Legal provisions of COM(2011)838 - Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II)

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dossier COM(2011)838 - Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II).
document COM(2011)838 EN
date March 11, 2014

Contents

TITLE I - GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1 - General objective

The Instrument for Pre–accession Assistance for the period from 2014 to 2020 (‘IPA II’) shall support the beneficiaries listed in Annex I in adopting and implementing the political, institutional, legal, administrative, social and economic reforms required by those beneficiaries in order to comply with the Union's values and to progressively align to the Union's rules, standards, policies and practices, with a view to Union membership.

Through such support, IPA II shall contribute to stability, security and prosperity in the beneficiaries listed in Annex I.

Article 2 - Specific objectives

1. Assistance under this Regulation shall pursue the achievement of the following specific objectives according to the needs of each of the beneficiaries listed in Annex I, as well as their individual enlargement agenda:

(a)support for political reforms, inter alia through:

(i)strengthening of democracy and its institutions, including an independent and efficient judiciary, and of the rule of law, including its implementation;

(ii)promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, enhanced respect for the rights of persons belonging to minorities, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, promotion of gender equality, non-discrimination and tolerance, as well as freedom of the media and respect for cultural diversity;

(iii)regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations;

(iv)promotion of reconciliation, peace-building and confidence-building measures;

(v)the fight against corruption and organised crime;

(vi)strengthening of public administration and good governance at all levels;

(vii)capacity-building measures for improving law enforcement, border management and implementation of migration policy, including the management of migration flows;

(viii)development of civil society;

(ix)improvement of social dialogue and strengthening of the capacities of social partners;

(b)support for economic, social and territorial development, with a view to smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, inter alia through:

(i)the achievement of Union standards in the economy, including a functioning market economy, as well as fiscal and economic governance;

(ii)economic reforms necessary to cope with competitive pressure and market forces in the Union, while contributing to the achievement of social and environmental goals;

(iii)fostering of employment and labour mobility, promotion of quality job creation and development of human capital;

(iv)promotion of social and economic inclusion, in particular of minorities and vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities, refugees and displaced persons;

(v)fostering of an inclusive and integrated education system and preservation and restoration of cultural heritage;

(vi)development of physical capital, including improvement of infrastructure, and connections with Union and regional networks;

(vii)strengthening of research, technological development and innovation capacity;

(c)strengthening of the ability of the beneficiaries listed in Annex I at all levels to fulfil the obligations stemming from Union membership by supporting progressive alignment with, and adoption, implementation and enforcement of, the Union acquis, including preparation for management of Union Structural Funds, the Cohesion Fund and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development;

(d)strengthening regional integration and territorial cooperation involving the beneficiaries listed in Annex I, Member States and, where appropriate, third countries within the scope of Regulation (EU) No 232/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (10).

2. Progress towards achievement of the specific objectives set out in paragraph 1 shall be monitored and assessed on the basis of pre-defined, clear, transparent and, where appropriate, country-specific and measurable indicators that cover inter alia:

(a)progress in the areas of strengthening democracy, the rule of law and an independent and efficient justice system, respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities and vulnerable groups, fundamental freedoms, gender equality and women's rights, the fight against corruption and organised crime, reconciliation, good neighbourly relations and refugee return, and in particular, the establishment of track records in those areas;

(b)progress in socio-economic and fiscal reforms, addressing structural and macro-economic imbalances; the soundness and effectiveness of social and economic development strategies; progress towards smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and the creation of an inclusive and integrated education, quality training and employment, including through public investment supported by IPA II; progress towards creating a favourable business environment;

(c)progress in aligning the body of legislation with the Union acquis, including a track record of its implementation; progress in Union-related institutional reform, including transition to indirect management of the assistance provided under this Regulation;

(d)progress in building up and strengthening good governance and the administrative, institutional and absorption capacities at all levels, including adequate human resources, needed to adopt and enforce the acquis-related legislation;

(e)regional and territorial cooperation initiatives and the evolution of trade flows.

