Greek government is maintaining its veto of the regional funding package for North African and Middle Eastern countries in the Euro-Mediterranean partnership.

However, light is slowly beginning to appear at the end of the tunnel. Last month Greece allowed the package - which requires parliamentary approval - to be sent for MEPs' consideration, paving the way for the money to be released once Athens finally agrees to lift its veto.

Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said recently that he had complied with another Greek demand: to submit the case to arbitration by the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

But what Athens really wants is a clear statement of solidarity from its EU partners.

Today's parliamentary vote should go some way towards delivering that. MEPs are expected to support an amendment already approved by the Parliament's foreign affairs committee which would require countries receiving funding to “respect international principles and the territorial integrity” of other partners.

MEPs are also likely to support a move by the foreign affairs committee to reinstate a procedure for suspending aid to a recipient country which abused those international principles or which violated human and minority rights struck out of the original proposal by foreign ministers.

Suspending aid would require a qualified majority vote by EU governments and a Parliament opinion.

Suspension procedures were the cause of much debate in the Council of Ministers early this year when it decided to ignore parliamentary demands for a role in the process.

In addition to the two regulation changes, MEPs want to be more involved in the question of how the funding is dispersed.

The regulation does not reveal the portion of overall funds destined for each country because the Commission maintains that the money will be used for regional projects.

But MEPs, who control the EU budget, want the Commission to give them a country by country breakdown. They do not insist the share-out be written into the regulation, but want it to be attached to the budget.

“The Commission does not want to tell us, so it can keep its margin of manoeuvre, but they surely know how much is going to each country,” said a Parliament official.

“What we want is not a legal obligation, just an indication of how the credits are divided. There must be at least a minimum of transparency.”

The notion of taking Turkey out of the MEDA package in order to let the money go through for other recipients is being ruled out.

“If we block aid for Turkey, we block it for everyone,” said the Parliament official.

Ironically, there was talk last year of leaving Turkey, Cyprus and Malta out of Euro-Med funding because they were already linked to the Union through customs union (Turkey) and as prospective EU member states (Cyprus and Malta) and, as such, benefit from other programmes.

Although MEPs acknowledge that the chances of persuading the Commission and Council of Ministers to accept the three amendments are slim, their overriding concern is that the MEDA funding should be unblocked.

Although Greek MEPs from both sides of the political divide have formed a united front on this issue and have been lobbying hard, one insider said: “I don't think the Greeks can hold out much longer.”

EU officials hope Greek defences will start to come down after the country's Premier Konstantinos Simitis has consolidated his position at the PASOK party conference at the end of June.

Observers suggest that until that conference is over, Simitis must continue to appear tough where Turkey is concerned.

Diplomats have also hinted that EU governments are ready to help Athens with its domestic problems by issuing some sort of declaration of solidarity with Greece.