WRITTEN QUESTION P-2897/98

by Johanna Maij-Weggen (PPE) to the Commission

(15 September 1998)

Subject: Refugees from Kosovo

How much money has the Commission made available for refugees in and from Kosovo? What organisations are responsible for the care and relief of these refugees?

In the light of a remark by the Dutch Minister of Development Cooperation to the effect that the European Union and the Netherlands have set aside enough money for these refugees but that other Member States have failed to do so, can the Commission also state how much money has been provided by each of the Member States for the relief of these refugees?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(12 October 1998)

Commission contributions for the crisis in Kosovo in 1998 are as follows:

- Commission Decision of 25 March 1998: ECU 2 million out of a total of ECU 81 million specifically for Kosovo. The following projects were financed: Médecins sans frontières (MSF) - Belgium (medicines), ECU 300 000; PSF-France (medicines), ECU 850 000; GVC-Italy (centre for women and children), ECU 150 000; Children's direct aid, United Kingdom (food parcels for displaced persons), ECU 400 000. The balance of ECU 300 000 will be allocated in the next few days;

- Commission Decision of 17 August 1998: ECU 5 million for displaced persons and refugees from Kosovo, Montenegro and Albania broken down as follows: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (basic necessities for Montenegro, Kosovo and Albania), ECU 2 million; International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) (the same for Kosovo), ECU 1 million; Memisa/Caritas - the Netherlands (the same for Montenegro), ECU 450 000; OXFAM - United Kingdom (the same for Kosovo), ECU 530 000; MSF - Belgium (medical aid for Kosovo), ECU 820 000. The balance of ECU 200 000 will be allocated in the next few days;

- Commission Decision of 17 June 1998: ECU 1,5 million for refugees in Albania broken down as follows: FICR (basic necessities), ECU 500 000; OXFAM - United Kingdom (sanitation-water supplies), ECU 230 000; THW - Germany (provision and fitting out of reception centres), ECU 770 000;

- in addition to these specific measures financed by the Commission, Kosovo also receives aid under the general assistance projects in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia financed by the Commission from funds totalling ECU 81 million made available by the Decision of 25 March 1998. These included funding for the UNHCR (ECU 2,5 million in 1998), the World Food Programme (WFP) (ECU 2 million in 1998) and the IFRC (ECU 2,5 million in 1998). The Commission also agreed to send part of the food stocks in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina to Montenegro and Albania in order to meet the needs of people from Kosovo.

Contributions from the Member States in 1998 of which the Commission is aware are as follows:

- specifically for the crisis in Kosovo: Austria: ECU 1,08 million; Denmark: ECU 1,47 million; Germany: ECU 1,93 million; Italy: ECU 1,28 million; the Netherlands: ECU 394 000; Spain: ECU 185 000; Sweden: ECU 3,07 million;

- contributions also made to Kosovo (percentage unknown): Finland: ECU 500 000; Germany: ECU 2,04 million; the Netherlands: ECU 3,9 million.