The International Development Cooperation policy of Greece and the case of the Hellenic Plan for the Economic Reconstruction of the Balkans (HiPERB) 
In conformity with its obligations as a member state of the European Union and as a member of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD, Greece has committed itself to allocate annually 0.20% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to international development aid.
In this context, Greece has drawn up the Second 5- Year Program of Hellenic Development Aid for the period 2002-2006; an important part of this program, is the Hellenic Plan for the Economic Reconstruction of the Balkans (HiPERB).
The HiPERB is the first effort made by Greece as a donor country to incorporate various separate development aid initiatives into a single comprehensive plan so as to promote an integrated development policy.
The HiPERB is a five-year plan that undertakes the financing of projects, investments and activities in 6 Balkan countries, namely Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), and Romania.
The HiPERB, which was adopted by the Hellenic Parliament in March 2002 (Bill 2996, Official Gazette n.62, 28 March 2002), aims at modernizing infrastructures, promoting productive investments, supporting democratic institutions and the rule of law, strengthening the Welfare State as well as contributing to the training of manpower and the overall human resources in the beneficiary countries.
The HiPERB’s, ultimate goal is, therefore, to contribute to the political, economic and social stability in the entire region of South-Eastern Europe; the guiding principles of HiPERB are those of partnership and transparency. 
The HiPERB provides for an amount of 550 million € to be granted to the six above-mentioned Balkan countries within the next five years. More specifically, almost half of the allocated amount will be channeled to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (265 million € of which 250 for Serbia-Montenegro and 15 for Kosovo), 74.84 million € to the FYROM, 70.93 to Romania, 54.79 to Bulgaria, 49.89 to Albania and 19.53 million € to Bosnia and Herzegovina. These funds will be granted gradually over the next five years.
With the signing of Bilateral Agreements of Development Co-operation with all six above-mentioned countries the legal framework for the activation of the HiPERB is, since August 2002, completed. Greece now expects the submission of proposals, by the beneficiary countries, for approval and materialization of specific projects, through the respective Greek embassies in the region.
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