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The Community shall assist the countries listed in Annexes I and II in their progressive alignment with the standards and policies of the European Union, including where appropriate the acquis communautaire, with a view to membership.
1.Assistance shall, where appropriate, be used in the beneficiary countries listed in Annexes I and II to support the following areas:
(a)strengthening of democratic institutions, as well as the rule of law, including its enforcement;
(b)the promotion and the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms and enhanced respect for minority rights, the promotion of gender equality and non-discrimination;
(c)public administration reform, including the establishment of a system enabling decentralisation of assistance management to the beneficiary country in accordance with the rules laid down in Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002;
(d)economic reform;
(e)the development of civil society;
(f)social inclusion;
(g)reconciliation, confidence-building measures and reconstruction;
(h)regional and cross-border cooperation.
2.In the case of countries listed in Annex I, assistance shall also be used to support the following areas:
(a)the adoption and implementation of the acquis communautaire;
(b)support for the policy development as well as preparation for the implementation and management of the Community's common agricultural and cohesion policies.
3.In the case of countries listed in Annex II, assistance shall also be used to support the following areas:
(a)progressive alignment with the acquis communautaire;
(b)social, economic and territorial development including, inter alia, infrastructure and investment related activities, in particular in the areas of regional, human resources and rural development.
1.Assistance shall be programmed and implemented according to the following components:
(a)Transition Assistance and Institution Building;
(b)Cross-Border Cooperation;
(c)Regional Development;
(d)Human Resources Development;
(e)Rural Development.
2.The Commission shall ensure coordination and coherence between assistance granted under the different components.
3.The Commission shall adopt rules for the implementation of this Regulation in accordance with the procedure laid down in Articles 4 ]and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC. To that effect, the Commission shall be assisted by the IPA Committee referred to in Article 14(1).
The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at two months.
Assistance under this Regulation shall be provided in accordance with the general policy framework for pre-accession, defined by the European and Accession Partnerships, and taking due account of the Reports and the Strategy Paper comprised in the annual Enlargement package of the Commission.
[F1For Iceland assistance shall be provided in particular subject to the Reports and the Strategy Paper of the Enlargement package.]
Textual Amendments
1.With a view to supporting the strategic planning as provided for in Article 6, the Commission shall present annually to the European Parliament and the Council its intentions for the financial allocations to be proposed for the three forthcoming years, in the form of a multi-annual indicative financial framework, taking into consideration the financial framework, as well as the European Partnerships, Accession Partnerships, Reports and Strategy Paper.
2.This multi-annual indicative financial framework shall present the Commission's intentions for the allocation of funds, broken down by component, country and multi-country action. It shall be elaborated on the basis of a set of objective and transparent criteria, including needs assessment, absorption capacity, respect of conditionalities and capacity of management. Due account shall also be taken of any exceptional assistance measures or interim response programmes adopted under a Regulation establishing the Stability Instrument.
3.The multi-annual indicative financial framework shall be included in the Commission's annual Enlargement package, while maintaining a three-year planning horizon.
1.Assistance under this Regulation shall be provided on the basis of multi-annual indicative planning documents established by country in close consultation with the national authorities, so as to support national strategies and ensure the engagement and involvement of the country concerned. Civil society and other stakeholders shall be associated where appropriate. Other programmes of assistance will also be taken into account.
2.For countries listed in Annex I, assistance shall be based in particular on the Accession Partnerships. Assistance shall cover the priorities and overall strategy resulting from a regular analysis of the situation in each country and on which preparations for accession must concentrate. Assistance shall be planned in view of the criteria defined by the Copenhagen European Council of June 1993 and the progress made in the adoption and implementation of the acquis communautaire, as well as regional cooperation.
3.For countries listed in Annex II, assistance shall be based in particular on the European Partnerships. Assistance shall cover the priorities and overall strategy resulting from a regular analysis of the situation in each country and on which preparation for further integration into the European Union must concentrate. Assistance shall be planned in view of the criteria defined by the Copenhagen European Council of June 1993 and the progress made in implementing the stabilisation and association agreements, including regional cooperation.
4.Multi-annual indicative planning documents shall present indicative allocations for the main priorities within each component, taking into account the indicative breakdown per country and per component proposed in the multi-annual indicative financial framework. They shall also set out, as appropriate, any funding provided for multi-country programmes and horizontal initiatives.
5.Multi-annual indicative planning documents shall be established following a three-year perspective. They shall be reviewed annually.
6.The Commission shall adopt the multi-annual indicative planning documents and annual reviews thereof in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 14(2)(a).
1.Assistance under this Regulation shall be provided through multi-annual or annual programmes, established by country and by component, or, as appropriate, by group of countries or by theme in accordance with the priorities defined in the multi-annual indicative planning documents.
2.Programmes shall specify the objectives pursued, the fields of intervention, the expected results, the management procedures and total amount of financing planned. They shall contain a summary description of the type of operations to be financed, an indication of the amounts allocated for each type of operation and an indicative implementation timetable. Where relevant, they shall include the results of any lessons learned from previous assistance. Objectives shall be specific, relevant and measurable and have time-bound benchmarks.
3.The Commission shall adopt the multi-annual and annual programmes, and any reviews thereof, in accordance with the procedures provided for in Article 14(2).