PHARE
The Phare programme applies to the acceding and candidate countries from Central and Eastern Europe, and principally involves Institution Building measures (with accompanying Investment) as well as measures designed to promote Economic and Social Cohesion. It comes under the responsibility of the Directorate-General for Enlargement, which is also responsible for overall co-ordination of pre-accession assistance (Phare, ISPA and SAPARD).
The Phare programme is one of the three pre-accession instruments financed by the European Union to assist the applicant countries of Central and Eastern Europe in their preparations for joining the European Union.
The National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis is the candidate country’s timetable for preparing for accession. It estimates the timing and cost of the steps needed to prepare the country for membership and the implications for staff and financial resources.
Phare’s objectives are:
1. Strengthening public administrations and institutions to function effectively inside the European Union.
2. Promoting convergence with the European Union’s extensive legislation (the acquis communautaire) and reduce the need for transition periods.
3. Promoting Economic and Social Cohesion.
There are two priorities of the Phare programme: Institution Building and Economic and Social Cohesion
ISPA
Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession
The ISPA programme deals with large-scale environment and transport investment support, and comes under the responsibility of the Directorate-General for Regional Policy.
ISPA was designed to address environmental and transport infrastructure priorities identified in the Accession Partnerships with the 10 applicant countries of Central and Eastern Europe. ISPA was established by Council Regulation No. 1267/1999 in June 1999 on the basis of a Commission proposal in Agenda 2000 to enhance economic and social cohesion in the applicant countries of Central & Eastern Europe for the period 2000-2006.
ISPA : Sectors receiving assistance
1. The environment - bringing the applicants up to EU standards
2. Transport : expanding the trans-European transport networks
3. Technical assistance - directly related to the projects being funded
1. The environment - bringing the applicants up to EU standards
As noted in Agenda 2000, the applicant countries generally face much greater environmental problems than the present Member States, particularly with regard to water pollution, waste management and air pollution. Major efforts will therefore be needed, involving considerable amounts of technical and financial aid from the Union, if these countries are to catch up quickly with the 'acquis communautaire' on the environment.
ISPA will concentrate on the ‘investment heavy’ directives, i.e. Directives that are costly to implement.
1. To deal with the worst enviro drinking-water supply
2. treatment of waste water
3. solid-waste management and air pollution.
2. Transport: expanding the trans-European transport networks
Agenda 2000 stresses the urgent need to build and repair transport infrastructure in the applicant countries and to link it to the Union's transport networks. For the countries concerned, improving their transport infrastructure is a crucial part of their economic development strategies. Developing efficient transport systems is thus an essential component in the pre-accession strategy.
Bringing transport infrastructure in the applicant countries up to the standards of the Union to meet the expected growth of traffic will call for major investments. ISPA will be contributing therefore to funding the development of railways, roads, ports and airports, taking into account requirements for sustainable transport and modal change..
3. Technical assistance - directly related to the projects being funded
A small part of ISPA's budget may also be used to fund preparatory studies and technical assistance. A clear link has to be shown between measures of these kinds and the projects funded by ISPA. Technical assistance will have a crucial role in guaranteeing a high level of quality in projects, in terms of both management and impact, and will allow research results to be incorporated in the relevant sector as far as possible.
SAPARD
Special Accession Programme for Agriculture & Rural Development
SAPARD programme supports agricultural and rural development and comes under the responsibility of the Directorate-General for Agriculture.
The aim of SAPARD is to help the 10 beneficiary countries of Central and Eastern Europe deal with the problems of the structural adjustment in their agricultural sectors and rural areas, as well as in the implementation of the acquis communautaire concerning the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) and related legislation. It is designed to address priorities identified in the Accession Partnerships.
SAPARD was established by Council Regulation 1268/1999 in June 1999, on the basis of a Commission proposal as part of the Agenda 2000 programme for increased pre-accession assistance in the period 2000 - 2006.
Its main features are that it:
Only finances agricultural and rural development measures
Comes under the remit of the Directorate-General for Agriculture
On 29 September the European Commission has decided today to replace the existing range of financial instruments for the delivery of external assistance with a simpler, more efficient framework. Instead of the current wide range of geographical and thematic instruments that has grown up in an ad-hoc manner over time, the new framework will comprise six instruments only, four of them new.
The four new instruments are: an instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance , a European Neighbourhood and Partnership instrument, a Development Cooperation and Economic Cooperation instrument, and an instrument for stability. Two existing instruments, for Humanitarian Aid, and for Macro Financial Assistance are not in need of modification, and will be maintained.
The Pre Accession Instrument will cover the candidate countries (Turkey and Croatia ) and the potential candidate countries (the Western Balkans). It replaces existing instruments PHARE, ISPA, SAPARD, CARDS as well as a number of other regulations.
Contacts for Croatia:
