7 PHARE pre-accession assistance programme
| (24336)
7056/03
COM(03) 97
| Commission Report: The PHARE Programme annual report 2001.
|
| Legal base | — |
| Department | International Development
|
| Basis of consideration | Minister's letter of 24 April 2003
|
| Previous Committee Report | HC 63-xviii (2002-03), paragraph 9 (9 April 2003)
|
| To be discussed in Council | None planned
|
| Committee's assessment | Politically important
|
| Committee's decision | Cleared (decision reported 9 April)
|
Background
7.1 PHARE is one of the three EC pre-accession instruments, the
other two being ISPA[11]
and SAPARD.[12] It
is designed to assist the ten candidate countries of Central and
Eastern Europe in meeting the acquis, and the funds focus on the
pre-accession priorities identified in each candidate's Accession
Partnership.
The Minister's letter of 24 April 2003
7.2 We cleared the Commission's Annual Report on PHARE for 2001
on 9 April but asked the Secretary of State for International
Development (Clare Short) for more information.[13]
She has now replied:
"Your Committee … asked for further information on
whether the possibility that accession states may not be able
to make use of the considerably increased funds which will be
allocated to them from the Structural Funds has been taken into
account by the Commission in forecasting spending from the General
Budget.
"The financial package agreed at the Copenhagen
European Council in December 2002 already envisages what amounts
to the phasing in of Structural Funds entitlements for the new
Member States.
"The proportion of Structural Funds allocated
to the Cohesion Fund for the new Member States is higher than
in current Member States. The Cohesion fund, which finances environmental
and infrastructure projects, is easier to absorb since it is managed
at the national rather than regional level, it is project based,
and the co-financing requirements are lower compared to structural
funds.
"The pre-accession instruments, principally
in this case the PHARE programme, and also the planned transition
facility, will continue to help prepare the new Member States
for the mainstream Structural Funds upon accession. As stated
in the Explanatory Memorandum the transition to EDIS[14]
will be of prime importance in this preparation and the Commission
plans to have all of the new Member States EDIS compliant by the
date of accession."
Conclusion
7.3 The Secretary of State emphasised
in her Explanatory Memorandum the difficulty which the accession
states were having in managing the considerable resources available
to them now. Given that the UK currently contributes approximately
19.5% of the budget of the pre-accession programmes, we continue
to be concerned at the ability of the administrations of the accession
states to make effective and efficient use of the substantial
funds to which they now have access.
7.4 We recognise that extra resources
are being devoted to strengthening their capacity to manage the
even greater funds they will enjoy after accession, but we nevertheless
ask the Minister to keep us fully informed of the Government's
view of the selection of projects and the effectiveness of the
national programmes in the meantime, rather than relying on an
annual report from the Commission, deposited many months after
the funds have been spent.
7.5 We thank the Minister for her
response. The document was cleared on 9 April.
11 The Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession
(ISPA) supports infrastructure policies for the environment and
transport in the candidate countries. Back
12
SAPARD is the Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and
Rural Development. Back
13
See headnote. Back
14
The Extended Decentralisation Implementation System, which candidate
countries are being encouraged to use. Back
| 
