EUROPEAN UNION SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE
TO THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA
Letter from Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP,
Minister for Europe, Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the Chairman
In my letter to you of 7 October 2005[65]
regarding the proposed Joint Action to appoint Head of Delegation
(HOD) Erwan Fouere as EUSR in Macedonia, I informed you that Fouere's
mandate would be renewed in February. Given that we are now almost
three months into his mandate as EUSR and in the light of the
Committees interest (26896, 12 October) I would like to take this
opportunity to update the Committee on how his mandate has been
implemented in practice, and to set out our views on extending
the EUSR's mandate which expires on 28 February.
Firstly, I would like to update you on how Mr
Fouere has implemented his mandate as EUSR and our views on whether
his mandate need to be extended. The Joint Action to appoint HoD
Erwan Fouere as EUSR was taken on 17 October (Environment Council)
with Fouere taking up his position on 1 November. The short initial
mandate of only 4 months was implemented to ensure that the mandate
of the EUSR FYROM remained on the same cycle as other EUSR mandate
renewals. These arrangements have now only been in place for almost
three months, and to date, they are working well. The messages
that Mr Fouere has delivered as EUSR in the period leading up
to and after the European Council's decision to grant Macedonia
candidate status were both clear and unambiguous. This was an
important decision particularly at this time, reaffirming the
EU's continued commitment to enlargement which is a major HMG
commitment with widespread parliamentary support. As EUSR, Mr
Fouere also played an important role in establishing the new EUPAT
arrangements and overseeing the implementation of the Ohrid Framework
Agreement.
The Presidency now proposes to extend the arrangements
for 12 months. I believe there remains a strong case for maintaining
an EUSR-function in Macedonia for the coming year. The country
has made encouraging progress towards EU norms since 2001, which
was rightly rewarded with EU candidate status at the December
European Council. However, security and stability in Macedonia
cannot yet be taken for granted. Distrust between the two major
ethnic groups remains high and the potential for escalation of
disputes despite the progress since 2001 cannot yet be discounted.
Other challenges include ensuring the continued implementation
of the Ohrid Framework Agreement; overseeing the transition from
PROXIMA via EUPAT to Commission-led policing projects; and crucially
monitoring the possible effects in Macedonia of the Kosovo Status
Process. Fouere will now have a key role in working with the Macedonian
government to deliver the conditionality-plus-capability-building
on which progress with integration depends. There is a huge amount
to do, and his credibility is an essential collective EU asset.
The case for continued EUSR coverage therefore remains strong
at least until the EU's remaining stabilisation missions in the
country are wound down. The original arguments for EUSR coverage
(as set out in my letter to you on 7 October) therefore remain
valid, and it is my view that continued external support offering
classic mediation between different groups including on security
issues, remains important at this stage.
The Council/Commission declaration on the adoption
of Mr Fouere's mandate makes clear that his appointment "is
an exceptional measure and is not to be regarded as setting a
precedent for the appointment of future special representatives."
Should there be any proposals for similar arrangements elsewhere
we would, as noted in my letter of 7 October, "consider the
merits of any possible future proposal for such arrangements on
its own terms".
When the mandate for the double-hatted EUSR
was agreed in September 2005, the following safeguard was included
at UK request in a declaration which accompanied the Joint Action:
Council/Commission statement in relation to the
adoption of Joint Action 2005/.../CFSP appointing the European
Union Special Representative in the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia
The Council and Commission welcome the appointment
of Mr ....as the EUSR for fYROM as provided for in Council Joint
Action ..../2005. They note that, as regards his institutional
responsibilities, the appointment is an exceptional measure and
is not to be regarded as setting a precedent for the appointment
of future EU Special Representatives. The Council and Commission
agree that in his capacity as EUSR, Mr. [...] shall carry out
the instructions of the Council and the Secretary General/High
Representative on CFSP matters.
Any extension of Fouere's mandate would reaffirm
this declaration, thus safeguarding the primacy of the Council
in CFSP.
In my view, given that we can ensure the primacy
of the Council as set out above, and given the unique Balkans
security and stability concerns involved here, a time-limited
extension in this instance remains the most effective and practical
course of action.
Either I or my officials would be happy to meet
you and/or members of the Committee to discuss these arrangements
formally or informally should you judge this necessary or helpful.
27 January 2006
65 Correspondence with Ministers, 45th Report of Session
2005-06, HL Paper 243, pp 287-288. Back
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