§ Mr. HowardTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on developments in EU policy towards Kosovo, following the recent mission by the US special presidential envoy. [49296]
§ Mr. Tony Lloyd[holding answer 7 July 1998]: Britain and our EU Partners remain deeply concerned by the increasing tensions in Kosovo. We fully support the policy of the Contact Group that urgent progress needs to be made towards a peaceful, negotiated settlement. We are working closely with the US special envoy, Richard Holbrooke to implement this policy.
We expect President Milosevic to implement fully and immediately the undertakings which he gave following his meeting with President Yeltsin on 16 June. In particular, we expect the FRY authorities to cooperate fully with the current deployment of additional international, and European, monitors to Kosovo, and attach importance to a comprehensive approach to the refugee issue. The EU intends to work with other international organisations to promote the early return of refugees and displaced persons.
EU Foreign Ministers on 29 June reiterated their condemnation of all violence and acts of terrorism in pursuit of political goals, and called upon all those in a leadership role in the Kosovar Albanian community to make clear their rejection of violence and commitment to dialogue and a peaceful resolution of the crisis.