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(2004/C 33 E/030)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0065/03

by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission

(15 January 2003)

Subject:   Funding for Guatemala

The serious problems inherent in the shortage of roads and facilities to ensure traffic safety are jeopardising the safety of the inhabitants of large cities (a study carried out in Quetzaltenango, the second largest city in Guatemala, revealed a sharp increase in the number of road accident victims) and adversely affecting the government of the country, which needs to find large amounts of funding to rebuild basic urban infrastructure. Can the Commission say how much of the funding provided under existing cooperation programmes, in particular the PRRAC (Regional Programme for the Reconstruction of Central America), has been given to the government of Guatemala and how much of its allocation is still available?

Answer given by Mr Chris Patten on behalf of the Commission

(5 February 2003)

From the outset, aside from development issues the Commission's cooperation work with Guatemala has concentrated mainly on the need to achieve peace and democracy in a country gradually emerging during the 1990s from a major civil war that lasted for more than thirty years.

Since 1997 the main objective of Community cooperation with Guatemala has been to support implementation of the peace agreements signed in December 1996. Specifically, this has involved, inter alia, projects to help with reintegrating demobilised armed forces into the social fabric, providing assistance to refugees, setting up a civil police force, creating a national land register and strengthening the judiciary. These objectives were also set as priorities in the ‘2002-2006’ strategy paper for Guatemala adopted by the Commission in May 2002. The Commission has allocated an indicative amount of EUR 93 million to Guatemala for financial, technical and economic cooperation from 2001 to 2006.

In this context, investments in public infrastructure (rural roads, schools, water supply systems, etc.) are a minor component of Community action in Guatemala, with the exception of the regional programme for the reconstruction of Central America (RPRCA). Other donors, such as the EU Member States, the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, are the main contributors of international cooperation funding for major public infrastructure works in Guatemala.

Under the RPRCA, the Commission has provided funding of an overall value of EUR 18,5 million for Guatemala for the period up to the end of 2006. It should be noted that RPRCA action in Guatemala has concentrated on the parts of the country that suffered most damage from Hurricane Mitch (principally Izabal and las Verapaces), and the Quetzaltenango region was not considered for the reconstruction programme. The bulk of these resources — a total of EUR 16 million — was allocated to three major projects currently underway: two for the health and education sectors and the third, under the management of the United Nations Development Programme, for water and sanitation.

In addition, ten small-scale projects covering the sectors referred to above, have been planned in collaboration with European and Guatemalan NGOs (non-governmental organisations). Four of them are already underway and the Commission is in the process of signing contracts for the other six.

Apart from these operations, the Commission is not planning to provide other funding for new initiatives under the RPRCA. As to expenditure, of the EUR 18,5 million provided for Guatemala, EUR 3,3 million has already been disbursed (in December 2002).

At the beginning of 2003 total funding from all budget lines available for Guatemala amounts to approximately EUR 100 million, including the funds for the RPRCA.

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