§ Dr. ReidTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the enlargement and extension of the know-how funds for central and eastern Europe.
§ Mr. MaudeMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs announced on 22 January that we will establish a single know-how fund for eastern Europe. This will include our existing commitments to Poland and Hungary, but we shall also make available a substantial sum of money to finance help to other eastern European countries once they are firmly committed to reform. Help, as with that we are giving Poland and Hungary, will take the form of advice, expertise and training in the skills needed to manage democratic and free market systems. We do not propose at this stage to put a figure on the size of the overall fund. Money will become available as we identify projects in the different reforming countries. This will give us the flexibility to respond to the different needs of the different countries as they arise.