Reply to Recommendation 1453 on the honouring of obligations and commitments by "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"

Doc. 8774

22 June 2000

Honouring of obligations and commitments by "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"

Recommendation 1453 (2000)

Reply from the Committee of Ministers

adopted at the 714^th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (14 June 2000)

To start with, the Committee of Ministers wishes to indicate that it shares the positive view of the Parliamentary Assembly on the progress achieved by the country referred to in Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1453 (2000) in consolidating its democratic institutions and in fulfilling its obligations as a member State of the Council of Europe.

The Committee of Ministers would like in particular to welcome the major contribution made by the country throughout the Kosovo crisis and the restoration of stability in South Eastern Europe.

As regards specific recommendations, the Committee of Ministers wishes to inform the Assembly that, in accordance with paragraph 4.i of Recommendation 1453, it has decided to transmit this Recommendation to the member States for consideration.

In this context, the Committee of Ministers draws the attention of the Parliamentary Assembly to the results of the Regional Funding Conference of the Stability Pact held in Brussels on 29-30 March 2000, which provided an important impetus for the implementation of projects of Working Table II on "Reconstruction", as well as the horizontal projects such as the plan for the fight against corruption.

For its part, the Council of Europe has presented several projects to the Stability Pact, mainly concerned with Working Table I "democratic institutions and human rights" and Working Table III "security", sub-table "home affairs and justice". Some of these projects, in particular the reform of the judiciary and the fight against corruption would certainly contribute to the promotion of a legal and institutional environment favourable to investment and economic growth in the region.

Furthermore, the Committee of Ministers wishes to recall the grant of 2 million ECU approved in April 1999 by the Council of Europe's Development Bank to aid refugees from Kosovo in this country and Albania. A part of the donation (€ 878,000) was channelled through the UNHCR to purchase 10 reverse osmosis plants and 6 cesspit-emptying trucks to provide drinkable water for the refugee camps in Albania. The remainder of the donation has been channelled through UNDP in favour of refugees from Kosovo who had fled to the northern part of the country concerned.

In reply to paragraph 4.ii of Recommendation 1453 relating to ADACS co-operation programmes, it should be underlined that the issues specifically mentioned in this paragraph of the Recommendation have already been identified as priority fields of activities for ADACS co-operation activities in the past. In the year 2000, the Committee of Ministers decided to give first priority to co-operation activities in South-Eastern Europe. In this context, the ADACS 2000 programme for this country includes projects in the fields of higher education (carried out in co-operation with the OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities), media and police training (including the "Police and human rights" project). An activity in the field of citizenship, initially included "pro memoria" in the ADACS 2000 programme, will be implemented as a matter of priority through internal reallocation of resources.

In addition, the Committee of Ministers draws the attention of the Parliamentary Assembly to the various projects submitted to the Stability Pact, of which this country is a beneficiary, in particular in the fields of the reform of the judiciary, the media and education. In this latter context, mention should be made of the possible creation of a European Youth Centre for South Eastern Europe in Ohrid, which is at present the subject of a feasibility study; two expert visits are planned in Ohrid in 2000.

The Committee of Ministers will keep the Parliamentary Assembly duly informed of the progress of the implementation of these various projects. However, the full implementation of these projects will depend on the availability of resources.