§ Ms. QuinTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on British involvement in the Poland and Hungary Assistance for Economic Restructuring, PHARE, programme with reference to that priority sector of the programme which concerns environmental issues.
§ Mr. WaldegraveWe strongly support the work of the Group of 24 in providing co-ordinated help to Poland and Hungary, under the chairmanship of the European Commission. The European Community has so far provided £210 million for aid to Poland and Hungary in 1990, some £35 to £50 million of which has been earmarked for expenditure on the environment. United Kingdom experts participated in two recent fact-finding402W missions to Poland and Hungary to assess environmental priorities in those two countries. Proposals based on their reports are in preparation. We shall continue to urge that resources and expertise are deployed according to a scientifically based assessment of those countries' needs.