January 16, 2002

The European Commission / World Bank Joint Office for South East Europe has published its 2001 Annual Report. The report not only provides an overview of the work carried out by the Joint Office in 2001, but also offers a source of information on the efforts, particularly on financing, of the international community in the process of reconstruction and development in South East Europe.

The Joint Office supports the reconstruction and development process of South East Europe though donor coordination, aid mobilization, information provision, and as a vehicle for cooperation between the European Commission and the World Bank. The operational work of the Joint Office includes the organization of donors meetings/conferences and the collection and analysis of information on external financial assistance to South East Europe.

The Activities Report is a source of information on external financial assistance to South East Europe. The Report comprises two volumes:

Volume 1: This provides an overview of donor coordination activities, aid mobilization and partnership work between the European Commission and the World Bank, as well as other key partners in the development of the region.

Volume 1 is also available as PDF file (73 pages, 455 KB)

Volume 2 (189 pages, pdf, 1.48 MB): This is a consolidation of the various substantive reports on financial flows to South East Europe produced by the Joint Office since 1999.

Some key highlights include:

• Donors have provided a total of € 6-6.6 billion in assistance to the South East Europe region each year since 1999. This funding has covered humanitarian support, reconstruction, budgetary and development assistance.

• The European Commission and the World Bank have jointly organized eight donors conferences / meetings since the Kosovo conflict in 1999.

• At the pledging conferences (Kosovo, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Regional Conference), donors pledged sufficient funds to meet or even exceed financing targets for reconstruction or budget support.

• The international community moved quickly to support the emergency reconstruction needs of the region, arising from conflict or economic crises. Pledges at donor meetings have been quickly turned into commitments and subsequent disbursements