Vol. 533 No. 6
126 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the level of assistance given by the EU to Montenegro in the past three years; the categories under which such aid has been allocated; his views on the results of expenditure of such aid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9773/01]
Since 1998, the European Commission has provided assistance of 93.4 million including humanitarian aid, in support of Montenegro's pursuit of political, social and economic reform. In response to the difficult situation faced by Montenegro, the European Community's contribution under the OBNOVA programme was doubled in 2000 from 10 million to 20 million. The European Commission's development department has also provided food security assistance to Montenegro worth 20.9 million euro since 1998. During 1999 and 2000, the European Community Humanitarian Office – ECHO – provided 27.7 million euro in humanitarian aid to Montenegro.
ECHO interventions so far have focused on food, including supplementary food, provision of medical supplies, emergency shelter and water and sanitation rehabilitation, support to host families and psycho-social activities. All programmes have been aimed at the most vulnerable among refugees, internally displaced persons, IDPs, and local social cases. Special attention has been given to the large number of Roma IDPs from Kosovo because of their precarious situation and smaller chances of local acceptance and integration. Understanding the importance of releasing beneficiaries from dependence on humanitarian assistance and a need to restore their self-esteem and confidence, ECHO in Montenegro has started supporting some self-reliance and income generating projects. This is in line with the approach of the overall humanitarian community to ensure sustainability of the projects.
ECHO's interventions are complementary to those of the EC Food Security Programme, which provides assistance to vulnerable groups through targeted financial support to the budget of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare in Montenegro. In particular, the programme provides monthly social welfare payments to some 7,000 of the poorest households along with support for redundancy payments and child benefits.
The European Union's commitment to peace, democracy and stability in the Balkans was underlined when Poul Nielson, the European Commissioner for Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Aid, visited the region in December. The Commissioner held talks with political leaders including President Milo Djukanovic of Montenegro and also visited a number of ECHO funded projects in Serbia, Kosovo and Montenegro. This gave him an opportunity to meet with local people and learn more about their efforts to rebuild their lives and communities, efforts which Ireland and our EU partners will continue to support. Since 1998, Ireland has allocated over £11 million in bilateral aid to the Balkans region in emergency and rehabilitation assistance.
