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Brussels, 24 January 2007
Lebanon: Commission presents €500
million assistance package at Paris Conference
On Thursday 25 January, the President of the European
Commission, José Manuel Barroso, and Commissioner for
External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy,
Benita Ferrero-Waldner, will participate in the
International Donor Conference on Support to Lebanon in
Paris. During the Conference, the European Commission
will present a new assistance package bringing its total
contribution since the conflict to around €500 million.
This package, which will cover the period until 2010,
demonstrates the Commission’s commitment to provide
assistance to Lebanon not only in immediate
reconstruction work, but also by laying the groundwork
for a longer term recovery through support for crucial
political and economic reforms. The European
Commission’s long-standing co-operation with Lebanon has
now been enhanced with the European Neighbourhood Action
Plan, endorsed by Lebanon on 12 January. The EU-Lebanon
Action Plan is an instrument which will help our
assistance to target the implementation of the reforms
recently approved by the Lebanese Government.
Before leaving for Paris, President Barroso stressed
“Europe has made massive efforts to bring the tragic
conflict to a standstill and to provide substantial
emergency aid to Lebanon. Now it is time to move ahead
and to tackle the political and economic reforms
necessary. The reform agenda that the Lebanese
government has designed is an important step and I look
forward to our discussions tomorrow on how the
international community can best support the Lebanese
people in pursuing their goals."
Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner said: "At this delicate
moment it remains imperative that all sides exercise
restraint and that they settle their differences through
dialogue." She added: "We are all committed to Lebanon.
Tomorrow we will offer a new and substantial assistance
package but money alone is not the key to success.
Long-term recovery of Lebanon will require a number of
important reforms that can only be achieved with
national consensus on the reform agenda. The EU Lebanon
Neighbourhood Action Plan is a precious instrument for
us to accompany the country in its reform process and to
deliver of our support in a targeted and structured
way."
The financial assistance package is designed to
accompany this Action Plan and will include:
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Assistance, totalling at least
€300 million, focusing initially on support to
socio-economic and political reforms; economic
recovery of Lebanon (local development,
reconstruction, infrastructure rehabilitation,
support to SMEs); de-mining and clearance of
unexploded ordnance; and assistance to the
Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.
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Macro-financial assistance, in
both grants and loans.
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European Investment Bank. Grants
and loans to mobilise additional funds from the
European Investment Bank, to fund private sector
industry activities, tourism, information
technology, services, health and education.
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Neighbourhood Investment Fund.
Lebanon will also be eligible to draw on funds from
this newly established Investment Fund, which is
intended to attract financing for infrastructures,
to boost investment and to support reform of key
sectors in the EU neighbouring countries.
The Action Plan sets out a
comprehensive set of priorities for joint work by the EU
and Lebanese authorities at the political, economic,
social and cultural level. Many of the priorities
identified by the Government of Lebanon in its reform
agenda are already explicitly addressed in the Action
Plan: fiscal reform and public finance management,
improving business environment, job creation, and social
development. And these are the main fields that the
Commission assistance will be covering in the next
years. Other priorities can easily be integrated by
mutual agreement. The Action Plan sets measurable
objectives for action enabling the EU and the Lebanon to
evaluate progress.
Background
Since the conflict of last summer,
the EU has been one of the most active providers of
assistance to Lebanon. In the first Lebanon Conference
in Stockholm in August 2006, the Commission promised,
and has delivered since then, more than €100 million for
humanitarian assistance (€54 million), evacuation of
people caught in the conflict (€11 million), and to
cover short-term needs as requested by the Lebanese
government (€42 million). In addition, the European
Commission has also carried out detailed needs
assessments and project identification mission in order
to be able to prepare a coherent long-term assistance
program.
For more information on the EU-Lebanon relations:
http://ec.europa.eu/comm/external_relations/lebanon/intro/index.htm
Emma Udwin 02/29 59577
Concha Fernández de la Puente 02/29 52977 |
