By Martin Banks - 2nd April 2007
EU member states will be asked to provide at least €1.5bn to finance the development of Kosovo, according to enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn.
The EU has already spent €2bn since 1999 when the province was placed under a UN protectorate.
But a senior EU diplomat said that "additional funding will be required to strengthen the rule of law" by building up the judiciary, the police and the security forces.
The majority of the €2bn spent had been allocated to rebuilding infrastructure, such as roads and housing destroyed during the conflict between Serbia and Kosovo in 1998 and 1999.
According to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, extra money will be needed to protect the province’s Serb minority and to end widespread corruption.
While Nato will maintain a large military presence, the EU will need to send 2000 police and judicial experts, the bank says.
The plan was presented to EU foreign ministers meeting in Bremen over the weekend.
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