3. The indicators referred to in paragraph 2 shall be used in order to monitor, assess and review performance, as appropriate. The Commission's annual reports referred to in Article 4 shall be taken as a point of reference in the assessment of the results of IPA II assistance. The relevant performance indicators shall be defined and included in the strategy papers and programmes referred to in Articles 6 and 7 and shall be established in such a way as to enable progress to be assessed objectively over time and, where appropriate, across programmes.

Article 3 - Policy areas

1. Assistance under this Regulation shall mainly address the following policy areas:

(a)reforms in preparation for Union membership and related institution- and capacity-building;

(b)socio-economic and regional development;

(c)employment, social policies, education, promotion of gender equality, and human resources development;

(d)agriculture and rural development;

(e)regional and territorial cooperation.

2. Assistance under all policy areas referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall support the beneficiaries listed in Annex I in attaining the general and specific objectives set out in Articles 1 and 2, in particular through policy reforms, approximation of laws, capacity-building and investment.

Where appropriate, particular attention shall be paid to good governance, the rule of law and the fight against corruption and organised crime.

3. Assistance under the policy areas referred to in points (b) to (e) of paragraph 1 may include financing of the type of actions provided for under Regulation (EU) No 1301/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (11), Regulation (EU) No 1300/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (12), Regulation (EU) No 1304/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (13), Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (14) and Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (15).

4. Assistance under the policy area referred to in point (e) of paragraph 1, may, in particular, finance multi-country or horizontal actions as well as cross-border, transnational and interregional cooperation actions.

Article 4 - Framework for assistance

1. Assistance under this Regulation shall be provided in accordance with the enlargement policy framework defined by the European Council and the Council and shall take due account of the Communication on the Enlargement Strategy and the Progress Reports comprised in the annual enlargement package of the Commission, as well as of the relevant resolutions of the European Parliament. The Commission shall ensure coherence between the assistance and the enlargement policy framework.

2. Assistance shall be targeted and adjusted to the specific situation of the beneficiaries listed in Annex I, taking into account further efforts needed to meet the membership criteria as well as the capacities of those beneficiaries. Assistance shall be differentiated in scope and intensity according to needs, commitment to reforms and progress in implementing those reforms. It shall mainly be directed towards helping the beneficiaries listed in Annex I to design and implement sector reforms. Sector policies and strategies shall be comprehensive and shall contribute to the attainment of the specific objectives set out in Article 2(1).

3. In accordance with the specific objectives set out in Article 2(1), the thematic priorities for providing assistance according to the needs and capacities of the beneficiaries listed in Annex I are set out in Annex II. Each of those thematic priorities may contribute to the attainment of more than one specific objective.

4. In accordance with the specific objective set out in point (d) of Article 2(1), assistance shall support cross-border cooperation, both between the beneficiaries listed in Annex I and between them and Member States or countries under the European Neighbourhood Instrument (the ‘ENI’) established by Regulation (EU) No 232/2014, with a view to promoting good neighbourly relations, fostering Union integration and promoting socio-economic development. The thematic priorities for assistance for territorial cooperation are set out in Annex III.

Article 5 - Compliance, coherence and complementarity

1. Financial assistance under this Regulation shall be consistent with Union policies. It shall comply with the agreements concluded by the Union with the beneficiaries listed in Annex I and shall respect commitments under multilateral agreements to which the Union is a party.

2. The Commission, in liaison with Member States, shall contribute to the implementation of Union commitments towards increased transparency and accountability in the delivery of assistance, including by publicly disclosing information on assistance volume and allocation, ensuring that data is internationally comparable and can be easily accessed, shared and published.

3. The Commission, the Member States and the European Investment Bank (EIB) shall cooperate in ensuring coherence and shall strive to avoid duplication between assistance provided under this Regulation and other assistance provided by the Union, the Member States and the EIB, including through regular and inclusive meetings aimed at coordinating the assistance.

4. The Commission, the Member States and the EIB shall ensure coordination of their respective assistance programmes to increase effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of assistance and to prevent double funding, in line with the established principles for strengthening operational coordination in the field of external assistance, and for the harmonisation of policies and procedures, in particular the international principles on aid effectiveness. Coordination shall involve regular consultations and frequent exchanges of information during the different phases of the assistance cycle, in particular at field level, and shall constitute a key step in the programming processes of the Member States and the Union.

