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To: Alex who wrote (30385)	3/21/1999 2:25:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 116898

I wonder who will pay for the protracted air war? (other than American taxpayers) EU Budget battle looms The EU budget battle reaches its climax this week in Berlin. European heads of state will begin meeting on Wednesday to consider how to reconstruct the European Commission and how to pay for the EU after the year 2000. The German government is determined to complete the budget reform before the end of its EU Presidency in June, setting the spending plans for the 15-member body for the next seven years and opening the way for enlargement. But the political turmoil over the resignation of the Commission has weakened Germany's ability to push through the reforms it want - and in particular to reduce substantially its own contribution to the EU. That could be good news for Britain, whose unique £2bn EU Budget rebate is up for discussion at Berlin. But a failure to reach a Budget deal could further weaken the credibility of the EU with its citizens. Urgency of reform The biggest task facing the EU is preparing for its enlargement eastwards. The EU has agreed to admit Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, as well as three smaller countries (Slovenia, Estonia and Cyprus) some time after 2002. That will require a radical reshaping of budget priorities, as these countries are both poorer and more agricultural than the current EU members. They will undoubtedly absorb a higher proportion of EU spending on farming, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which makes up more than half the EU budget. Farm ministers have agreed a tentative deal to switch spending from price supports to aid to poorer farmers - but in the short run it will cost more money, not less. Germany refuses to pay The other driving force for reform is the refusal of Germany to continue to fund the continued expansion of the EU from its own resources. Germany is by far the largest net contributor to the EU budget, paying for more than a quarter of its running costs of £61bn (90bn euros, $100bn) a year. But the new Social Democratic government, faced with an economic recession and no longer beholden to Bavarian farmers, has said that its own level of contributions must now fall. And it is insisting that there should be no real increase in the total EU budget over the next seven year period, from 2000 to 2006. That puts the spotlight on the special rebate that was negotiated for Britain by Mrs Thatcher and is worth £2bn a year. Although most other EU countries also question the rebate, UK ministers insist it is not negotiable. Political balancing act The attempt to reform EU finances is a difficult political balancing act that threatens to unravel at any time. Spain, the largest net recipient of EU aid, is insisting that there should be no cut in the regional aid funds it receives, including the cohesion fund set up to help ease the transition to monetary union. That could force a re-opening of negotiations on CAP reform which could harm the UK. One proposal would be for aid to larger farmers to be phased out more quickly than aid to small farms. This proposal, called degressivity, would hurt large cereal farmers in East Anglia. But Britain might be won over by further concessions on regional aid. Under current reform proposals, regions like Northern Ireland and the Highlands and Islands will no longer qualify for EU regional assistance. Bigger deal in store Some observers believe that there could be an even bigger compromise, where Italy will be persuaded to increase its contributions in return for the appointment of Romano Prodi as EU President. Italy would have to pay more if EU contributions were assessed on the basis of the size of its economy, rather than mainly on VAT tax revenue as at present. Italy claims to have a black economy - which pays no tax - equal to 25% of its economy. But other observers think that a Budget deal would be unlikely before the future of the EU Commission is resolved. In that case, the Budget row could go right up to the wire, to January 2000, when the new budget is meant to take effect - and when a new set of EU commissioners are supposed to be in place. That could push back the timetable for enlargement, and also threatens to open even more divisions between the rich and poor member states. news.bbc.co.uk

To: Alex who wrote (30385)	3/21/1999 8:30:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 116898

Diplomatic Solution Tried in Kosovo Sunday, 21 March 1999 W A S H I N G T O N (AP) THE CLINTON administration opted for a final diplomatic effort at peace in Kosovo because "we owe it to the American people" and the NATO allies, National Security Adviser Sandy Berger said Sunday. A special U.S. envoy, Richard Holbrooke, planned to meet Monday night with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in a last-ditch mission to convince Milosevic that NATO is ready to bomb Yugoslavia unless he stops the bloodshed in Kosovo. Milosevic "has a clear choice. He can move to the path of peace ... or he can face punishment from NATO," Berger said on CBS' "Face the Nation." Berger added: "I think we owe it to the American people, we owe it to our military people, our allies, to make that final attempt." A timetable for possible airstrikes remained in doubt, although Berger and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright hinted they would not come until after Holbrooke's mission. Should an attack come, Berger said, it would be "a serious undertaking" rather a short-lived operation. One potential complication was the visit, beginning Tuesday, by Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov to Washington. Berger said Primakov, who opposes NATO action, would not be asked to postpone the trip. President Clinton spoke Sunday about the situation with French President Jacques Chirac, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Clinton sought to reaffirm NATO unity against Milosevic's continuing military campaign. The White House said the foreign leaders agreed Yugoslavia would face the consequences if Milosevic did not accept a political settlement that restored Kosovo's autonomy and ended repression in the province. "We are doing the utmost to try to bring about a peaceful solution. That said, NATO stands ready to act," White House spokesman Mike Hammer said. Clinton was heading to the presidential retreat at Camp David, Md., later Sunday. No briefings were planned before his departure. The situation in Kosovo deteriorated over the weekend as up to 40,000 Serb-led Yugoslav troops were brought to the front, and government forces pounded ethnic Albanian rebel positions. Even before Albright announced the planned Holbrooke-Milosevic meeting, members of Congress were expressing opposition both to the mission and to the plans to send NATO aircraft into action. "It's too late to send another emissary to Milosevic," said Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn. "Look, we have been threatening him since Christmas of 1992 ... warning him that if he attacked Kosovo, we would respond with force." "Great alliances and great countries don't remain great if they issue threats and don't keep them," Lieberman, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on "Fox News Sunday." Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey, ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, worried about intervening "to try to basically end a civil war." Speaking on CNN's "Late Edition," Kerrey said: "I am very pessimistic we will be successful with airstrikes to get that done." On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., planned to introduce legislation seeking to bar the Pentagon from spending money on operations in Yugoslavia without congressional authorization. Two GOP senators appearing on Sunday's talk shows, Sens. Jon Kyl of Arizona, on Fox, and Pete Domenici of New Mexico, on CNN, said they would vote for it, and they predicted passage. "It does tie (Clinton's) hands, but that's the idea," Kyl said. "The administration has not come forward with a convincing plan. ... To simply bomb at this point without any strategy is not a good thing for the United States or NATO to do." But Thomas Pickering, the undersecretary of state, said on CNN the administration has "contingency plans to follow on, so that these are not a one-shot military operation." Holbrooke, who arranged a cease-fire last October, already met with Milosevic this month but came away without a commitment. En route to Belgrade, Holbrooke planned to stop in Brussels, Belgium, to meet with NATO Secretary General Javier Solana. NATO also is sending mediators to Milosevic.