A post-SFOR strategy in Bosnia and Herzegovina

In adopting the report by Mrs Katarina DASKALAKI (UPE, GR) on the post-SFOR strategy, Parliament recommended the Council, in the spirit of the provisions of the new Amsterdam Treaty which refers to peace-keeping and peace-making tasks, to decide on a joint action for active EU participation in a multinational follow-on force to SFOR beyond June 1998. Parliament also called for: - the WEU to coordinate the military efforts of EU Member States within a NATO-led post-SFOR operation, - the Council to take a decision with a view to making European commitment to peace building and reconstruction in Bosnia-Herzegovina, on the basis of the Dayton Agreement, more visible. It also asked that any follow-on force to SFOR should provide appropriate support to civil implementation, with its mandate including a substantial expansion of the number of UN-IPTF (police) personnel, also with the objective of training local police forces. There was also a need to ensure the continuity of the mandate for the European Community Monitoring Mission and to continue the ban on arms transfers to the former Yugoslavia which could encourage new offensives or military action. To this end pressure must be brought to bear on all decision-makers in Bosnia-Herzegovina to ban forthwith the production of mines in their republic as well as their export. Lastly, Parliament asked that the multinational follow-on force to SFOR should be mandated to apprehend persons indicted for war crimes by the International War Crimes Tribunal and to ensure the safe return of refugees and displaced persons and to protect minorities and vulnerable groups in all areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina. �