§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Prime Minister what policies she has formulated in regard to(a) aid to promote democratic development, (b) aid to support educational development, (c) aid to support environmental improvement and (d) aid to support energy efficiency and security in the countries of eastern Europe following political changes in these states in the past six months.
§ The Prime MinisterOn 22 January, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs announced a single know-how fund for eastern Europe. This included our existing commitments to Poland (£50 million) and Hungary (£25 million), and new money would be made available to finance help to other eastern European countries once they are fully committed to reform.
So far we have made detailed plans in respect of Poland, where we expect to spend some £2.3 million in the current financial year. Proposals are being worked out for assistance in the energy sector, and will look, among other things, at the issues of energy efficiency and the reduction of environmental pollution from power stations. The Polish authorities have also asked for assistance with the creation of new language teacher training institutes, for advice on educational reform, and an exploratory mission will be visiting Poland this month. We have also enabled groups of politicians from Poland and Hungary to participate in seminars on the United Kingdom's parliamentary system organised by the Great Britain/east Europe centre, training in media techniques, and training directly relevant to the local government elections to be held in Poland in April.