Situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Committee on Foreign Affairs, meeting in Strasbourg on 25 October, approved its draft recommendation to the Council once it had heard the report of the ad hoc delegation which visited Zagreb and Sarajevo from 16 to 19 October. The draft recommendation adopted proposes: - that the contact group's peace plan be accepted by the authorities in Pale and the said plan be applied by all the parties; - that the lifting of the embargo against Serbia and Montenegro be made conditional upon recognition by the Belgrade government of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina; - that free access to Sarajevo be guaranteed by opening at least one "corridor" under the control of UNPROFOR and with NATO support; - a firmer policy on protected and exclusion zones implying free access for humanitarian operations and the prevention of aggression against these enclaves. - that the international community recognise the right of self-defence for Bosnia-Herzegovina as contained in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. Mr Sakellariou (PSE, D) pointed out here that the final paragraph should not be understood as a lifting of the embargo on arms destined for Bosnia. Under Rule 92 of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament, recommendations formulated by the Committee on Foreign Affairs are entered on the agenda for the session following their adoption in committee and are considered to be adopted unless opposed in writing by one-tenth of the members of the European Parliament, in which case they are voted in block with no facility for amendment in plenary.