Vol. 447 No. 11
35 Mr. Clohessy asked the asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, in view of the fact that Ireland will take on the Presidency of the EU in 1996, the planning, if any, carried out in relation to the command and control of EU task and monitoring forces such as the one currently in former Yugoslavia. [
The European Community Monitoring Mission is an unarmed mission, which is civilian in character. It is composed of some 300 diplomatic and military personnel seconded by the EU member states, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Of these, approximately 170 are monitors and the balance headquarters staff, analysts and support personnel. The overall direction of the ECMM rests with the Council of Ministers of the European Union. On its behalf, the Presidency of the day is responsible for the overall running of the mission and its smooth functioning.
The mission was established on the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Yugoslav parties in July 1991. This derived from the Brioni Agreements between the Yugoslav parties which were negotiated by the Presidency of the European Community. The scope of the mission's activities were subsequently extended to include monitoring activities in Croatia, Bosnia-Hercegovina and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
In addition to monitoring local ceasefires, implementation of agreements on the ground, promoting confidence-building measures, the ECMM plays a significant role in humanitarian activities in conjunction with the international aid agencies. The ECMM also maintains a small presence in the neighbouring countries, at their request. This is a valuable instrument of preventive diplomacy.
Should the ECMM continue to be deployed in the region in the latter half of 1996, Ireland, which will then have the Presidency of the European Union, will be responsible for the management of the mission. This will involve making available to the mission personnel to fill key posts and also a considerable number of the mission's support staff.
The role of the ECMM is likely to continue to evolve before Ireland assumes the Presidency of the European Union and will have to be tailored to take account of the situation on the ground in the latter half of 1996. Bearing in mind the evolving situation, both my Department and the Department of Defence have already begun planning for our Presidency obligations in relation to the ECMM. This includes close liasion with the previous, current and incoming EU Presidencies.
