1.The process of programming for assistance to the ACP countries and regions managed by the Commission under the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement shall be undertaken in accordance with Articles 1 to 14 of Annex IV to that Agreement and in accordance with the general principles referred to in Article 1 of this Regulation.
2.Programming for the purpose of this Regulation shall mean, inter alia:
(a)the preparation and development of Country Support Strategies (hereinafter referred to as country strategy papers) and Regional Support Strategies (hereinafter referred to as regional strategy papers);
(b)a clear indication from the Community of the indicative programmable financial allocation from which the countries and regions may benefit during the six-year period of the 10th EDF;
(c)the preparation and adoption of a multiannual indicative programme for implementing the country strategy papers and regional strategy papers;
(d)a review process covering the country strategy papers and regional strategy papers, the multiannual indicative programmes and the volume of resources allocated to them.
3.The programming at national and regional level shall be conducted in a coordinated way. Coordination for the purpose of this Regulation shall mean, inter alia:
(a)the partner country or region concerned shall to the extent possible be the leading force in the programming of Community assistance. Programming shall, except in the cases provided for in paragraph 5, be done jointly with the partner country or region concerned and increasingly aligned with the partner country or region's poverty reduction or equivalent strategies; the joint process shall include other stakeholders where relevant, including parliaments, local authorities and representative non-State actors, that shall be associated in the programming process as early as appropriate;
(b)for the preparation and development of the strategy papers the Commission shall work in coordination with the Member States locally represented and the EIB on matters relating to its areas of expertise and operations, including as regards the Investment Facility. Coordination will remain open to the Member States that are not permanently represented in the country or region concerned;
(c)the Commission and the Member States locally represented shall strive where possible and appropriate to joint programming, including a joint response strategy. Participation in joint programming will, through flexible mechanisms, remain open to the Member States that are not permanently represented in the country or region concerned;
(d)the Commission and Member States shall seek regular and frequent exchanges of information, including with other donors and development banks, and promote better coordination of policies, harmonisation of procedures, complementarity and division of labour, thereby enhancing improved impact of policies and programming. Donor coordination shall as far as possible take place through existing mechanisms of donor coordination and build on existing harmonisation processes in the partner country or region concerned. The partner country or region concerned should to the extent possible be the leading force in the coordination of Community assistance with other donors; whenever the development of common strategies is already under way, joint programming should remain open to other donors and complement, strengthen, and whenever possible be part of these existing processes.
4.In addition to country strategy papers and regional strategy papers, an intra-ACP strategy paper and related multiannual indicative programme shall be prepared and developed with the ACP-EC Committee of Ambassadors, based on criteria set out for an intra-ACP policy framework compliant with the principles of complementarity and geographic scope inherent in Article 12 of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement.
5.In the exceptional circumstances referred to in Article 3(4) and Article 4(5) of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement, when countries cannot access normal programmable funds and/or the national authorising officer is prevented from carrying out his/her duty, the Community shall make specific provisions as referred to in Article 4(7) of this Regulation.
6.Programming shall be designed so as to fulfil to the greatest extent possible the criteria for official development assistance (hereinafter referred to in as ‘ODA’) established by the OECD/DAC.
7.Programming shall, where appropriate, ensure European visibility in partner countries and regions.
1.At the beginning of the programming processes the Commission shall, on the basis of the needs and performance criteria identified in Articles 3, 9 and 12 of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement, determine the multiannual indicative fund allocation for each ACP country and region and for the intra-ACP envelope on which the programming process is based, within the limits set out in Article 2 of the Internal Agreement. These criteria shall be standard, objective and transparent.
2.Regarding the national indicative grant allocation, the resources shall comprise a programmable amount, including an incentive tranche allocated on the basis of governance related criteria in line with the principles on governance adopted by the Council on 16 October 2006, and an allocation for unforeseen needs as referred to in Article 3(2)(b) of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement.
3.The EDF Committee referred to in Article 11 shall give its opinion in accordance with the management procedure set out in Article 11(3) on the method used in the application of the general criteria for resource allocation as presented by the Commission.
The consolidated country and regional aid allocations shall be consistent with the amounts set out in Article 2 of the Internal Agreement. They shall be integrated into the country and regional strategy papers and multiannual indicative programmes, and adopted by the Commission in accordance with the management procedure set out in Article 11(3). Funds earmarked for special support programmes and actions as referred to in Article 4(7) shall also be adopted by the Commission in accordance with the management procedure set out in Article 11(3).
