Brussels, 16/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - The communication on the multi-annual indicative financial framework (MIFF) for the instrument of pre-accession assistance (IPA), presented on 10 October, shows a reduction in funding for 2013 compared to 2012. The aid instrument will fall from €1,899,112,884 in 2012 (with €32.1 million in funding recovered from previous years) to €1,884,646,788 in 2013 (current prices). This fall can be explained by the fall in multilateral programme amounts, which drops from around €212 million to €177 million.
The candidate countries - Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Montenegro and Turkey - receive funding for transition assistance and institution building, cross-border cooperation, regional development, the development of human resources and rural development. Croatia, which is to enter the EU in July 2013, will see aid drop considerably from €155.5 million to €93.5 million. Montenegro will also undergo a slight drop in aid amounts, from €34.9 million to a little under €34.6 million. Funds for FYROM and Turkey will increase from €101.5 million to €113.2 million and from €856.3 million to €902.9 million respectively.
Albania, Serbia (which obtained candidate status in 2012), Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina, which receive funding for transition assistance and institution building and for crossborder cooperation, will have their allocations increased. Aid to Albania will rise from €94.5 million to €98.1 million, aid to Serbia from €202.1 million to €208.3 million. For Kosovo, European support will be €71.4 million compared to €68.8 million and, for Bosnia Herzegovina, from €107.8 million to €108.8 million.
Aid to Iceland in terms of transition aid and institution building will fall from €12 million to €5.8 million. (CG/transl.jl)