Brussels, 06/01/2000 (Agence Europe) - On 29 December 1999, the Council of the European Union adopted by written procedure the new Tacis regulation on EU aid to Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrghyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia during the period 2000-2006. The regulation, which mainly aims to promote the transition of these thirteen countries to a market economy and strengthen democracy and the rule of law, is based on the principles and objectives set out in the Partnership and Cooperation Agreements and the economic cooperation and trade agreements between the EU and these countries.
The financial allocation foreseen for these six years is EUR 3.138 billion, and the budgetary authority will fix the annual appropriations each year within the limits of the Union's financial perspectives. EU assistance will in general be delivered in the form of grants, and 20% at most of the annual budget for each country may be intended for investment financing. A maximum of 20% of these budgets may be devoted to the "Incentive Scheme" a sort of quality premium which was set in place to reward the best projects, independently of the country concerned. This system will be introduced gradually. Thus, during the first year it will not exceed 10% of the total budget of the programme, while, in the following years, this percentage may increase by a maximum of 5% annually, to reach a ceiling of 20%.
The regulation comprises provisions concerning costs in local currencies, the awarding of contracts, cooperation with individual Member States and coordination between the Commission and the Member States, the presentation of an annual progress report from the Commission and a clause in the event of violation of the essential elements of cooperation between the EU and the receiver countries, mainly concerning democratic principles and human rights.
One of the characteristics of the new Tacis programme is its concentration on a limited number of significant initiatives, even though, as the regulation specifies, this will not prevent assistance to small scale projects considered adequate. Thus, the indicative programmes and the action programmes intended for each beneficiary country may cover at most three of the eligible areas, which are: - support for institutional, legal and administrative reform; - support to the private sector and assistance for economic development; - support to allow the countries concerned to bear the social consequences of transition; - development of infrastructure networks; - promotion of environmental protection and the management of natural resources; - development of the rural economy. Where necessary, support to nuclear safety could be added to the three areas of intervention for any one country.
Indicative programmes covering three to four-year periods will be established with each Tacis beneficiary country and will define the main aims and guidelines for EU assistance in the areas of cooperation, including financial estimations where possible. On the basis of these indicative programmes, action programmes for each country will be adopted on an annual or bi-annual basis. These detailed programmes will include a list of projects to be financed.
Furthermore, the programme will aim at promoting inter-state, inter-regional and cross-border cooperation: a) between beneficiary countries; b) between these countries and the EU; and c) between these countries and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. This cross-border cooperation will mainly aim to: - help the border regions to overcome their specific developmental problems; - encourage the linking of networks on both sides of the border, e.g. border-crossing facilities, and; - accelerate the transformation process in the TACIS states through their cooperation with border regions in the EU or Central and Eastern Europe; - reduce trans-boundary environmental risks and pollution.