5. In order to increase effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of assistance and to prevent double funding, the Commission, in liaison with the Member States, shall take the necessary steps to ensure better coordination and complementarity with multilateral and regional organisations and entities, such as international financial institutions, United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, and non-Union donors.

6. When preparing, implementing and monitoring assistance under this Regulation, the Commission shall in principle act in partnership with the beneficiaries listed in Annex I. The partnership shall include, as appropriate, competent national and local authorities, as well as civil society organisations. Coordination among the relevant stakeholders shall be encouraged by the Commission.

The capacities of civil society organisations shall be strengthened, including, as appropriate, as direct beneficiaries of assistance.

TITLE II - STRATEGIC PLANNING

Article 6 - Strategy papers

1. Assistance under this Regulation shall be provided on the basis of country or multi-country indicative strategy papers (the ‘strategy papers’), established for the duration of the Union's multiannual financial framework for the period from 2014 to 2020, by the Commission in partnership with the beneficiaries listed in Annex I.

2. The strategy papers shall define the priorities for action towards meeting the objectives in the relevant policy areas referred to in Article 3, which shall be supported under this Regulation in line with the general and specific objectives referred to in Articles 1 and 2 respectively. The strategy papers shall be adopted in accordance with the framework for assistance set out in Article 4 and shall take relevant national strategies into due account.

3. The strategy papers shall include the indicative allocation of Union funds per policy area, as applicable, broken down per year, and shall allow for addressing emerging needs, without prejudice to the possibility of combining assistance in different policy areas. The strategy papers shall include the indicators for assessing progress with regard to attainment of the targets set therein.

4. The Commission shall make an annual assessment of the implementation of the strategy papers and their continued relevance in the light of the evolution of the policy framework referred to in Article 4. The Commission shall inform the committee referred to in Article 13(1) of the results of that assessment and may propose revisions of the strategy papers referred to in this Article and/or of the programmes and measures referred to in Article 7(1), as appropriate. Those strategy papers shall also be reviewed at mid-term and revised as appropriate.

5. The Commission shall adopt the strategy papers referred to in this Article and any revision thereof in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 16(3) of Regulation (EU) No 236/2014.

TITLE III - IMPLEMENTATION

Article 7 - Programming

1. Union assistance under this Regulation shall be implemented directly, indirectly or in shared management through programmes and measures as referred to in Articles 2 and 3 of Regulation (EU) No 236/2014 and in accordance with specific rules establishing uniform conditions for implementing this Regulation, in particular as regards management structures and procedures, which the Commission shall adopt in accordance with Article 13 of this Regulation. Implementation shall, as a rule, take the form of annual or multiannual, country-specific or multi-country programmes, as well as cross-border cooperation programmes, established in accordance with the strategy papers referred to in Article 6 and drawn up by the respective beneficiaries listed in Annex I to this Regulation and/or the Commission, as appropriate.

2. Any programming or reviews of programmes taking place after the publication of the mid-term review report referred to in Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 236/2014 (the ‘mid-term review report’) shall take into account the results, findings and conclusions of that report.

Article 8 - Framework and subsidiary agreements

1. The Commission and the respective beneficiaries listed in Annex I shall conclude framework agreements on the implementation of assistance.

2. Subsidiary agreements concerning the implementation of assistance may be concluded between the Commission and the respective beneficiaries listed in Annex I or their implementing authorities, as required.

Article 9 - Cross-instrument provisions

1. In duly justified circumstances and in order to ensure the coherence and effectiveness of Union financing or to foster regional cooperation, the Commission may decide to extend the eligibility of programmes and measures referred to in Article 7(1) to countries, territories and regions which would not otherwise be eligible for financing pursuant to Article 1, where the programme or measure to be implemented is of a global, regional or cross-border nature.

2. The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) shall contribute to programmes or measures established under this Regulation for cross–border cooperation between the beneficiaries listed in Annex I and Member States. The amount of the contribution from the ERDF shall be determined pursuant to Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013. This Regulation shall apply to the use of that contribution.

