Yugoslavia (Hansard, 19 October 1999)

§ Sir Richard Body
To ask the Prime Minister what estimates he has received of the cost of reconstruction in Yugoslavia made necessary by the NATO offensive. [94124]

§ The Prime Minister
The reconstruction of Yugoslavia, and in particular Kosovo, is a huge task which will take many years. This is not just as a result of the conflict brought about by Milosevic's policy towards Kosovo, but because of the need for modernisation and democratisation of Yugoslav society and its economy. The UK will play a full part in this reconstruction.
We will not have an accurate estimate of reconstruction costs until the next donor conference held under their auspices in November. In the meantime, emergency and immediate reconstruction projects are going ahead under the auspices of the EU Task Force in Pristina and the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK).
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The EU Task Force in Pristina has committed 46 million euros so far. The EU has pledged a total of 137 million euros of reconstruction aid for Kosovo in 1999 through the EU Assistance Fund in addition to 378 million euros of humanitarian aid.

§ Sir Richard Body
To ask the Prime Minister what consultations he has had with the heads of other NATO countries about the cost of reconstruction in Yugoslavia; and if any member country has yet agreed to contribute financially. [94125]

§ The Prime Minister
The European Union (through the European Commission) and the World Bank are responsible for the co-ordination of the donor effort for the reconstruction of Yugoslavia. All NATO countries are represented in either or both of these organisations.
The EU and World Bank are organising a series of donor conferences, the first of which was on 28 July 1999. At this conference initial donor indications of financial support amounted to US$2.1 billion. NATO members indicating their intention to provide financial support at this stage were: Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, The Netherlands, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States. NATO countries who are also members of the EU will also be contributing multilaterally through the European Commission.