U.S. Is Warned of Risk in Delay on Bosnia Fund

WASHINGTON —  A key World Bank official is warning the United States of “serious consequences” in Bosnia-Herzegovina if Congress does not appropriate money for that war-ravaged country’s reconstruction by early April.

The lack of a U.S. appropriation, he said, probably would force the cancellation of a meeting of the foreign ministers of donor countries scheduled for April 12-13 in Brussels. Cancellation would lengthen the delay that already has hampered reconstruction.

The warning--issued by Vice President Kemal Dervis, the World Bank official in charge of Bosnian reconstruction--has intensified the growing chorus of concern about the slowness of the civilian aspects of the Dayton, Ohio, peace accord.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization-led troops have managed to enforce the cease-fire lines in Bosnia, but little has been done to strengthen civilian institutions and invigorate the nation’s devastated economy.

President Clinton sent legislation to Congress last week that would transfer $145 million to Bosnian reconstruction from the budget of the National Reconnaissance Office, a military agency in charge of collecting data from U.S. spy satellites.

The Clinton proposal, however, is expected to meet resistance from members of Congress who want any money for Bosnian reconstruction to come out of State Department funds.

Under the terms of the Dayton peace accord, the World Bank and the European Union are in charge of organizing Bosnian reconstruction.

Dervis said the April foreign ministers meeting will probably have to be postponed in the event of a congressional refusal to authorize the funding because European governments insist that their contributions will depend on the U.S. offering.

The European Union says it is willing to put up $2 billion over the next three to four years if the United States donates $1 billion. But Washington has insisted that it will contribute no more than $600 million, with a third of that coming this year.