WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3948/97 by Johannes SWOBODA to the Council. Initiative to resolve the Kosovo question
22. 6. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 196/41 (98/C 196/57) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3948/97 by Johannes Swoboda (PSE) to the Council (15 December 1997) Subject: Initiative to resolve the Kosovo question France and Germany have launched an initiative to resolve the Kosovo question. To what extent has this initiative been coordinated with the Council, and what are the initial reactions of the various parties involved to this initiative? Answer (7 April 1998) 1. France and Germany informed the Council of their initiative, including the letter they sent to President Milosevic, following consultation with the other members of the European Union and the Contact Group. In their letter, they made it clear that their initiative should be seen in the context of finding a solution to the problems in Kosovo and ending the international isolation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, both in the interest of stability for the region and for Europe. Unfortunately, as with so many other initiatives by the international community, theirs seems to have fallen on deaf ears for the time being. 2. The Council, for its part, is keeping close track of the situation in Kosovo. Its President made a statement on the subject to the European Parliament at its plenary session on 11 March 1998 and will keep the appropriate fora of the Parliament informed of developments. The Council recently adopted a series of measures designed to put pressure on Belgrade to find a peaceful 3. settlement to the Kosovo problem. These comprise an arms embargo, a refusal to supply equipment that might be used for internal repression or terrorism, a moratorium on export credit and a ban on visas for a list of Serbian officials identified as having clear security responsibilities in Kosovo. This decision, taken following discussion among Foreign Ministers on 13 March 1998, underlines the seriousness with which the European Union takes recent developments in Kosovo. The European Union intends to maintain the pressure on the Belgrade authorities to launch a meaningful dialogue without preconditions. We expect both them and the Kosovar Albanian leadership to shoulder their responsibilities › the interests of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, including Kosovo, and the stability of the region depend upon it. (98/C 196/58) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3959/97 by Johanna Maij-Weggen (PPE) to the Commission (12 December 1997) Subject: Chinese population policy Is the Commission aware of the reports of large-scale enforced sterilizations in Tibet which apparently took place between September and October 1996 (according to TSG Nieuwsbrief NL)? Is the Commission aware that the Chinese authorities operate a compulsory lottery system to determine whether a married couple can still have children? Does the Commission share the view that the Chinese population policy is designed to reduce the number of Tibetans? Is the Commission prepared to protest to the Chinese authorities about this turn of events? Is the Commission prepared to raise this question in the UN Commission for Human Rights? Can the Commission indicate what steps it has already taken against China with regard to the population policy?