Five Central Asian states that have no access to the world ocean (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) have a number of common threats, among them terrorism, drug trafficking, illegal arms trade, corruption, and a number of common problems, including poverty, unemployment, environmental pollution and desertization, the resolution runs.

The Central Asian states are interrelated and could gain from more pragmatic and efficient cooperation in the economy and politics, the Assembly said.

In the opinion of delegates, the Council of Europe could consider assistance to the Central Asian countries.

They also said that the EBRD should be careful and prevent the possible indirect encouragement of human rights violations, including child labor, through investments in private companies.

The Assembly also said it might consider the participation of Central Asian parliaments in the discussion of EBRD activities, human rights and democracy.

The EBRD defined its priorities for Ukraine and Belarus at the PACE session, Itar-Tass reported.

In the opinion of European parliamentarians, the admission of Ukraine to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the beginning of free trade negotiations with the European Union will enlarge Ukraine’s chance for economic development.

Due to the political climate in Belarus, the EBRD activity in that country has been rather limited for the past decade, the PACE resolution said. The Assembly recommended the Bank to hold negotiations with Belarusian authorities and thus promote the development of private businesses in Belarus.

Russia was the largest recipient of funds from the EBRD. Its share in the annual amount of bank operations enlarged from 38% in 2006 to 41% in 2007, and 90% of investments were made in regions, says the resolution.

EBRD President Jean Lemierre said they had implemented many projects in the corporate sector, municipal and environmental infrastructure, energy efficiency, agriculture, finance, and small and medium businesses.

The Assembly affirmed a large contribution of the bank to the perfection of laws and norms through political dialog with governmental agencies and to the drawing of foreign investments in the Russian economy.