HC Deb 15 June 1999 vol 333 cc115-6W
Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the implications of the EU project to collect and destroy weapons in the Gramsh district in Albania on the combat effectiveness of the KLA; and to what bodies EU funds will be made available. [86449]

Mr. Tony Lloyd

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are the lead organisation on the pilot weapons collection project in Gramsh. The EU has allocated 500,000 euros to extend the successful project to other regions.

The Department for International Development (DFID) has funded one ammunition technical officer as part of the project and have agreed in principle to fund another. They have also agreed to fund a feasibility study on destruction of the weapons.

The aim of the project is to reduce the number of weapons in circulation among the civilian population in Albania. It is not targeted at the Kosovo Liberation Army.