Let me first of all thank the European Commission and the Worldbank for their hard work and effort to organize this meeting today.

The winds of change have started to blow: only two months after the peaceful revolution of 5 October the FR of Yugoslavia is member of the United Nations, the OSCE, the Stability Pact and our diplomatic relations have been re-established. We feel that this meeting today will send an important signal to the Serbian people on the IC's readiness to help restore a deeply damaged economy and to get through the upcoming winter. We all agree that the avenue ahead will be difficult in many ways, sometimes painful, containing many risks. But the process has started thanks to the courage and determination of those who made the change in Belgrade happen: the Yugoslav people.

Germany contributed and will contribute substantially to the process of democratization by supporting the four powers of change: the democratic opposition; democratic led towns and municipalities; independent media and the civil society. Before 24 September we supported these pillars with 28 m DM (20 m DM assistance to municipalities; 2.6 m DM assistance to media; 5 m DM assistance to civil society and democratic opposition).

A few examples of concrete projects representing our cooperation are:

• City to city projects: with the participation of 16 German towns more than 200 projects for 45 Serbian cities were implemented. This includes the delivery of asphalt, the repair of numerous schools and kindergartens, substantial assistance to the health sector and the support of a joint project between UNEP, Novi Sad and Dortmund to protect the Novi Sad water-reservoirs against oil pollution;

• Media: Participation in the Solana/Patten/Hombach "Flash appeal" by supporting the purchase of printing paper for independent Serbian newspapers, financial assistance to social and legal funds for journalists in need (set up by the International Federation of Journalists). Furthermore, Germany offered technical assistance to a substantial number of independent media and co-financed an UNESCO project to foster an independent printing press in Serbia;

• Civil society/democratic forces: our assistance to a number of NGOs in the context of election mobilisation campaigns and monitoring (i.a. by offering hardware like computers and mobile phones or training programs) had a direct effect on the events of September and October. Support for G17 Plus ranges high on our agenda.

Today the focus is different. The Milosevic regime left behind a disastrous economic and humanitarian situation. We are faced with the necessity for immediate assistance to help the Serbian people to get through this winter. Germany welcomes the impressive and speedy effort of the European Commission in this regard.

We have worked out a bilateral assistance plan until the end of this year whose financial volume amounts to 50 m DM. The program, set up in cooperation with DOS and G17 plus, is under way since early November. Our focus is on the priorities identified by PM Labus and his team:

• energy and spare parts (25 m DM energy, 5 m DM spare parts).

• medical equipment (3.8 m DM),

• humanitarian aid (3 m DM)

• and support of municipalities (9 m DM e.g. 32 busses for Belgrade; spare parts for the heating station in Novi Sad; delivery of waste collection trucks to five towns).

Until April 2001 Germany will implement additional projects with a total amount of roughly 6m DM in the fields of humanitarian aid, health, support of municipalities and technical advise.

We trust that the upcoming elections will contribute to a further stabilisation of democratic change and economic recovery in the FR of Yugoslavia. Immediate international aid and the fast integration of the FRY into the International Community (Stability Pact; UN; OSCE) have helped to stabilize the new democratic leaders. They must now take the responsibility and transform their country into an European society - based on democracy and the rule of law.

The International Community is ready to help Serbia and Montenegro in this process. Germany will continue to offer substantial assistance going even beyond the framework of the year 2000. For the time being, we consider a total amount of up to 100 m DM. The criteria for this assistance will be the same as for all other states in the region. There will be no double-standards. The establishment of a democratic and pluralistic society will be the most important benchmark for future assistance. The first steps taken by the new authorities in Belgrade such as the release of Flora Brovina, the preparedness to re-open an ICTY-office in Belgrade or to establish a Truth Commission following the example of South-Africa are welcome.

But - we agree with PM Labus' statement - that this is by no means sufficient. The release of all political prisoners under Serbian detention, in particular the Kosovo-Albanians, is an important test case for the democratic resolve of the new leadership. We call on Belgrade to grant freedom to these detainees immediately and to allow them to celebrate the new year at home with their families.

Equally important will be further economic reforms and a determined fight against corruption.

Assistance to Serbia must contribute to the stabilisation of the whole region and must not be detrimental to neighbors. Therefore, we must ascertain that change in Serbia will create synergies and - in line with the most important objective of the Stability Pact - will create an atmosphere of mutual trust and cooperation among the countries in South-Eastern Europe. Germany will therefore focus large parts of her assistance on regional projects. Possible examples are city-to-city projects involving municipalities of the same sub-region but in different countries, thus creating EUROREGIONS in this part of our continent. Cooperation between universities; regional exchange-programmes; mixed commissions on history-schoolbooks are further examples.

