Brussels - The Czech Republic will donate EUR 4 million (CZK 95 million) to Kosovo. Tomáš Szunyog from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said this in public service Czech TV during a conference on aid for Kosovo that took place in Brussels.
The sum will be transferred in steps until 2011. The EU will donate EUR 500 million.
1.5 billion euro from Europe
The aid is expected to give a boost to the Kosovo's economy that has been devastated by a long-term instability.
According to the European Commission spokesman, it is expected that other EU member states, too, will spare some funds from their budgets to help Kosovo.
Reuters reports that Kosovo may be given as much as EUR 1.5 billion from Europe. The USA alone promised to give USD 400 million.
Corruption to be watched
"Kosovo is a European matter. The EU will use all instruments to give Kosovo an European perspective," informed Olli Rehn, European Commissioner for Enlargement. He added that the union will control rigidly how the resources are used and whether, for example, corruption is taking place.
The aid is to be divided equally between all nationalities that inhabit Kosovo.
For decades, Kosovo was among the poorest parts of former Yugoslavia. War and instability between 1998 and 1999 contributed to the devastation of the country.
40 percent unemployment
After the independence of Kosovo was declared in February this year, one of the main priorities of the government was to prepare a document that would explain what the foreign aid would be used for.
One of the main goals is to tackle Kosovo's unemployment rate that equals 40 percent.
So far, Kosovo's independence was approved by 43 states, including most of the EU member states and the USA. Serbia and Russia, on the other hand, are countries that oppose the independence of Kosovo most vigorously.
