Europeans Move to Send Observers to Yugoslavia

European diplomats continued to search Thursday for a diplomatic solution to the Yugoslav crisis but without much success.

In Prague, Czechoslovakia, delegates to an emergency meeting of the 35-nation Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe agreed to send an “observer force” to Yugoslavia to try to reduce the threat of military action in the breakaway republics of Slovenia and Croatia.

The Yugoslav delegates in Prague agreed in principle to the proposal but said it must be confirmed by the federal government in Belgrade. Needing unanimous agreement for CSCE action, and lacking approval from Belgrade, the observer idea was stalled Thursday night.

It was unclear what type of observers might be sent or what their function would be, although it was generally agreed that they would not be military personnel.

At the same time, the 12 foreign ministers of the European Community prepared to meet at a special session today in The Hague to discuss the crisis.

Dutch Foreign Minister Hans van den Broek said the EC ministers might decide to cut off financial aid to Yugoslavia if military moves against Slovenia continue. The EC provides more than $900 million in aid to Yugoslavia.

Meanwhile, Britain suspended exports of armaments and high-technology items to Yugoslavia until the crisis is resolved.

The EC remains divided on whether to recognize Croatia and Slovenia as independent.

The European Community, as did the CSCE in its Berlin meeting two weeks ago, warned against a breakup of Yugoslavia. But after the movement of federal troops into Slovenia and Croatia, sentiment shifted among some of the Europeans.