World Bank and European Commission Establish Joint Task Force for Balkans Reconstruction

The World Bank and the European Commission have partnered to establish a joint task force to assess the economic impact of the war in Yugoslavia on Balkan countries. The task force will be headquartered in Brussels and co-ordinated by a high-level group led by the World Bank's president, James Wolfensohn, and the European Commission's economic commissioner, Yves-Thibault de Silguy. The joint operation aims to co-ordinate the international community's financial response to the Kosovo crisis and promote closer economic and political ties between the Balkan countries and the European Union.

Key Takeaways:

• The joint task force will assess the economic impact of the war in Yugoslavia on six countries surrounding Yugoslavia: Albania, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, and Romania.
• The task force will also co-ordinate donor funds for the Serbian province of Kosovo and the Yugoslav republic of Montenegro, which has sheltered 64,000 refugees from Kosovo.
• Rory O'Sullivan, a World Bank expert, has been appointed co-head of the task force.
• The task force will set priorities based on a comprehensive regional framework to ensure stability in the medium term.
• The World Bank and the European Commission hope to present an assessment of the regional economic impact and costs of the Kosovo crisis at a meeting of senior finance officials in Bonn on May 27.
• The joint task force will be crucial in trying to draw the Balkan countries into closer economic and political ties with the European Union.

Statistics:

• 741,000: number of refugees from Kosovo currently being maintained.
• 64,000: number of refugees from Kosovo being sheltered in the Yugoslav republic of Montenegro.
• 6: number of countries surrounding Yugoslavia affected by the war.
• 2: number of heads of the joint task force, led by James Wolfensohn and Yves-Thibault de Silguy.
• 2: number of countries hosting the meeting of senior finance officials in Bonn on May 27.
• 1: number of aim, to present an assessment of the regional economic impact and costs of the Kosovo crisis at the meeting.

Sources:

• Financial Times Limited 1999.