Local and regional approach to IPA

The AER Policy briefing took place on 27th May 2009 at 10.30 am at Sarajevo Canton representation office and focused on local and regional approach to the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA), following the recent report commissioned by the Committee of the Regions (CoR) "Local and Regional authorities' involvement in the management of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) since 2007".

The new Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA)

Since January 2007, the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) has replaced a series of European Union programmes and financial instruments for candidate countries or potential candidate countries, namely PHARE, PHARE CBC, ISPA, SAPARD, CARDS and the financial instrument for Turkey.

It offers rationalised assistance to countries aspiring to join the European Union for the period 2007-2013 on the basis of the lessons learnt from previous external assistance and pre-accession instruments. The aim of the IPA is therefore to enhance the efficiency and coherence of aid by means of a single framework. This framework incorporates the previous pre-accession and stabilisation and association assistance to candidate countries and potential candidate countries while respecting their specific features and the processes in which they are engaged.

Assessment of IPA: what has happened since 2007?

A report ordered by the CoR and entitled  "Local and Regional Authorities’ involvement in the management of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) since 2007" was presented during a workshop organized by the Commission for External Relations and Decentralised Cooperation (RELEX) focusing on on EU Enlargement Policy, on 28th April, 2009.

This paper analyzes the role and the experience of local and regional authorities in the management of IPA funding in those 8 countries, and highlights the added value but also the barriers.

The third programming cycle is ongoing and 2009 will see first projects funded by the IPA actually be implemented. This makes 2009 a good time for a mid-term review for IPA under the 2007-13 budgetary framework so as to assess whether the IPA is meeting expectations of facilitating programme management - and whether it adequately addresses reform efforts of the countries concerned.

Our speakers presented this report and its implications for local and regional authorities. Concrete examples of IPA regional implementation have also been presented, together with general and practical information about the IPA implementation and funding.