BRUSSELS, Nov 20 (Hina) - The European Union Council of Ministers on Monday officially adopted a new programme of assistance, CARDS, for five south-east European countries, amounting to EUR 4.6 billion, one billion euros less than had
been proposed by the European Commission, said Gunnar Wiegand, spokesman for the European commissioner for foreign affairs, Chris Patten. The EC had proposed 5.5 billion euros for the CARDS programme. Instead of that, the foreign ministers set the amount of EUR 4.6 billion which the EU is ready to give to Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Yugoslavia, Macedonia and Albania in the period between 2001 and 2006. The decision on the allocation of those funds to individual countries has not been adopted yet. Concrete amounts for individual countries will depend on the projects and needs of each country, Wiegand said. CARDS is a new programme of assistance
BRUSSELS, Nov 20 (Hina) - The European Union Council of Ministers on
Monday officially adopted a new programme of assistance, CARDS, for
five south-east European countries, amounting to EUR 4.6 billion,
one billion euros less than had been proposed by the European
Commission, said Gunnar Wiegand, spokesman for the European
commissioner for foreign affairs, Chris Patten.
The EC had proposed 5.5 billion euros for the CARDS programme.
Instead of that, the foreign ministers set the amount of EUR 4.6
billion which the EU is ready to give to Croatia, Bosnia-
Herzegovina, Yugoslavia, Macedonia and Albania in the period
between 2001 and 2006. The decision on the allocation of those funds
to individual countries has not been adopted yet.
Concrete amounts for individual countries will depend on the
projects and needs of each country, Wiegand said.
CARDS is a new programme of assistance to western Balkan countries,
which will combine the Reconstruction and Phare programmes.
(hina) rml