HC Deb 06 November 2002 vol 392 cc341-2W
Sir Teddy Taylor

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make a statement on the progress made in offering assistance to Kosovo [77720]

Clare Short

UK assistance to Kosovo began in June 1999, immediately after the NATO intervention. We delivered a £110 million programme of humanitarian assistance that included food supply, shelter, health care, mine clearance, support to the energy and water sectors, small and medium enterprise development and funding for international agencies. We also provided budgetary support.

From 2000, we started to develop a longer term programme to help build the local capacity and institutions to tackle Kosovo's development and transition needs. Our Kosovo Strategy Paper, published in August 2001 covered support for civil and political rights, justice systems, economic restructuring, health care, social policy, public administration and minorities. We spent £12.5 million in 2000–01 and £11.7 million in 2001–02 on technical assistance and budget support; planning figures are £6.5 million in 2002–03 and £8 million in 2003–04 (figures are for Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, including Kosovo).

Our main funding contribution to Kosovo is through our approximately 20 per cent. share of European Community programmes. This amounted to £170 million for 1999–2001 and is estimated at £110 million for 2002–03. We work closely with the EC to improve the effectiveness and impact of its programmes.

We have just completed our first review of the Kosovo strategy. This highlighted that while international aid had been successful so far in meeting humanitarian and reconstruction needs, new challenges were to help the elected provisional institutions of self-government to take on their full responsibilities under the framework agreement agreed with the UN, to create the right environment for growth and reform as levels of international aid decline and to establish mechanisms for Kosovo to access loans from the international financial institutions.

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