1.The country and regional strategy papers shall be prepared on the basis of the general principles of coordination, ownership and aid effectiveness referred to in Articles 1 and 2, following the common framework for country strategy papers and the principles towards joint multiannual programming adopted by the Council on 11 April 2006.
2.The strategy papers shall aim to provide a coherent framework for cooperation between the Community and the partner country or region concerned, consistent with the overall purpose and scope, objectives and principles of the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement. The strategy paper shall not only cover the development cooperation funded out of the EDF, but also reflect all other Community instruments having an impact on the partner country or region aiming to ensure policy coherence with other areas of the Community's external action including, where relevant, the EIB.
3.Except in the circumstances referred to in Article 2(5), multiannual indicative programmes shall be drawn up on the basis of the respective strategy papers and shall be the subject of an agreement with the country or region concerned. Emphasis shall be placed on shared assessments of needs and performance and sector analysis, as well as priorities. In the context of Article 11(3) and in cases where the Commission participates in a joint programming process, the multiannual indicative programme shall where appropriate be integrated in a document drafted jointly with the other participating donors. The multiannual indicative programmes shall include:
(a)the priority areas selected for Community financing, the overall objectives, the targeted beneficiaries, the general policy commitments and the expected impact;
(b)the indicative financial allocation, both overall and per priority area. The allocation per priority area may be given in the form of a limited range, where appropriate. Community assistance shall be concentrated in a limited number of priority areas and, where appropriate, through general budget support, and shall ensure alignment with operations financed by the ACP country or region concerned and complementarity and coherence with operations financed by Member States and by other donors;
(c)per priority area, and in case of general budget support, specific objectives and sectoral policy commitments and the most appropriate measures and operations for attaining these objectives and targets. The indicative programme shall also describe the expected impact, and define results and quantitative and qualitative performance indicators and a timetable for implementation, including commitments and disbursement of resources, and for expected results. Indicators shall to the maximum extent possible be aligned with and based on the partner country or region's own monitoring system;
(d)the resources reserved for programmes and projects outside the priority areas and, where possible, the broad outlines of such activities as well as an indication of the resources to be deployed for each of these activities. They may include the priorities and specific resources for the purpose of strengthening cooperation with the Community's outermost regions, OCTs or neighbouring partner countries and regions as referred to in Article 10 of this Regulation and the modalities for identifying and coordinating the selection of those common interest projects;
(e)the type of non-State actors eligible for funding and, where possible, the resources to be allocated and the type of activities to be supported.
Resources may be channelled through different modalities that may be complementary according to what will work best in each country. The use of budget support shall be done in accordance with the eligibility criteria set out in Article 61.2 of the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement.
4.The strategy papers and multiannual indicative programmes shall take account of, and avoid duplication with, measures and programmes eligible for funding under other EDF or Community instruments. Particular care shall be paid to the interaction between national, regional and intra-ACP support strategies and to consistency with Community instruments, in particular Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006, Regulation (EC) No 1889/2006, and Regulation (EC) No 1257/96, taking into account the actions undertaken under Regulation (EC) No 1717/2006 of the European Parliament and the Council of 15 November 2006 establishing an Instrument for Stability(1). The multiannual adaptation strategies for Sugar Protocol countries provided for in the instrument for development cooperation shall be integrated in the country strategy papers.
5.The strategy paper referred to in paragraph 4, including its multiannual indicative programme, shall be adopted by the Commission in accordance with the management procedure set out in Article 11(3). At the same time as the strategy papers referred to in paragraph 1 are transmitted to Member States in the EDF Committee, the Commission shall also transmit them to the Joint Parliamentary Assembly for information, while fully respecting the decision-making procedure according to Title IV of this Regulation.
6.The strategy papers, including the multiannual indicative programmes, shall subsequently be adopted by common agreement between the Commission and the ACP State or region concerned and shall, when adopted, be binding on both the Community and that State or region. Countries without a signed strategy paper remain eligible to funding from the allocation for unforeseen needs referred to in Article 3(2)(b) of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement.
7.The provisions referred to in Article 2(5) of this Regulation may take the form of special support programmes replacing the national strategy paper in cases as set out in Article 4(5) of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement where the national authorising officer in the partner country is prevented from carrying out his duty, or they may take the form of actions funded from the allocation for unforeseen needs referred to in Article 3(2)b of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement in situations set out in Article 3(4) of that Annex when the partner country can not access the normal programmable funds referred to in Article 3(2)a of that Annex. These special support programmes and actions funded from the allocation for unforeseen needs shall comply with the previous paragraphs and take into account the special considerations referred to in Article 5(4)(c) of this Regulation. They shall be adopted by the Commission in accordance with the management procedure set out in Article 11(3) of this Regulation.
