The Special Co-ordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, Bodo Hombach, welcomed today the report issued by the countries of the region, with the support of the OECD, on the progress achieved in economic policy reform.

The report, titled Progress in Policy Reform in South East Europe - Monitoring Instruments, has been published in the framework of the Investment Compact, the Stability Pact initiative to promote policy reforms that can increase private investment in the region. It gives, for the first time, a comprehensive overview of the national programmes of economic reform of Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the FYR of Macedonia, FRY/Montenegro and Romania, complete with clear benchmarks and time frames.

Mr Hombach said that it is vital for South Eastern European countries to manage and track progress against a coherent set of targets and deadlines because the general public and potential investors need to see clear signs that progress is being made. The Report serves that important purpose.

Furthermore, it is the first cross-regional statement of policy priorities, which permits an interesting comparison of the similarities and differences among the countries of the region in terms of the challenges they face and the policy responses they propose. The Monitoring Instruments presented in the report combine both the achievements that have been made in recent months and the short- and medium–term objectives that have been set. From the report it becomes clear that significant progress has been made in many areas. Since autumn 2000 almost 30% of the legislative reforms initially proposed by the countries have been passed into laws.

The report can be accessed on the Stability Pact website [ click here for direct access] (www.stabilitypact.org, under Working Table II, Investment Compact). It is also available on request at the Office of the Special Co-ordinator or from the OECD (contact kimberly.pagels@oecd.org).