WRITTEN QUESTION E-1145/97 by Josep Pons Grau (PSE) to the Commission (24 March 1997)

Subject: The situation in Mali

A resolution on Mali was adopted at the meeting of the ACP-EU Joint Assembly in Luxembourg from 23 to 26 September 1996. The resolution stressed that the peace process in Mali would continue to be precarious unless accompanying economic aid was released to prevent the resumption of hostilities. The peace process in northern Mali, in which all the forces in the area are engaged, has been exemplary.

What steps has the Commission taken to implement such aid?

Answer given by Mr Pinheiro on behalf of the Commission (6 May 1997)

At the end of 1996, the Commission issued a financing decision providing resources from the budget heading for food security and food aid for measures to back food security in a manner which contributes to stability, peace and rebuilding in the aftermath of the hostilities.

The assistance, ECU 2 million over eighteen months, seeks to promote the resettlement of the people affected by the fighting, (the disadvantaged, the displaced and refugees). The activities planned focus on installation of facilities site by site (rehabilitation of water supply points and resumption of income-generating activities such as stock farming and market-gardening), and will be implemented by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) already active in the regions concerned.

The Commission also has a presence in northern Mali, where its aim is to provide emergency aid for returning refugees and displaced persons who are coming back to settle in areas which have nothing. These activities are simultaneously seeking to revive social and economic activity within these groups and to act as a catalyst for rehabilitation, particularly in the priority areas of health, water and food. An expert on the spot will be responsible for properly tracking the course of these activities and the overall situation in the areas in question. The financial value of these operations is ECU 2.1 million (over one year), and they are due to continue in 1997 through a project currently being prepared.

The sum devoted to the activities under way in the regions in question under the National Indicative Programme for the use of 7th European Development Fund (EDF) resources is approximately ECU 22 million, targeted as follows:

- at reviving economic activity and conserving natural resources and raw materials (project to counter sand encroachment, development programme for stock-farming areas, funds to back a credit initiative);

- rehabilitation of social infrastructure (primary schools and health-care training) and economic infrastructure (the microprojects programme, running alongside specific individual projects, helps to further these aims);

- institutional assistance in the form of budgetary aid for the office of the Commissioner for the North (using the counterpart funds associated with the programme of support for structural adjustment) and assistance for coordinating aid in the regions of the North (through technical assistance staff based in Gao).

Some of these activities are currently being evaluated, and the findings will help to provide a basis for a framework of cooperation for northern Mali under the 8th EDF. One of the factors which will have to be taken into account is the new institutional setting which will become clear following the local elections on 1 June 1997.

The Commission is the largest partner in development for northern Mali, and it continues to make a significant contribution to bringing stability and peace to the region.