3. Where appropriate, IPA II may contribute to transnational and interregional cooperation programmes or measures that are established and implemented under Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 and in which the beneficiaries listed in Annex I to this Regulation participate.

4. Where appropriate, IPA II may contribute to cross-border cooperation programmes or measures that are established and implemented under Regulation (EU) No 232/2014 and in which the beneficiaries listed in Annex I to this Regulation participate.

5. Where appropriate, IPA II may contribute to programmes or measures which are introduced as part of a macro-regional strategy, and in which the beneficiaries listed in Annex I are involved.

TITLE IV - FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 10 - Delegation of power

The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 11 to amend Annex II to this Regulation. In particular, following the publication of the mid-term review report, and based upon the recommendations contained therein, the Commission shall adopt a delegated act amending Annex II to this Regulation by 31 March 2018.

Article 11 - Exercise of the delegation

1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.

2. The power to adopt delegated acts as referred to in Article 10 shall be conferred on the Commission until 31 December 2020.

3. The delegation of power referred to in Article 10 may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

4. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

5. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 10 shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.

Article 12 - Adoption of further implementing rules

In addition to the rules laid down in Regulation (EU) No 236/2014, specific rules establishing uniform conditions for implementing this Regulation shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 16(3) of Regulation (EU) No 236/2014.

Article 13 - Committee

1. An Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance committee (the ‘IPA II Committee’) shall be established and shall be composed of representatives of the Member States and chaired by a representative of the Commission. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

2. The IPA II Committee shall assist the Commission with regard to all policy areas referred to in Article 3. The IPA II Committee shall be competent also for legal acts and commitments under Regulation (EC) No 1085/2006 and the implementation of Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 389/2006.

Article 14 - Performance reward

1. The strategy papers referred to in Article 6 shall provide for an appropriate amount of assistance to remain available to reward an individual beneficiary listed in Annex I for:

(a)particular progress made towards meeting the membership criteria; and/or

(b)efficient implementation of pre-accession assistance whereby particularly good results are achieved with respect to the specific targets set in the relevant strategy paper.

2. Where the progress made and/or the results achieved by a beneficiary listed in Annex I remain significantly below the agreed levels set out in the strategy papers, the Commission shall adjust the allocations proportionately, in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 16(3) of Regulation (EU) No 236/2014.

3. An appropriate amount shall be set aside for the rewards referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article and shall be allocated on the basis of an assessment of performance and progress over a period of several years but not later than in 2017 and 2020 respectively. The performance indicators as referred to in Article 2(2), as specified in the strategy papers, shall be taken into account.

4. The indicative allocation of Union funds in the strategy papers referred to in Article 6 shall take into account the possibility of allocating the additional funds concerned on the basis of performance and/or progress.

Article 15 - Financial envelope

1. The financial envelope for the implementation of this Regulation for the period from 2014 to 2020 shall be set at EUR 11 698 668 000 at current prices. Up to 4 % of the financial envelope shall be allocated to cross-border cooperation programmes between the beneficiaries listed in Annex I and the Member States, in line with their needs and priorities.

2. The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the European Parliament and by the Council within the limits of the multiannual financial framework for the period from 2014 to 2020.

3. In accordance with Article 18(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (16), an indicative amount of EUR 1 680 000 000 from the different instruments for financing external action, namely the Development Cooperation Instrument established by Regulation (EU) No 233/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (17), the ENI, the IPA II and the Partnership Instrument established by Regulation (EU) No 234/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (18), shall be allocated to actions in respect of learning mobility to or from partner countries within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 and to cooperation and policy dialogue with authorities, institutions and organisations from those countries. Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 shall apply to the use of those funds.

The funding shall be made available through two multiannual allocations covering the first four years and the remaining three years respectively. The allocation of that funding shall be reflected in the programming provided for in this Regulation, in line with the identified needs and priorities of the countries concerned. The allocations may be revised in the event of major unforeseen circumstances or important political changes in line with the priorities of the Union's external action.

Article 16 - Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 1 January 2014 until 31 December 2020.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.