§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the published objectives were of the rapid reaction mechanism financed on the General Commission Budget in 2002; what his Department's involvement in the mechanism was; what results it achieved; and what assessment he has made of its value for money. [165180]
Mr. Gareth ThomasDetailed descriptions of the objectives for the EC Rapid Reaction Mechanism (RRM) are outlined in the Commission's Annual Report 2003 on the European Community's Development policy and the implementation of external assistance in 2002 (p 70–73) and in theOfficial Journal of the European Communities published on 31 January 2002 (volume 45 L29, pps 1306). A copy of this is available in the parliamentary Library or via the Commission website at http://europa.eu.int/eurlex/en/ archive/2002/1_02920020131en.html.
These include, preventative action during emerging crises, acute crisis management, post conflict reconciliation and post-crisis reconstruction.
As with other parts of the Commission budget DFID engaged in discussion around funding for the RRM through the annual budget negotiation process led by HM Treasury.
In 2002 the rapid reaction mechanism resulted in funding contributions towards, among other things, the stabilisation of Afghanistan, Peace-building in the horn of Africa, reconstruction in the Palestinian territories, conflict mitigation in Nepal and Peace-building in Sri Lanka.
The EC is best placed to carry out value for money assessments for individual budget lines through it's own performance monitoring mechanisms.