EU funds for roads - CEDR

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• Post-accession fund
A Transition Facility was created by the EC in 2003
15 for certain institution-building actions in
the (then) new member states 16 over the period 2004–2006 17 . The purpose of the transition
facility was to continue to assist new member states in their efforts to strengthen their
administrative capacity to implement Community legislation and to foster exchange of best
practice as an extension to assistance provided until accession under PHARE.
The total amount of funds made available by this instrument for all these countries in that
period (2004–2006) was ~€3 billion.
Considering that the ceiling contribution for the Transition Facility was 75% of the projects’
total cost (public expenditure), it is obvious that the total available funds for that period were
~€4 billion.
• External cooperation 18 funds
The European Union is by far the biggest donor worldwide . The EU external cooperation
budget has constantly increased in the last 20 years. In the period 2008–2013 it will amount
to an average of over €10 billion per year (not including IPA).
EuropeAid is the EC department (agency) that coordinates the implementation of all
external development and cooperation projects and programmes, with the exception of
humanitarian aid, which is handled by the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office
(ECHO). In the period 2000–2002, the implementation of external development and
cooperation projects/programmes was decentralised to EC delegations in the recipient
countries
20 . This proved a very successful move.
19
15 Please see EC Communication C (2003) 4884 of 19 December 2003.
16 Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia
17 The principle and related financial allocations were subsequently enshrined in the Act of Accession under Article
34.
18 External cooperation (and assistance) is considered a core activity of the EU. Its objectives are set out in the EU
Treaty, in particular, Article 181 which states: ‘Community policy in this area shall contribute to the general
objective of developing and consolidating democracy and the rule of law, and to the objective of respecting human
rights and fundamental freedoms.’
19 Politically, all EU operations in third countries are governed by the provisions and spirit of the European
Consensus on Development (14820/05, DEVGEN 229, RELEX 678, ACP 155, 22-11-2005), which is indeed a
wonderful document!
20 In order to make its actions more responsive to local needs, facilitate coordination between donors, and speed
up implementation, the EC decided to make its Delegations, i.e. its representations in partner countries,
responsible for the management of external aid. There are currently around 110 devolved EC Delegations in Africa,
Asia, the western Balkans, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and
the Pacific. The delegations act not only as the eyes and ears of the Commission in their host countries but also as
its mouthpiece vis-à-vis the national authorities and society as a whole. Concerning development aid and external
assistance, delegations are responsible for identifying projects, assessing their feasibility, as well as implementing
and evaluating their results. EuropeAid’s headquarters in Brussels are responsible for overall coherence, and for
general, thematic, and quality support. Headquarters also coordinate with other Commission directorates-general,
with member states and with the other EU institutions, and carry out the overall planning and reporting on the
progress of development aid. Highly specialised areas⎯such as supporting reforms in the nuclear energy sector
and regional and horizontal programmes which affect several or many recipient countries⎯are managed directly
from Brussels as well.
EU funds for roads