Commission releases first EU contribution for reconstruction in Iraq

The European Commission decided today to release a first contribution from the EU budget for reconstruction activities in Iraq. The €29 million, part of the €200 million pledged by Commissioner Patten at the Madrid Donors Conference, will support the UNDP, UNICEF and WHO's efforts to rehabilitate basic social services in Iraq - water and sanitation, education, and health - and to implement livelihood and income generating schemes for the Iraqi people. This decision puts into practical effect the Commission's determination to translate pledges in Madrid into tangible improvements in the day-to day living conditions of the Iraqi population.

Commissioner Patten said "I am glad that just a few weeks after the Madrid Donors Conference, the Commission has begun delivering on its pledge to mobilise the EU budget to help improve living conditions for the Iraqi people. We look forward to doing much more in the future, and particularly when security conditions allow."

The € 29 million is part of the initial financial package of €200 million in grants from the EU budget for reconstruction in Iraq, proposed in the Commission's Communication of 1 October 2003[ ]. At the Madrid Donor's Conference on 23-24 October 2003, the EU pledged a total of €1.24 billion ($1.46 billion) for reconstruction in Iraq (including more than € 600 million for 2004).

The €29 million will be channelled through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Thematic Trust Fund for Crisis Prevention and Recovery. It will be disbursed through the UNDP and the UN agencies. In doing so, the Commission is taking advantage of an existing UNDP rapid disbursement mechanism in order to address quickly the most urgent needs of the Iraqi population in areas directly related to their daily life. Through this decision, the Commission confirms the EU's support for the important role of the United Nations in Iraq, as set out in UNSC Resolutions 1483 and 1511 and European Council conclusions.

Based on the Joint United Nations and World Bank Needs Assessment for Iraq in which Commission experts participated, EC funds will be directed to the water and sanitation sector to help to increase the amount of potable water available to urban and rural populations, to improve sewage treatment as well as solid waste management. In the health sector, EC support will contribute to increasing immunisation among the most vulnerable sectors of the population, reducing the risk of malnutrition, and reducing the risks that affect maternal and child health.

EC support will be used in the education sector to increase children's access to education, to rehabilitate existing or new schools and to improve the planning and monitoring capabilities of the Iraqi Ministry of Education. In addition, EC funding will be used for employment generation schemes and local authority capacity building, the provision of micro-credits and vocational training for the disadvantaged and to the creation of small-scale labour-oriented enterprises.

The Madrid Donor's Conference[2] also welcomed the UN and World Bank's proposal to establish an International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq. The Commission has been fully engaged in developing this Facility over the past months and, once its is launched, expects to use it to channel the bulk of EU financial support for Iraq in 2004.


For further information on EU-Iraq relations:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/iraq/intro/index.htm



[1] http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/iraq/intro/com03_575en.pdf

[2] http://www.comisionadoiraq.org/donors/index_ing.htm

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