Statement by Mr. Antonio Pérez-Hernández, 
Director General for Cooperation with Africa, Asia and Central and Eastern Europe, 
Spanish Agency for International Cooperation

Thank you,

Let me begin by thanking the co-chairs, the European Commission and the World Bank, as well as the Romanian Government, for convening this Conference that will provide us a perfect environment to move forward in our efforts and compromise with the recovery and stability of this part of our Europe.

Spain fully subscribes the statement made on behalf of the European Union by the Belgian Presidency. And we are absolutely ready to follow in the Presidency as of january first, 2002, with the same commitment and enthusiasm.

Let me have a special word of gratefulness for the Special Coordinator of the Stability Pact, Mr. Hombach, who has been leading and coordinating all our efforts with full dedication to reach the positive situation of the present.

In fact, these last two years since the launching of the Stability Pact in june 1999 have helped ameliorate the complicated situation in several fields, like the electoral processes in several countries in the region. The perspective of a united future in Europe, basic and key element of the Stability and Association Process with the E.U. for the region, must remain our priority while we reaffirm our commitment to support the whole reform process.

As a part of the EU, Spain shares all efforts done through all our common instruments and specially by the Commission. At the bilateral level, we have already provided more than 30 million euros in soft loans in this two year period and 45 million euros in grant through our cooperation programs in the last years.

We are all engaged in this process to provide stability and support to the countries of the region. Spain is contributing with some 5.000 troops in the region as our share in the peace keeping or security building efforts. And we are also contributing with cooperation based on our own -quite recent- experience in transition, basically on good governance and institution building, on infrastructures, that continue to be a key sector for recovery, together with the economic reforms, as well as on assistance to the most vulnerable.

Our priorities are concentrated in three countries in the region with special intensity, namely Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Albania, but also offer some technical assistance and horizontal programmes for the rest of the countries in the region.

On institution building we are providing technical assistance and training at different levels, like the judicial and legal systems, ombudsmen, elections, local administration and others. We have developed a catalogue of offers based on our own experience in the 80's.

We are also supporting the reconstruction and modernization efforts on infrastructures concentrating on the energy sector, specially electricity, as well as water and sanitation. We are starting a new horizontal programme -called Azahar- with special attention to environmental issues related to development, for all the Mediterranean, that will apply to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

The programmes related to the basic social sectors, like health, education and assistance to vulnerable population, are covered through our funding programme for Spanish NGOs. Special attention deserves the ongoing regional programme of support and assistance (both legal and economic) to returnees.

Spain will continue to work closely together with the countries of the region and with the European Commission in this new stage of the Stability and Association Process with the aim that all the countries of the region will soon be able to join the European Union.