HC Deb 21 November 1991 vol 199 cc289-90W
Sir Russell Johnston

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any consideration has been given to giving aid to Hungary to help with the Yugoslav refugees either bilaterally from the United Kingdom or from the European Community.

Mrs. Chalker

We are carefully monitoring the situation of Yugoslav refugees in Hungary and have contributed via the European Community, which has so far provided 360,000 ecu for refugee relief in Hungary to be distributed via the International Red Cross and non-governmental organisations.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to which we are also a major contributor, has set aside a budget this year of US$3.1 million for these refugees. The number of refugees is currently estimated at 35,000.

We have no aid programme for Hungary, although it is able to benefit from the know-how fund for eastern European countries.

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