European Commission

Date: 03/04/1997

THE Commission this week approved a first package of humanitarian aid worth 2 million ecu for victims of the crisis in Albania. Officials said the aid, managed by the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO), would enable the International Committee of the Red Cross to distribute food and medical supplies to about 10,000 people.

FUNDING worth 4 million ecu to extend Operation ECHO-Flight, which enables humanitarian organisations to fly aid and personnel into crisis-stricken areas of Somalia, southern Sudan and Uganda, has been approved by the Commission. This new funding will extend the operation, which began in May 1994, for six months until the end of October 1997.

THE Commission has announced that it will host the first annual conference of the Group of Seven project “Global market-place for SMEs” from 7-9 April in Bonn. The project, which was launched in Brussels by the G7 countries at their ministerial conference on the global information society in February 1995, has established a global business information network, is supporting international pilot projects and is investigating barriers to electronic commerce, all with a view to promoting the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises in global electronic commerce.

EU beef export refunds have been cut by 7.5&percent; in response to the strengthening US dollar and a rush of applications for export licences. The Commission's move follows an across-the-board 10&percent; reduction in refunds in January and an 8&percent; cut in repayments for beef exported to South Africa in February which followed complaints that the local market was being distorted.

A Commission spokesman said that the action had been taken to avoid speculative licence applications.