Western Balkans, Turkey to get 4.5 billion euros in EU assistance by 2011

20/10/2008

The European Commission approved a spending plan for pre-accession assistance worth some 4.5 billion euros to be provided to seven Western Balkan countries and Turkey through 2010.

(EU - 10/10/08; AFP - 09/10/08; EMportal - 30/09/08; European Commission, Reuters, Hina, Makfax, B92 - 29/09/08)

"The road towards the EU is paved with reforms to improve the everyday lives of citizens and to comply with the strict EU accession criteria," the EC said. [Getty Images]

The European Commission (EC) adopted a strategy in late September, setting out the priorities for financial assistance worth nearly 4.5 billion euros that the EU has set aside for eight Southeast European (SEE) countries from 2008-2010.

The purpose of the funding is to enhance those countries' development, as well as underpin their efforts towards meeting the political and economic criteria for membership in the 27-nation bloc and in bringing their legislation in line with EU standards and norms.

Coming under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) programme, the aid will go to official EU candidates Croatia, Macedonia and Turkey, and to potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia.

The funding allocated under country specific programmes totals about 4.013 billion euros. A further 458.4m euros has been set aside under a multi-beneficiary programme that will support joint projects by several partners, in areas including economic, social and civil society development, administrative and judicial reform, and fighting organised crime and corruption.

"The road towards the EU is paved with reforms to improve the everyday lives of citizens and to comply with the strict EU accession criteria," the EC said in a statement on September 29th, announcing the adoption of the plan. "Progress on this road not only requires a lot of political will and stamina, but also considerable financial efforts."

The pre-accession assistance for each of the three EU candidates focuses on the five IPA components: transition assistance and institution building; cross-border co-operation; regional, human resources and rural development.

The planned allocation for Croatia, which is expected to complete its accession negotiations with the EU next year, totals over 451m euros, including 154m euros for regional development, 131m euros for institution building and 77m euros for rural development. The funding set aside for cross-border co-operation initiatives stands at 47m euros and for human resources development at 43m euros. The planned EU financial assistance for Turkey for the three-year period totals about 1.759 billion euros, including 539m euros in 2008, some 566m euros in 2009 and 654m euros in 2010.

The share of the support for cross-border co-operation activities between each of the potential EU candidates and their neighbours ranges between 3% and 14% of the overall funding. [File]

"EU assistance to Turkey focuses on support to the stability of institutions so as to guarantee fundamental rights and freedoms, democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the respect for and protection of minorities, and promotion of the EU-Turkey Civil Society Dialogue," the EC statement said.

A total of 695m euros, or well over a third of the overall pre-accession aid Turkey is set to get by 2011, has been set aside for actions under the institution building component. Another 595m euros will support initiatives in the area of regional development. EU funding for Turkish rural development will amount to 270m euros, for human resources development to 172m euros and for cross-border co-operation to 28m euros.

Macedonia, which won formal recognition as an EU candidate country in December 2005, but is still waiting to be given a starting date for membership talks with the Union, is set to receive a total of 244m euros in pre-accession support from the 27-nation bloc in 2008-2010. About 114m euros, or nearly half of the funding, will support actions in the area of institution building, including implementation of sectoral reforms and adoption and implementation of the acquis.

Some 63m euros will be spent on regional development actions and 29m euros for helping Macedonia prepare for participation in the EU's cohesion policy and rural development instruments. The country is also set to receive about 22m euros for human resources development and another 17m euros for cross-border co-operation initiatives, aimed at creating closer links between border regions, supporting joint environmental protection activities and improving the potentials for tourism.

As potential EU candidates, Albania, BiH, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia are able to benefit from only the first two IPA components: transition assistance and institution building, and cross-border co-operation.

The bulk of the funding set aside for the five Western Balkan countries will support actions in the area of institution building. The focus will be "on improving governance and the rule of law, supporting economic and social development and helping them to adopt laws in line with those of the EU and building their capacity to implement the laws on the ground," said the EC.

The share of the support for cross-border co-operation activities between each of the potential EU candidates and their neighbours, as well as the bloc's member states, ranges between 3% and 14% of the overall funding envisioned in their individual national programmes.

"EU assistance to Turkey focuses on support to the stability of institutions so as to guarantee fundamental rights and freedoms, democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the respect for and protection of minorities…," the EC statement said. [Getty Images]

Serbia is set to get 584m euros during the three-year period, including 548m euros in support of its efforts towards meeting the EU political and economic criteria and improving its ability to assume the obligations of membership, and 36m euros for cross-border co-operation.

The planned allocations for BiH amount to 270m euros, of which 255m euros for institution building and 15m euros for cross-border co-operation. The country has made only "limited progress" in implementing EU-required reforms, the EC said in its Multi-Annual Indicative Planning Document 2008-2010 for BiH. The Balkan nation must increase the effectiveness of its executive and legislative bodies, improve the co-ordination between state and entities, and agree on the reform of its police structure, it also noted.

The pre-accession assistance Albania is set to get totals 245m euros, of which 215m euros have been set aside for institution building, particularly judicial and public administration reform and the fight against organised crime and corruption. The remaining 30m euros will underpin cross-border co-operation initiatives.

Montenegro is to receive a total of 100m euros, of which 86m euros for institution building and 14m euros for cross-border co-operation.

The planned funding for Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in February, is 258m euros -- 125m euros for 2008, 66m euros for 2009 and 67m euros for 2010. The 250m euros allocated for institution building, will focus particularly on civil society development, protection of the Serb and other minorities and strengthening the rule of law. The amount set aside for cross-border co-operation for the three-year period stands at 8m euros. Kosovo is also set to get an additional 100m euros in assistance pledged for the country at the international donors' conference in July. "The use of this money is pending agreement of the budgetary authority," the EC statement said.