General Affairs Council discusses PHARE and future EU membership of Central and Eastern Europe
In the context of the European Union's potential enlargement to include the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the General Affairs Council on 29 November 1994 in Brussels discussed the PHARE programme and plans for its financing. The Council approved in principle the pre-membership strategies for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. However, with reference to their multiannual financing, instead of reaching agreement on the exact figures proposed by the Commission (ECU 7,000 million for the PHARE programme over five years), the Ministers created a procedure by which the EU may increase the contributions to Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the Mediterranean region, on a yearly basis. The Council also discussed the reinforcement of trans-border and interregional measures in the context of the PHARE programme and the right to use 25% of PHARE funds for infrastructure projects (as opposed to the present rate of 15%). The impact of enlargement on the internal policies of the EU and the rules concerning the origin of products were also reviewed.
Countries
Albania, Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia