The avowed aim of the Sarajevo summit Aug. 6 was simple in its grandeur: to promote peace and prosperity in the war-ravaged region and prepare it for eventual membership in the European Union and NATO. Whether the means and the commitment exist to achieve this lofty goal remains to be seen.
Over 40 world leaders pledged in the summit declaration to work with each other to cooperate in political, economic and social issues, ranging from promoting free trade to countering crime and creating civilian control of armed forces. Acknowledging the crucial role economic reconstruction will play in bringing stability to the region, the leading industrialized powers pledged to prepare to grant unilateral trade preferences to Balkan countries and promised to provide general financial assistance.
While most countries will announce their contributions at a donor's conference to be held later this year, France and the United States chose to unveil their assistance programs in Sarajevo. Reflecting the EU's stance that European nations should provide the bulk of financing for Balkans reconstruction, France pledged $1.06 million in assistance. U.S. President Bill Clinton announced an aid package worth nearly $700 million to reconstruct the war-torn region. The bulk of the assistance consists of private-sector funds to finance private companies in the Balkans, a credit line for projects in which U.S. firms participate and a loan program for small businesses. In addition, countries in southeast Europe, including Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania and Slovenia -- as well as the Yugoslav provinces of Montenegro and Kosovo -- will be granted expanded duty-free access for five years to export to the U.S. Notably absent from the list is Serbia, which will remain ineligible for U.S. aid as long as Yugoslav President Slobadan Milosevic remains in power.