Established in 1992 in response to a growing number of humanitarian crises, ECHO has rapidly grown and now disburses assistance at levels similar to the total assistance provided by member states in 1999. Since 1992, ECHO has funded humanitarian aid in more than 85 countries, devoting approximately one third of its funding to projects of UN humanitarian agencies, especially UNHCR. In 2000, ECHO managed a budget of 492 million euros.

What role does the European Commission play in global development?

The European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, is a crucial player in development efforts. It is the second largest multilateral donor in the world. The Commission on its own spends 5 billion euros ($4.8 billion) a year on official development assistance (ODA). The European Union, including the programs of the Commission and those of the member states, accounts for two thirds of total global official development assistance. In all, the Commission and member states cover 55 percent of total development assistance. If we only talk about grants not including loans, that is excluding the World Bank and other development banks, the total development assistance amounts to 66 percent. So this means that we are present in every developing country in the world.

Can you explain the difference between the work of the EU member states and the European Commission?

The Commission carries out those activities that we have decided to carry out as a community. What the member states do individually as nations in terms of grants and loans is not included in this work. The point is that Europe wants to do some development work as an entity, and that is done by the Commission. This means that all members of the EU make mandatory contributions to our budget. It also means that, with the enlargement of EU, the new member states will have to also contribute to the development budget as it is an unescapable part of being a member.

What initiatives does the UN have this year to address the challenges of global development?

To face the deep 'global governance gap' the UN has a comprehensive conference agenda for the next year: Implementing the Doha Development Agenda; success at the UN Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey in March 2002; and, thirdly, the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in September 2002.

What is the European Commission's role at the UN conferences?

We are calling for a global deal at these conferences. We adopted a Communication on "Towards a Global Partnership for Sustainable Development" that clearly sets out, in the Commission's view, the respective responsibilities of the industrialized countries, the developing countries and, collectively, the international institutions in order to achieve global sustainability. All, including the USA and Japan, must commit themselves to politically challenging choices.

What will the European Commission try to accomplish at the Monterrey Conference?

For Monterrey, the Commission is suggesting concrete proposals for increasing the quality and quantity of Official Development Assistance (ODA). We are urging member states to increase aid so as to have a chance of reaching the Millennium Development Goals. Further efforts are underway to untie Community aid and fully untie all bilateral aid.

How will the EU member states reach the millennium target of 0.7 percent of ODA?

We are putting forward our input from the EU on how the member states can accomplish the set target of 0.7 for ODA. It varies a lot between different countries. We don't have any authority to tell them what to do. The new thing is that we are having these discussions. And it is nice to see that there is one country which has [recently] reached the goal and that is Luxembourg. Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands are already there. Ireland has said that they will reach the goal no later than 2007. So that is one case illustrating that there is a firm plan to get there. Others have less clear and less ambitious responses but the new thing is that this is now discussed systematically.

Can you tell us about the role you are playing in Afghanistan?

We have been active in Afghanistan since 1991 and we have spent about 500 million Euro since then. We have worked in the fields of education, health, agriculture and demining among other activities. I was on my way to Afghanistan on September 11. But then everything changed. I was going to see the work carried out by 29 different NGOs and UN organizations that we are funding. I finally made it to Kabul in the first week of December. It was quite an experience, a very moving experience. That is why I have been talking about the "other Afghanistan" ever since then.

What is the "other Afghanistan" that you discovered on your recent visit?

Well, we all know the Afghanistan of war lords. But I know now, there also exists an Afghanistan of heroes of peace of compassion -and I met them. I think it is very important that we know that this is actually the case. They are not all carrying weapons. The NGOs are a very important resource for what we are doing now and what other donors do in Afghanistan. These NGOs are not newcomers. They know the situation on the ground and they have well-established networks of local staff. Their systems are among the few things that actually work in Afghanistan. And building on them is one of the first things that can be done by the international community. We at the Commission are very committed to this nation.