European leaders warned over Balkans violence

ZAGREB, Croatia -- European leaders at a summit in Croatia were warned that violence still threatened the Balkans despite democratic progress in the region.

The summit, opened on Friday, is planned as a way of highlighting Yugoslavia's isolation under Slobodan Milosevic, but has become a celebration of the reopening of the whole region after his democratic ousting in October.

"Today in Zagreb a new page is opening in the history of Europe," French President Jacques Chirac told the opening ceremony. France holds the presidency of the European Union.

VIDEO CNN's Alessio Vinci explains the purpose of the Balkans summit Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     AUDIO EU Commissioner Chris Patten: "We're not trying to recreate Yugoslavia"  191K/17 sec. AIFF  98K/17 sec. WAV     MESSAGE BOARD Peace in the Balkans

"Begun 10 years ago with the fall of the Berlin Wall, our continent's reconciliation with itself is finally about to be completed," he said.

But the 15 European Union leaders and the rulers of Albania and four ex-Yugoslav states, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia and Slovenia, were warned that violence was still present in the region.

Bernard Kouchner, head of the United Nations administration in Kosovo, recalled this week's bomb blast at the home of Belgrade's representative there and an attack on Serb policemen beyond the province's boundaries by Kosovo Albanian guerrillas.

"We do not need any more victims to understand that the conflict in Kosovo is not over," Kouchner said, according to a transcript of the speech he was due to give to the closed session.

"The wounds and the scars of years of violent conflict are still very deep in the hearts of people -- both Kosovo Albanians and the Kosovo Serbs," he added.

The summit brought together for the first time the leaders of five states that emerged from Socialist Yugoslavia.

Some 300 protesters, many of them veterans of Croatia's struggle for independence against Belgrade's forces, staged a noisy demonstration in Zagreb against the visit by Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica .

"Kostunica should not be coming to Croatia until he admits that the Serb people and state committed wrongs against Croatia," said protest leader Marinko Liovic, adding that Belgrade should not get aid until it handed over war criminals.

A heavy security cordon kept Kostunica's motorcade far from the protesters.

His trip to Croatia marks a change in relations between the two strongest states to emerge from the Yugoslav Federation.

Kostunica met Croatian President Stipe Mesic in the company of Chirac and the president of Yugoslavia's smaller republic, Montenegro, but relations did not seem warm enough yet for one-to-one talks.

Mesic, who had said earlier that Kostunica should apologise for his predecessor's aggression but not necessarily at the summit, told the opening ceremony war criminals had to be arrested and refugees return home for peace to last.

Chirac announced that the European Union had agreed to allocate 839 million euros ($705 million) to the western Balkans in 2001, the first tranche of a six-year, 4.65 billion euro programme aimed at stabilising the region.

Budget Commissioner Michaele Schreyer said the EU's three main institutions -- the Commission, the Council of Ministers and the Parliament -- had agreed on the figure after all-night talks devoted to budgetary issues for 2001.

Serbia would receive 240 million euros out of the total figure given for 2001, she added.

Reuters contributed to this report.

EU and Balkan leaders hold key summit
November 24, 2000
Summit opens new Balkans era
October 25, 2000

European Union directory
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Serbia Information Ministry

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.