European Union: Aid to Yugoslavia does not depend on Milosevic hand-over

Yesterday in Brussels, European Union Foreign Ministers are reported to have agreed unofficially that an aid package to Yugoslavia was not dependent upon any action by Belgrade to hand over Slobodan Milosevic to the Hague Tribunal. An official message is supposed to be made some time early next week clearing 135 million USD for Serbia, whether or not Mr. Milosevic is handed over to the Hague, a distinctly different position from the USA, which links most of its aid package with political moves, namely a hand-over of the ex-President of Yugoslavia to the Hague tribunal. The EU, however, states that it expects movement of this kind in future. A senior EU spokesperson stated that “we will, however, continue to insist to the authorities in Belgrade that we want to see Milosevic end up in the Hague”. Linking aid packages to political movement is not charity, but intrusion.

TIMOTHY BANCROFT-HINCHEY PRAVDA.Ru LISBON