EU Programme Allots 34.5m Euros for Macedonia

18/07/2005

Macedonia is set to receive a substantial aid package from the EU under the CARDS programme. On 5 July, Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister Radmila Sekerinska and the head of the European Commission's delegation to Skopje, Donato Chiarini, signed an agreement launching the assistance package, which will go towards four key areas: democracy stabilisation, good governance and institution building, economic and social development, and participation in European Community programmes.

By Zoran Nikolovski for Southeast European Times in Skopje – 18/07/05

Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister Radmila Sekerinska (left) and the head of the European Commission's delegation to Skopje, Donato Chiarini, shake hands after signing an agreement launching the assistance package. [Tomislav Georgiev]

Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister Radmila Sekerinska met with the head of the European Commission (EC) delegation to Skopje, Donato Chiarini, on 5 July, to sign a financial agreement launching 34.5m euros in EU aid to Macedonia under the CARDS programme.

The aid, initially announced in April, is meant to help Macedonia achieve key goals set forth under its Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the Union, as well as to support implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement. The funds will be used in four priority areas, identified by the EU and Macedonia: democracy stabilisation, good governance and institution building, economic and social development, and participation in European Community programmes. A portion of the aid (1.4m euros) will go to the General Technical Assistance Facility, which supports the preparation and early implementation of activities as well as the planning process for future programmes.

The CARDS programme was developed by the EU in order to provide assistance to countries undergoing the Stabilisation and Association Process. [EU]

"In the area of democracy stabilisation, support for implementation of the Framework Agreement is continuing," Sekerinska said. "In the good governance and institutional development areas, most funds are intended for supporting the public prosecution office, combating money laundering and organised crime as well as supporting the decentralisation process by developing the local infrastructure."

Efforts to stabilise democracy in the country through putting the Ohrid Accords into action will be assisted by approximately 2m euros in CARDS funds. The emphasis will be placed on two areas: increasing the representation levels of minority ethnic communities in public administration, and developing a new government sector in charge of implementation of the agreement.

The area of good governance and institution building has been allotted a total of 18.5m euros. From this amount, 15m euros are earmarked for public administration reform, with 6.7m euros going towards developing infrastructure in local self-government, 3m euros towards reform of the custom service and implementation of European standards, and 2m euros on the decentralisation process.

The remaining 3.5m euros' worth of institution building funds are earmarked for justice and home affairs reform, including reforms of the public prosecutor's office (1.5m euros), the fight against money laundering (1.5m euros), and strengthening capacity to combat organised crime and terrorism (0.5m euros).

Transportation infrastructure improvements will receive 2.4m euros of the CARDS aid package.

Around 7.6m euros will be allotted to economic and social development. Of this, 1.2m euros will go towards improving the investment climate in Macedonia. The development of small- and medium-sized enterprises will be assisted with 2.4m euros, while transportation infrastructure improvements and environmental protection will receive 2.4m euros and 2m euros, respectively. The EC’s TEMPUS programme, aimed at improving higher education, will be continued, and further assistance will be provided to reform of employment policies.

Under the agenda decided on at the Thessaloniki Summit, European community programmes have been opened up to the Western Balkan countries, and CARDS assistance is available to cover most of the participation costs. Macedonia is expected to participate in a few of these projects within the next year, and Brussels is making approximately 2m euros available for that purpose.

Experts say it is of great importance that 1.3m euros have been targeted for developing Macedonia's capacity to support a decentralised system for managing EU aid. The European Commission will handle these funds, which are intended to help the country build its capacity to manage EU aid on its own. Previously, the European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR) had this task. But the EAR's mandate is ending in December, and the Instrument for Preaccession (IPA) starts as of January 2007. If Macedonia receives candidate status, it will start to manage aid by itself and this requires development of institutions. The process of development has already started.

The CARDS programme was developed by the EU in order to provide assistance to countries undergoing the Stabilisation and Association Process. CARDS assistance has been allotted to all four potential candidate countries in the Western Balkans: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Serbia-Montenegro (including Kosovo). Croatia, which has been granted candidate country status, will benefit from pre-accession financial assistance while remaining eligible for participation in the CARDS regional programme.