[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 21 (Monday, May 31, 1999)]
[Pages 995-996]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Message to the Congress Transmitting a Notice on Continuation of the 
National Emergency With Respect to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 
(Serbia and Montenegro)

May 27, 1999

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 emergency declared with respect to the Federal Republic of 
Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) is to continue in effect beyond May 
30, 1999, and the emergency declared with respect to the situation in 
Kosovo is to continue in effect beyond June 9, 1999.
    On December 27, 1995, I issued Presidential Determination 96-7, 
directing the Secretary of the Treasury, inter alia, to suspend the 
application of sanctions imposed on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 
(Serbia and Montenegro) and to continue to block property previously 
blocked until provision

[[Page 996]]

is made to address claims or encumbrances, including the claims of the 
other successor states of the former Yugoslavia. This sanctions relief, 
in conformity with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1022 of 
November 22, 1995 (hereinafter the ``Resolution''), was an essential 
factor motivating Serbia and Montenegro's acceptance of the General 
Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina initialed by the 
parties in Dayton, Ohio, on November 21, 1995, and signed in Paris, 
France, on December 14, 1995 (hereinafter the ``Peace Agreement''). The 
sanctions imposed on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and 
Montenegro) were accordingly suspended prospectively, effective January 
16, 1996. Sanctions imposed on the Bosnian Serb forces and authorities 
and on the territory that they control within Bosnia and Herzegovina 
were subsequently suspended prospectively, effective May 10, 1996, also 
in conformity with the Peace Agreement and the Resolution.
    Sanctions against both the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia 
and Montenegro) and the Bosnian Serbs were subsequently terminated by 
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1074 of October 1, 1996. This 
termination, however, did not end the requirement of the Resolution that 
blocked those funds and assets that are subject to claims and 
encumbrances remain blocked, until unblocked in accordance with 
applicable law. Until the status of all remaining blocked property is 
resolved, the Peace Agreement implemented, and the terms of the 
Resolution met, this situation continues to pose a continuing unusual 
and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy 
interests, and the economy of the United States. For these reasons, I 
have determined that it is necessary to maintain in force these 
emergency authorities beyond May 30, 1999.
    On June 9, 1998, I issued Executive Order 13088, ``Blocking Property 
of the Governments of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and 
Montenegro), the Republic of Serbia, and the Republic of Montenegro, and 
Prohibiting New Investment in the Republic of Serbia in Response to the 
Situation in Kosovo.'' Since then, the government of President Milosevic 
has rejected the international community's efforts to find a peaceful 
settlement for the crisis in Kosovo and has launched a massive campaign 
of ethnic cleansing that has displaced a large percentage of the 
population and been accompanied by an increasing number of atrocities. 
President Milosevic's brutal assault against the people of Kosovo and 
his complete disregard for the requirements of the international 
community pose a threat to regional peace and stability.
    President Milosevic's actions continue to pose a continuing unusual 
and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy 
interests, and the economy of the United States. For these reasons, I 
have determined that it is necessary to maintain in force these 
emergency authorities beyond June 9, 1999.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
May 27, 1999.