HC Deb 21 November 2000 vol 357 cc112-3W
Dr. Tonge

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what projects the EU Aid package for Colombia will be spent on. [139660]

Mr. Foulkes

The European Union has not yet finalised its plans for the disbursement of its aid to Colombia. I understand an EU team is in Colombia at the moment considering this question and that the matter will be discussed by representatives of member states on 24 November.

Mr. Streeter

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development to whom the European Union aid to Colombia will be disbursed; and what mechanisms have been put in place to ensure the continued involvement of, and consultation with, Colombian civil society in building the conditions for peace. [138667]

Mr. Foulkes

The European Union has not yet finalised its plans for the disbursement of its aid to Colombia. I understand an EU team is in Colombia at the moment considering this question and that the matter will be discussed by representatives of member states on 24 November.

The involvement of civil society was initially a concern to donors but the Colombian Government has now accepted the need for consultation and played a full part in the civil society conference in Costa Rica last month. Representatives of civil society were invited to the meeting in London in June that initiated a series of meetings between donors and the Colombian Government on Plan Colombia and other proposals for assisting the peace process. Civil society representatives were present at the meetings in Madrid and Bogota and will also attend the meeting in Brussels in March.