Ray Burke
Question:87 Mr. R. Burke asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps, if any, being taken by the Government to ensure the peaceful and timely resolution of the current situation in Serbia. [2235/97]
Written Answers. - Protests in Serbia.
Ireland and her partners in the European Union are actively seeking to promote an early and peaceful solution to the current situation in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). I have availed of all appropriate opportunities, including contacts with the Foreign Minister of the FRY, to press the authorities in Belgrade to observe democratic norms, especially with regard to the electoral process; show full respect for human and minority rights, and refrain from the use of force.
The European Union has fully endorsed the conclusions and recommendations of the report prepared by the OSCE mission led by Mr. Felipe Gonzalez, which visited Serbia on 20 and 21 December 1996. It is essential that the FRY authorities accept those conclusions and recommendations in their entirety. We have called on the FRY to pursue reform directed towards full democratisation and liberalisation of the political and economic system, in dialogue with the opposition.
The European Union has deferred the extension of trade preferences to the FRY, in the light of the recent events in Serbia. The Dublin European Council reaffirmed that respect for democratic norms, human and minority rights, including the granting of a large degree of autonomy to Kosovo, will be key factors in determining the European Union's future relationship with the FRY and its further integration into the international community.