Today in Brussels, the former Special Co-ordinator of the Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe, Bodo Hombach (in office from June 1999 to December 2001), received the prestigious Award 2002 of Taxpayers Association of Europe. Bodo Hombach was lauded for his outstanding performance in the effective use of public funds and for his successful efforts in creating a lean, transparent and cost efficient operation for assisting Southeastern European countries.

As a proof of the effectiveness of the Stability Pact structure, the Taxpayers Association particularly mentions the fact that, through such a small operation, considerable assistance to South Eastern Europe could be mobilized, coming from important donors who themselves are bound by strict rules regarding the allocation of financial resources. An independent financial audit of the Stability Pact Office in Brussels gave it an excellent report and recommended it as a model for accounting and financial management procedures for similar operations within the European Institutions.

The present Stability Pact Coordinator, Erhard Busek, welcomed the award as “ an honour to the office I had the privilege to take over from Bodo Hombach and a mandate to continue in this spirit”. In his congratulatory letter to Bodo Hombach, Busek said that the award is an important signal to the Southeastern European beneficiary countries of the Stability Pact operation, which demonstrates that public money has to be spent not only according to strict rules but also in a way that must withstand scrutiny by a wider public. The award will certainly help to make this notion understood in Southeastern Europe and will support efforts to bring expectations into line with reality.

The Special Co-ordinator congratulates the awardee and takes this opportunity to extend his gratitude to the employees of his office, especially to the administrative staff, who were instrumental in laying the foundations, which made this award possible.

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