§ Lord Juddasked Her Majesty's Government:
What action they are pursuing in the international financial institutions and other multilateral organisations including the European Union, and what bilateral action they are taking, to help meet the economic and social crises facing the people of Albania and the people of Bulgaria.
§ Baroness Chalker of WallaseyWe have been following events in Albania and Bulgaria with deep concern. In Bulgaria, we are encouraging the Government to maintain its dialogue with the international financial institutions and to undertake fundamental economic reforms. We have a technical assistance programme, through the know-how fund, aimed at helping the process of reform. In response to the current humanitarian needs, the ODA has provided £131,000 in emergency aid, primarily for food, clothing and medicines for children's institutions. With our EU partners we are providing a 20 MECU (£16.8m) package of social assistance for vulnerable groups and are considering the further allocation of EU emergency funds.
In Albania, both the EU and OSCE are sending high level delegations to Tirana. An IMF/IBRD team will arrive on 9 March. We have a small technical assistance programme, through the know-how fund, and have reiterated our offer to provide advice on the regulation of the financial sector. We consider that international assistance to Albania should be conditional on the Government's respect for the rule of law and for fundamental democratic principles.