WRITTEN QUESTION P-2280/99 by Bartho Pronk (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Promise of financial aid to Kosovo.
C 374 E/2 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 28. 12. 2000 activity detrimental to the Communitiesí interests (1), they shall inform their Heads of service or Directors- general or, if they consider it useful, the Secretary-general of the Commission or OLAF directly. Officials who provided or provide such information through those means had and have the guarantee that they shall in no way suffer inequitable or discriminatory treatment as a result of providing it. In the context of its administrative reforms, the Commission is in the process of developing an improved system which will ensure that, in addition to present provisions, officials who fulfil their duty to report evidence of alleged wrongdoing have further equitable and effective means for reporting, and obtaining thorough and active response to, their concerns and evidence. (1) OJ L 149, 16. 6. 1999. (2000/C 374 E/002) WRITTEN QUESTION P-2280/99 by Bartho Pronk (PPE-DE) to the Commission (24 November 1999) Subject: Promise of financial aid to Kosovo On Tuesday, 9 November 1999 Mrs Schleyer, speaking at a meeting of the Committee on Budgets that was open to the public, said ü by way of elucidation of the Commissionís proposal to make ü 500 million available to Kosovo ü that a number of representatives of the Union had promised at various conferences to come up with approximately half of the money needed for Kosovo. 1. Which representatives have made such promises? 2. On what occasion? 3. What sums have been promised? 4. Were the representatives authorised to make such promises? 5. Were the promises made subject to Parliamentís approval having to be obtained for the sums involved? Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission (13 March 2000) The European Council of Cologne (June 1999) confirmed áthe European Unionís commitment to take a leading role in the reconstruction efforts in Kosovoí and called on other donors to participate generously in the reconstruction effort. In this statement, the Union recognised the importance of assisting in the recovery of Kosovo and the responsibility the Union has in supporting the province in this process. for the creation of the agency (1), submitted in the context of a proposal for the In its proposal modification of the Obnova Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No 851/98 of 20 April 1998 amending Regulation (EC) No 1628/96 relating to aid for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (2)), the Commission indicated for the first time its estimates of the needs for the reconstruction effort in Kosovo. The first phase of reconstruction efforts have been estimated between € 500 million and € 700 million per year over the three years 2000-2002. Overall financial assistance of USD 2 300 million, on highly concessional terms, has been estimated to support a four to five year reconstruction and recovery programme. Based on a comprehensive assessment report: Towards stability and prosperity: a programme for jointly prepared by the World Bank and the Commission, an reconstruction and recovery in Kosovoí external financing requirement of USD 1 100 million has been estimated for 2000, with housing, energy and private sector development as being priority areas. The Commission expressed its willingness to support this programme. During the second donorsí conference in November 1999, an indicative figure of € 500 million for Community assistance was pledged, in the light also of the first reading of the draft 2000 budget. 28. 12. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 374 E/3 The 2000 budget for Kosovo is targeted to immediate needs for reconstruction. The global amount finally agreed by the budgetary authorities for 2000 is € 360 million. It breaks down into € 270 million for the budget line B7-546 for the reconstruction of Kosovo (including € 30 million carried over from 1999), € 50 million for the budget line B7-210 for humanitariam emergency aid (including € 30 million committed in 1999 as reserve which has to be allocated in 2000) and € 40 million for redemployment. (1) COM(1999) 312 final. (2) OJ L 122, 24. 4. 1998. (2000/C 374 E/003) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2404/99 by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission Subject: Uptake of funds for the RETEX Community Initiative (16 December 1999) Under the most recent Community support framework (1993-1999) Portugal was to benefit from the RETEX Community Initiative for diversifying regions heavily dependent on the textile and clothing industry. ü What were the amounts allocated to Portugal and the other Member States and what are the figures for funds actually paid out, broken down by Member State, under the RETEX initiative in 1993-1999? ü What projects were funded in Portugal during this period under RETEX? What was their duration and what funding did they receive? Supplementary answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission (7 April 2000) In respect of the 1994-1999 programming period, the amounts allocated and paid out to each Member State under the RETEX Community Initiative are as follows: Member State Community Financing Payments carried out (in million euro) Belgium Denmark Germany Greece Spain France Ireland Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Portugal United Kingdom Austria Finland Sweden 6 ü 76 79 107 28 9 59 ü 1 176 41 3 ü ü 2 ü 37 53 36 10 6 29 ü 1 107 4 2 ü ü