. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/AFT/W/15 
31 May 2006 
 (06-2622) 
Aid for Trade Task Force Original:   English 
  
 
 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE EUROPEAN BANK 
FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT 
  
 The following communication, dated 12 May 2006, is being circulated to the Aid for Trade 
Task Force at the request of the European Ba nk for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).   
  
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RESPONSES TO WTO TASK FORCE ON AID FOR TRADE 
 
 
1. The Aid-for-Trade Task Force h as raised some pertinent and interesting questions about the 
ability of the international development system to  mobilize to help countries integrate into the 
international trading system.   
2. Trade capacity, infrastructure and policy is impor tant to EBRD.  The EBRD's mandate is to 
foster the transition to a market economy in the former communist economies of Eastern Europe and 
the former Soviet Union, and to promote priv ate sector development and entrepreneurship.  
International trade is a key component of successful  transition since it allows growing businesses to 
reach new markets and expand their operations successfully.   
3. Regarding the question on the current scope a nd content of our Aid-for-Trade programmes, 
we are active on a number of levels:   
• In order to strengthen trade flows both within  the region and with other regions, the EBRD 
has established a Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP).  This programme enables guarantees 
to be provided to international confirming ba nks for genuine trade transactions, with the 
EBRD taking the commercial and political pa yment risks from banks in the countries of 
operations.  The programme has been highly su ccessful and currently includes 143 banks in 
23 EBRD countries of operations.  The EBRD is therefore active throughout the region in supporting private enterprises that have a cros s-border and regional focus.  For further 
information see http://www.ebrd.c om/apply/trade/about/tfpfacts.pdf
.   
 
• EBRD also invests heavily in many sectors direc tly related to trade.  For example, in 2004 we 
invested €405 million in transport projects across the region.  This sector is crucial for the 
development of the economies and markets of our  countries of operation.  Accordingly, the 
Bank has undertaken 108 projects in the Tran sport sector, with an aggregate value of 
€11.3 billion and a total funding commitment for the Bank of €3.5 billion.  We are active in 
roads, railways, ports and shipping, aviation and airports.  Our investments cover both the 
public and the private sectors, with a higher volume of transport commitments in the state WT/AFT/W/15 
Page 2  
 
  sector owing to the difficulty of monetizing the benefits of transport infrastructure and the 
limited capacity of the state to finance large transport projects.   We also cooperate closely 
with the EU on the development of the Trans-European Network corridors and implementation of regional initiatives.  Our most recent Transport Strategy contains more detailed information (see http://www.ebrd.com/about/policies/sector/transpor/index.htm
).   
 
• In collaboration with the World Bank, we regularly conduct surveys of the business 
environment in our region – this includes sp ecific questions on the perceptions of business on 
the trade infrastructure.  Our lat est survey in 2005 revealed that , while most firms in transition 
countries do not rank infrastructure as a major constraint to growth, foreign-owned firms in transition economies frequently complain about transport infrastructure.  This is largely 
because as exporters they expect international standards of transportation.  We plan to 
continue and deepen this su rvey work with qualitative follow-up work underway in Early 
Transition Countries.   
 4. Regarding the question on how trade-related pr iorities and needs should be addressed, these 
should sit clearly within Government's national de velopment plans and strategies – often articulated 
through Poverty Reduction and Strategy Plans.  Howe ver, to do this requires Governments to further 
develop their understanding of the constraints that  trade capacity, policy and infrastructure places in 
business.  This is a major challenge, where the pr ivate sector are key in identifying needs and in 
implementing responses.  At this level, organiza tions supporting the private sector such as EBRD 
have an important role to play in helping to ar ticulate the constraints faced by business.  EBRD is 
leading innovation in helping governments use th e private sector to better provide transport 
infrastructure.  Further, we are actively developing our business survey instruments to meet this need, 
as described above.   
5. On the question concerning strengthening monitori ng and evaluation, there is a continual need 
to collect the lessons learnt at the various levels of  the international response on Aid for Trade.  This 
is best done through strengthening core monitori ng and evaluation undertaken by agencies, civil 
society, governments and others.  EBRD have recen tly developed a transition impact monitoring tool 
to systematically assess the achievement of all our projects against initial impact success criteria.   
6. Notwithstanding the progress to date, it is clear that many businesses in the EBRD's countries 
of operations still face significant barriers to accessi ng international markets.  In this regard, the Aid-
for-Trade Task Force has an important role to play in highlighting these obstacles and promoting 
solutions to their removal.  There is a particular need to share the regional and international lessons 
learnt in promoting reform in trade facilitation infr astructure.  Further, in our experience national 
development plans such as PRSPs frequently offer little prioritization across and within sectors, thus 
making integration of trade and trade infrastruct ure within such plans an important goal.   
 
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