[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
[June 23, 2005]
[Pages 1059-1060]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Message to the Congress on Continuation of the National Emergency With 
Respect to the Western Balkans
June 23, 2005

To the Congress of the United States:
    Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) 
provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, 
prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President 
publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice 
stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the 
anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent the 
enclosed notice to the Federal Register for publication, stating that 
the Western Balkans emergency is to continue in effect beyond June 26, 
2005. The most recent notice continuing this emergency was published in 
the Federal Register on June 25, 2004, 69 FR 36005.
    The crisis constituted by the actions of persons engaged in, or 
assisting, sponsoring, or supporting (i) extremist violence in the 
Republic of Macedonia, and elsewhere in the Western Balkans region, or 
(ii) acts obstructing implementation of the Dayton Accords in Bosnia or 
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 of June 10, 1999, in 
Kosovo, that led to the declaration of a national emergency on June 26, 
2001, has not been resolved. Subsequent to the declaration of the 
national emergency, I amended Executive Order 13219 in Executive Order 
13304 of May 28, 2003, to address acts obstructing implementation of the 
Ohrid Framework Agreement of 2001 in the Republic of Macedonia, which 
have also become a concern. The acts of extremist violence and 
obstructionist activity outlined in Executive Order 13219, as amended, 
are hostile to U.S. interests and pose a continuing unusual and 
extraordinary

[[Page 1060]]

threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. 
For these reasons, I have determined that it is necessary to continue 
the national emergency declared with respect to the Western Balkans and 
maintain in force the comprehensive sanctions to respond to this threat.

                                                          George W. Bush

The White House,
June 23, 2005.

Note: The notice is listed in Appendix D at the end of this volume.