Brussels, 15/02/2002 (Agence Europe) - The Commission has approved 94 projects to be co-funded in the framework of the ISPA programme (the instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-accession) aimed at improving the transport infrastructures and environmental protection in the candidate countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Most of the projects focus on the modernisation of urban and municipal water supply, waste water systems, and road, motorway and railways' rehabilitation and construction. Community funding amounts to more than 1.1 billion euro of a total cost of 2.3 billion to be co-financed by the beneficiary states and international financing institutions. ISPA has an annual budget of 1040 million euro for 2000-2006. The two main beneficiaries are Poland (annual funding of 335 million euro) and Romania. In 2000 and 2001, the Commission approved 169 ISPA projects for 6.113 million euro, that the EU will co-fund to the tune of 64.4%. 100 projects relate to the environment (38.4% of the total), 64 transport (61.4%) and 5 technical assistance (0.1%). Of the 169 projects so far approved, 35 are in Poland, 23 in Hungary, 22 in Romania, 17 in Latvia, 16 in Lithuania, 14 in the Czech Republic and in Estonia, 10 in Slovakia, 9 in Slovenia and Bulgaria.
Experience of the first two years of ISPA proves that practically all candidates still have problems in absorbing all the funds placed at their disposal. Thus, whereas in 2000 and 2001, practically all the 1040 million was committed by the Commission, very low amounts were actually paid out: zero in 2000 (apart from some technical assistance), only 200 million in 2001. "The absorption capacity of the candidates poses problems for us; we are working with them to resolve this, but it has to be realised that in infrastructure projects, the level of payment is always low in the start-up period", the Commission services underpin. Commissioner Michel Barnier also acknowledges this problem, but states: "I am pleased that the ISPA programme made a big step forward in 2001 (…).Yet candidate countries need to continue efforts to strengthen their administrative capacity to ensure speedy and effective implementation of ISPA projects". The low absorption capacity of candidates, we know, is currently been challenged by certain Member States to demand a reduction in the Commission's proposed budget for enlargement.