1.Strategy papers and multiannual indicative programmes as well as the special support programmes and actions referred to in Article 4(7) of this Regulation shall be submitted to annual operational reviews, to reviews at mid-term and at the end of term and, when necessary, to ad hoc reviews. These reviews shall be carried out locally by the Commission and the partner country or region concerned in line with Article 5 of Annex IV of the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement, and shall be prepared on the basis of the general principles of coordination, ownership and aid effectiveness referred to in Articles 1 and 2. The strategy papers and multiannual indicative programmes may also be submitted to ad hoc reviews in between annual, mid-term and end-of-term reviews in line with Article 3(5) of Annex IV of the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement.
2.The mid-term and end-of-term reviews shall constitute an integral part of the programming process. They shall assess the strategy paper, including the multiannual adaptation strategies for the Sugar Protocol countries and any other programmes funded from Community instruments referred to in Article 4(4), and the multiannual indicative programme in the light of current needs and performance. The review shall include, to the extent possible, an impact assessment of the Community's development cooperation in relation to the general objective of poverty reduction referred to in Article 1(1), to the objectives, allocated resources and indicators set out in the strategy papers and an assessment of the adherence to, and the possibilities for furthering, the aid effectiveness principles referred to in Articles 1 and 2. Following the completion of the mid-term or end-of-term review exercise:
(a)the strategy papers and multiannual indicative programmes may be adjusted where the reviews indicate specific problems or lack of progress towards meeting the objectives and indicated results, or in the light of changed circumstances, including as a result of ongoing harmonisation processes such as division of labour among Commission and Member States and possibly other donors;
(b)the national and regional multiannual indicative allocation may be increased or decreased in the light of current needs and performance.
3.The annual operational reviews shall be conducted in accordance with Article 5(4) of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement. In cases of new or special needs, set out in Articles 3(5) and 9(2) of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement, such as those resulting from a post-crisis situation, or exceptional performance when a multiannual indicative allocation is totally committed and additional funding can be absorbed against a background of effective poverty-reduction policies and sound financial management, a multiannual indicative allocation may be increased following the completion of the annual operational review exercise.
The general results of the annual operational reviews shall be presented to the EDF Committee for an exchange of views in accordance with Article 11(4) of this Regulation.
4.Ad hoc reviews can be carried out at the request of either the ACP State concerned or the Commission in cases of new or special needs or exceptional performance as described in paragraph 3 of this Article or in the case of exceptional circumstances referred to in Article 72 and Article 73 of the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement regarding humanitarian and emergency aid. The Commission shall take into account requests for ad hoc reviews by Member States. The occurrence of sudden and unforeseeable serious humanitarian, economic and social difficulties of an exceptional nature resulting from natural disasters, man-made crises such as wars and other conflicts, post-conflict situations, threats to democracy, the rule of law, human rights or fundamental freedoms or extraordinary circumstances within a country or within a region that have comparable effects, may be considered as cases justifying the conducting of an ad hoc review.
(a)Following the completion of the ad hoc review exercise, special measures referred to in Article 8 of this Regulation may be proposed. If required, the allocation of the multiannual indicative programme or the special action programme may be increased within the limits of available funds set out in Article 2 of the Internal Agreement. Where no strategy paper has been signed, special support can be funded from the allocation for unforeseen needs as referred to in Article 3(2)(b) of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement.
(b)The measures taken shall be consistent and coherent with and complement other Community instruments, including the instrument for humanitarian aid referred to in Article 4(4).
(c)Where partner countries or groups of partner countries are directly involved in, or affected by, a crisis or post-crisis situation, multiannual programming shall place special emphasis on stepping up coordination between relief, rehabilitation and development to help them make the transition from an emergency situation to the development phase; programmes for countries and regions regularly subject to natural disasters shall provide for disaster preparedness and prevention.
5.In cases of new needs as defined in the Joint Declaration VI referring to Article 12(2) of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement regarding intra-ACP cooperation, an increase in the intra-ACP programmable allocation may be financed from the intra-ACP reserves within the global limits set out in Article 2(b) of the Internal Agreement.
6.Any change in strategy papers and/or resource allocation resulting from a review referred to in paragraphs 1 to 4 shall be adopted by the Commission in accordance with the management procedure set out in Article 11(3). The addenda to the strategy papers, including the multiannual indicative programmes and to the special support programmes shall subsequently be adopted by common agreement between the Commission and the ACP State or region concerned and shall, when adopted, be binding on both the Community and that State or region.