In order to co-ordinate our activities, Germany welcomes all efforts of the European Commission and IFIs to prepare for projects in particular for Working Table II of the Stability Pact and plans for a donors' meeting. A donors' conference for FRY in the well-established framework of G-24/WB-Consultative Group and a second Regional Financing Conference should take place as early as feasible next year. The Special Co-ordinator for the Stability Pact should be actively involved in both conferences.

All projects ought to be characterized by one basic principle: that true change towards democracy and market economy will only be possible as a result of a serious process of deep-rooted legal reforms, creating the same standards which have become the cornerstones of the societies of all member States of the European Union.

A financing agreement was signed in Belgrade on November 14th between KfW and Electric Power Industry of Serbia (EPS) totalling DM 30 Mio. Under this agreement, energy imports of up to DM 25 Mio. as well as imports of spare parts for power plants and energy distribution systems of up to DM 5 Mio. will be financed during the months of November and December 2000. Electricity began arriving the night following the signature of the agreement thus tackling the wide-spread power cuts observed in Serbia. In addition to the supply via Hungary, KfW is meanwhile also financing electricity imports from Romania. The financing of urgently needed spare parts will make an important contribution to stabilising Serbia's power generation throughout the coming winter.

EPS's earnings resulting from the sales of the imported electricity will be channelled as counterpart funds to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. These funds will be used for the payment of outstanding pensions.

The aim of the programme is to provide towns and municipalities with assistance in key services, such as local public transport, waste collection and equipment for water supply, heating and road maintenance.

Public Transport

To strengthen public transport in Belgrade 36 second hand city busses in good shape each including a set of spare parts and a towing truck will be delivered. The hand-over to the municipality will take place on or before December 17th, 2000. The value of this delivery amounts to DM 5.2 million.

Heating

"NOVISADSKA TOPLANA", the local district heating station of the City of Novi Sad, will be equipped with heat-exchanger, pumps and measurement instruments to increase the heating capacity of the station. The delivery will be effected by December 18th, 2000, value: DM 0.5 million.

Schools

Continuation of participation in program "education for democracy" Since October reconstruction works in nine kindergarden and five schools have been effected in Nis, Belgrade, Sokobanjar, Telecka, Rivica and Trestnik, 600.000 DM.

Water supply

On Dec. 4 it we decided to finance a water supply project in Presevo (renovation of water plant), worth DM 0,5 Million

Municipal Services 3,5 m DM

City of Nis: 
delivery of 2 waste collection trucks incl. spare parts
delivery date: December 15th, 2000

Town of Kragujevac: 
delivery of 2 waste collection trucks, waste containers, 2 trucks for winter services, 2 dredger trucks, 1 mobile compressor, 1 roller, pumps, water flue measuring instruments, 1 mobile generator and a quantity of 200.000 l heating oil for schools and hospitals.
delivery date: December 18th, 2000

Town of Cacak: 
delivery of 1 waste collection truck, 2 dump trucks, 1 water truck, 1 hydraulic station, 1 mobile working platform for street repair, road levelling equipment and heating oil for schools and social infrastructure.
delivery date: December 18th, 2000

Town of Arilje: 
delivery of 1 waste collection truck, containers, winterisation equipment, street cleaning equipment, 1 city bus. 2 dump trucks, 1 water truck, 1 excavater, pumps, EDP-equipment for schools and municipality offices and heating oil for social infrastructure.
delivery date: December 18th, 2000

Town of Uzice 
delivery of 1 waste collection truck, containers, 1 mini bus for school transport, road maintenance equipment and heating oil for social infrastructure
delivery date: December 18th, 2000

Numerous projects in Serbia and Montenegro supply the above mentioned groups with aid in the sectors winterisation, housing, heating, food and hygienic items. The amount committed is DM 7,9 million.

According to a list provided by the serbian Ministry of Health the programme will deliver urgent needed medicines and important spare parts for medical equipment to Belgrade. The delivery has a volume of DM 3.8 million and will arrive on or before December 15th, 2000. The distribution to hospitals and medical centers will be arranged by central authorities of the MoH.

Furthermore Germany provides an pharmaceutics worth DM 3,02 million, distributed through the German Red Cross and other German NGOs, for hospitals and medical centres in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Kragujevac, Sombor, Loznica, Pancevo, Valjevo and Sabac.

On request of the new Governor of the Central Bank and the Ministry of Foreign Economic Affairs an assessment of the commercial banks in Serbia is under preparation since November 30th, 2000. The final results will be available by December 20th, 2000. This assessment includes an inofficial rating and shall give a first overview of the situation of the banking sector in Serbia. The value of this task amounts to DM 0.4 million.