Geneva, 5 May 1999
ECE/GEN/99/5
RECOVERY IN
SOUTHEAST EUROPE AFTER A SETTLEMENT OF THE CONFLICT IN
YUGOSLAVIA
Elements for a
contribution by the United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe (UN/ECE)
In view of the gravity of the
conflict in Yugoslavia, immediate action to prevent dramatic
deterioration in the most affected countries has to be taken and
preparations for the post-conflict situation for the region have
to be launched now.
In the economic field, immediate action relates
to compensating countries for the cost of refugees, the loss of exports and
the consequences of not being able to use the Danube for transportation purposes (see Annex I).
International institutions and
organizations have already embarked on the process of preparing
post-conflict stabilization and reconstruction programmes. The
ECE mandate, as well as its expertise and experience, make the
Commission prepared to participate actively in this most
challenging and important process of building foundations for the
future inclusion of the entire region into the European order.
The response to the situation at
the end of the conflict in Yugoslavia has to be both
comprehensive and coordinated to address the complexity of the
problem and to avoid divergences in the approach of the
international community. It has to address the problems of
countries directly and indirectly affected by the military
actions, and to contribute to the regional development, openness
and integration.
In the economic and social
fields, there are at least three broad goals:
- To set a
comprehensive recovery programme which takes
into account the actual situation in the
whole region aimed at restoring growth and
the confidence of investors;
- To rebuild the
infrastructures and speed up institutional
and structural reforms;
- To
re-establish good neighbourly relations in
Southeast Europe.
The Economic
Commission for Europe can contribute to these objectives.
- ECE could
assist in designing programmes of an
institutional and structural character for
Southeast Europe. It has to be kept in mind
that, with the exception of Hungary, the
economic and social situation was already
poor before the conflict and was only
aggravated by it, even if sometimes
dramatically. Any programme should therefore
address not only the damage created by the
conflict, but also the overall reform process
(see Annex I). The expertise of the team
producing the Economic Survey of Europe could be used in designing such programmes.
- ECE, building
on its pan-European conventions, norms and
standards, could help:
- in the
establishment of the institutions of a market economy
- in the
reconstruction of property rights and land
registration which have been destroyed in
Kosovo. The experts of the Meeting of
Officials on Land Administration (MOLA) would
be instrumental in doing this.
- ECE could
increase its substantive contribution to a
strengthened SECI. SECI, Southeast European
Cooperative Initiative, which is especially
designed to re-establish confidence and good
neighbourly relations in the region, was
launched by the United States and has now
received the full support of the EU and
Russia. It has already shown tangible
results, e.g. simplification of border
crossing procedures, signature of a
Memorandum of Understanding on 29 April 1999,
free circulation of lorries, feasibility
studies on interconnection of gas and
electricity networks. To be adapted to a
changed situation, it would have to include
Yugoslavia and dispose of more financial
resources.
For further information, please
contact:
Information Unit
United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe (UN/ECE)
Palais des Nations, Room 356
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Tel: +41 (22) 917 44 44
Fax: +41 (22) 917 05 05
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.unece.org