PHARE assistance to Poland in 1998 - programme adopted
The total EU financial assistance to Poland under the PHARE programme for 1998 will amount to ECU 178 million. This figure represents ECU 34 million less than originally envisaged for 1998. This is because, under the EU's "Enhanced Pre-accession Strategy", the PHARE programme now only funds projects that tackle the priorities set out in the Accession Partnerships. Proposals must also be cost-effective and ready to be implemented, with all the necessary technical and institutional arrangements in place. The Commission has concluded, following several meetings with the Polish authorities, that a certain number of projects proposed did not relate to these priorities or were not ready to be implemented. The revised budget of ECU 178 million will therefore be allocated as follows: - ECU 79 million allocated to cross border cooperation projects and other EU programmes, such as TEMPUS for cooperation in higher education; - ECU 69 million allocated to pre-accession projects including preparation for participation in the Structural Funds; - ECU 30 million which will be programmed in the autumn upon the receipt of a viable steel restructuring plan to support regional and social measures. The remaining ECU 34 million will be transferred to a horizontal large-scale infrastructure facility, from which all the candidate countries, including Poland may benefit.
Countries
Poland