DPRK Briefing Book: European Parliament Resolution

DPRK Briefing Book: European Parliament Resolution

DPRK Briefing Book: European Parliament Resolution

Financing of the Nuclear Sector in North Korea: European Parliament resolution on the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organisation (KEDO)

Official Journal of the European Communities, November 7, 2002.

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on the KEDO programme and the reports of the two ad hoc delegations,

– having regard to its resolution of 5 September 2002 on the Commission Communication on Europe and Asia: a strategic framework for enhanced partnerships (COM(2001) 469) (1),

– having regard to the fourth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), which took place in Copenhagen on 22-24 September 2002,

– having regard to the Republic of Korea-EU joint communiqué issued after the first EU-Republic of Korea Summit, which took place in Copenhagen on 24 September 2002,

A. whereas the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organisation (KEDO) was created in 1995 to implement the Agreed Framework under which the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea agreed to freeze and ultimately dismantle its existing nuclear programme,

B. whereas KEDO is providing the DPRK with two modern nuclear power plants, to be built, operated and regulated in accordance with international safety standards, and in the interim with alternative sources of energy in the form of heavy fuel oil,

C. recognising that the construction of the nuclear power plants is running at least seven years late,

D. whereas KEDO is funded through financial support from the four executive board members that are the Republic of Korea, Japan, the European Union and the United States of America, as well as through small contributions from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Chile, Argentina, Poland, the Czech Republic, Uzbekistan and others,

E. whereas, at the first reading of the 2003 budget on 24 October 2002, Parliament placed the KEDO line in the reserve,

F. aware that the funding of the KEDO programme comes mainly from the Republic of Korea and Japan,

G. deeply concerned that the DPRK has admitted conducting a clandestine uranium enrichment programme for military purposes,

H. alarmed by the ongoing vulnerability of North Korea to shortages of food and medical supplies, due to both natural disasters and a failure to modernise the economy, and by the fact that the World Food Programme Agency has reported that it has had to suspend cereal rations to more than one million people because of a lack of international donations; worried therefore, in particular, about the most vulnerable sections of the population such as children, the sick and the elderly,

I. aware that the sale of missile technology is North Korea’s only lucrative export,

J. whereas the aim of EU policy towards North Korea must be to ensure respect for fundamental rights, democracy and the rule of law, (1) P5_TA(2002)0408.

K. whereas the humanitarian situation and respect for human rights in North Korea remain inadequate, and whereas the European Union is continuing its efforts as a humanitarian aid donor,

L. welcoming the ongoing human rights dialogue between the DPRK and the European Union,

1. Calls on the DPRK to take immediate steps to comply with its non-proliferation commitments and dismantle its uranium enrichment programme in a verifiable manner;

2. Condemns North Korea’s new threat to resume missile testing;

3. Asks the DPRK to cease production of other weapons of mass destruction;

4. Believes that such a programme is a serious breach of the North Korean commitments under the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the International Atomic Energy Agency Safeguard Agreement (IAEA), as well as the Joint Declaration by North and South Korea on Denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and the Agreed Framework of 1994;

5. Strongly believes that the new situation may require a re-evaluation of the whole KEDO project and that the Council and Commission should take a lead from the main actors;

6. Welcomes the statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda to the effect that Japan will decide its policy after full discussions with concerned countries;

7. Expects the EU to be invited as a full member to all meetings discussing KEDO and to be represented by the Commission at the highest possible level;

8. Will consider releasing the 2003 budgetary reserve for KEDO in the light of the developing situation and in close consultation with the Commission;

9. Condemns Pakistan for supplying technology for the development of this nuclear programme, if this proves to be the case;

10. Believes it necessary to negotiate constructively with the DPRK towards ending its missile exports,

11. Welcomes the seemingly irreversible recent moves made by North Korea towards establishing a market economy;

12. Welcomes the DPRK’s admission of its involvement in the Japanese abduction cases, urges it to allow the immediate families of Japanese abductees to join them in Japan, and asks the Japanese Government to receive all family members without pre-conditions;

13. Sincerely hopes that the recent progress in the peace process in the Korean Peninsula will not be jeopardised and that all outstanding issues, including nuclear and missile-related matters, will be resolved through dialogue in a timely manner;

14. Invites the Council and the Commission to confirm the importance of engaging the DPRK in the international community through constructive dialogue delivering concrete progress, which would greatly enhance the prospects for peace and security not only in North East Asia but in the world as a whole;

15. Calls on the Council, the Commission, in particular ECHO, and the international community to continue, in any case, to provide children and other vulnerable sections of the population with sufficient humanitarian aid by delivering medical supplies and more than 100 000 tons of cereals as quickly as possible to cover World Food Programme requirements for the remainder of 2002 and through January of next year; this will require continued monitoring to ensure delivery to the targeted groups; 22.1.2004 EN C 16 E/97 Official Journal of the European Union Thursday 7 November 2002

16. Calls on the Commission and the Council, in the absence of formal diplomatic relations between the DPRK, the Republic of Korea, Japan and the US, to initiate contacts with the Government of North Korea, if possible in conjunction with the People’s Republic of China, with a view to starting negotiations for a comprehensive solution to all outstanding problems; in the meantime, proposes to send a small ad hoc delegation from the European Parliament to assess the new situation;

17. Asks the DPRK to send a delegation of senior members of the Supreme People’s Assembly to the European Parliament in order to address the nuclear weapons issue, KEDO and other matters;

18. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the member countries of KEDO, of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and of the People’s Republic of China.

P5_TA(2002)0534

Stabilisation and Association process for South East Europe

European Parliament resolution on the report from the Commission: The Stabilisation and Association Process for South East Europe . First Annual Report (COM(2002) 163 . C5-0256/2002 . 2002/2121(COS))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Commission report (COM(2002) 163 . C0256/2002),

– having regard to its resolutions of 17 February 2000 (1) and 3 May 2001 (2) on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, of 13 December 2000 (3) and 12 December 2001 (4) on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the Republic of Croatia, and its resolution of 16 May 2002 (5) on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Albania,

– having regard to the Conclusions of the Stability Pact Parliamentary Conferences held respectively under the chairmanship of the European Parliament on 17/18 September 2001 in Brussels, of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly on 6/7 June 2002 in Bucharest and of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly on 14/16 October 2002 in Tirana,

– having regard to the UN Security Council resolutions on South East Europe,

– having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy and the opinion of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Equal Opportunities (A5-0338/2002),

A. whereas the EU commitment given at the Cologne European Council to bring the countries of the Western Balkans closer to the EU was reinforced by the European Councils of Santa Maria de Feira and Nice, as well as more recently by the Barcelona European Council, which recognised that all countries participating in the stabilisation and association process (SAP) are potential candidates for EU membership,

B. whereas the SAP, as the EU strategy for the countries of the Western Balkans, envisages the adoption in each of these countries of an individual approach tailored to its own conditions and level of political stability and economic development,

C 16 E/98 EN 22.1.2004 Official Journal of the European Union Thursday 7 November 2002