Assistance for Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Austria's Assistance Programme for Eastern Europe covers both the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as well as the successor states of the former Soviet Union. In recent years the emphasis has shifted from Austria's immediate neighbours in Central Europe to the countries of South Eastern Europe. In 2001 a total of €11.62m was used for funding bilateral aid projects, predominantly for water and energy supply, education and training, administrative reform, democratisation and the safeguarding of human rights. The assistance provided is conditional on the maintenance of certain minimum democratic standards as well as respect for human rights, in particular those of minorities and refugees. Another essential element is active local participation as well as the sustainability of the projects realised with Austrian aid.

While projects are largely located in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, there is also a specific focus on Bulgaria and Romania, two EU candidate countries requiring assistance in the acceleration of the enlargement process. The programmes and projects are coordinated with those of other donors under the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe. Under the Pact, Austria chairs the Task Force on Education and Youth, and the Austrian assistance therefore places particular emphasis on strengthening the education sector. It also supports numerous cross-border projects to promote regional integration, for example in public administration.

Austria's manifold development activities in South Eastern Europe can be illustrated by a few examples: improvement of water supply in Krivogastani in Macedonia; support for the universities of Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Bihac and Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina; support for the establishment tourism in Romania; further education and vocational training for unemployed youth in Bulgaria; and ´the establishment of a human rights centre in Zagreb, Croatia.

The terrorist attacks in the United States have also led to an intensification of Austria's development activities in Central Asia. Projects offering humanitarian and educational assistance were stepped up towards the end of 2001. Examples are support for families affected by drought in Tajikistan and the establishment of a research and educational platform by means of a cooperation network between Austrian universities and institutions of the tertiary educational sector in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.