European Union Enlargement - An historic opportunity

EXAMPLES OF CO-FINANCING BY ISPA AND IFIS
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The Transit Roads III Rehabilitation programme in Bulgaria was jointly financed by ISPA and the
EIB. It concerned the rehabilitation of the main trunk roads along the priority route Pan-European
Transport Corridors IV, VIII and IX. It was a continuation of the successful Transit Roads I and II programmes
financed by the EIB, Phare and Bulgaria. It provides fast and efficient road connections -
thereby fostering Bulgaria’s efforts to promote trade and economic development - reduces operating
costs, and enhances road safety.
A wastewater treatment plant in Krakow, the third largest city in Poland, was financed jointly
with the EBRD under a single turnkey contract. It complies fully with Community legislation, and
has had a major impact on the local water quality and improved conditions in the Baltic Sea. The
area was identified as a hot spot in the Helsinki Convention. The investment includes a new biological
and tertiary treatment plant, sludge handling and bio-gas utilisation.
However, the needs of the candidates in terms of alignment with European
Community standards and norms are too great to be met solely by Community
grants or loans from the EIB or IFIs. Greater investment in the candidate countries
by EU companies would considerably lighten the burden, in particular in areas such
as the environment. It is for the candidate countries to put in place the legal framework,
such as public service franchises, which will allow the private sector to help
them meet the challenge of alignment with Community standards through investment
that cannot be financed solely from public funds.
OPENING OF EUROPEAN COMMUNITY PROGRAMMES AND AGENCIES
Community programmes are designed to promote co-operation between Member
States in specific policy areas (such as public health, environment, research and
energy) and to support student and youth exchanges (such as Socrates, Leonardo
da Vinci and Youth). The principle of opening up Community programmes to the
countries of Central and Eastern Europe was decided by the European Council in
Copenhagen in June 1993, and confirmed by the Essen European Council in
December 1994. The objective of the candidate countries’ participation in
Community programmes in a wide range of areas is to familiarise them with the
way Community policies and instruments are put into practice and to facilitate, for
instance, the exchange of students, young people, scientists, and civil servants,
prior to the accession of their countries to the European Union.