Commission proposal for a new TACIS Regulation
The Commission adopted on 22 February 1995 a proposal for a new TACIS Regulation due to enter into force on 1 January 1996. The TACIS programme is an EU initiative which provides grant finance for know-how to foster the development of market economies and democratic societies in the New Independent States (NIS) and in Mongolia. During its four years of operation (1991-1994), TACIS has committed ECU 1,750 million to launch more than 2,000 projects. The 1995 budget foresees a further ECU 470 million. The Commission decided to submit to the Council a proposal for a new Regulation in order to establish the legal basis for a continuation of the TACIS programme, since the existing Regulation expires at the end of 1995. The new Regulation will continue to focus TACIS cooperation on a limited number of sectors. As in the past, TACIS will cover important activities related to priority areas like public administration reform, social services and education, enterprise restructuring and private sector development, infrastructure, energy including nuclear safety, as well as food production, processing and distribution. Although the proposed Regulation is modelled on the existing one, the Commission, as a result of the experience gained from the present programme and in line with the demands formulated by the partner countries, has put forward certain new elements: - Investment support: support for the establishment of joint ventures through funding of investments in small and medium-sized enterprises, i.e. between companies in the NIS and the EU; - Infrastructure projects: support for the promotion of small infrastructure projects in the context of cross-border operations between the EU and the NIS and between the NIS and Central and East European countries; - More emphasis on the environment: re-enforcement of the environmental aspects of the projects to be financed as well as the promotion of nuclear safety; - Role of women: more emphasis on the participation of women in social and economical life; - Political conditionality: in cases of the violation of democratic principles and human rights, the Council may, on a proposal from the Commission, and acting by qualified majority, decide upon appropriate measures concerning TACIS cooperation with a partner country; - Multiannual programming: a multiannual financial framework to enable multiannual programming; - Multi-country cooperation: the promotion of economic cooperation between the NIS and Mongolia; - Regional focus: a stronger regional focus of TACIS activities to enable the programme to become more visible and to support reform-minded administrations directly; - Duration: the proposed Regulation should be open-ended.
Countries
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Mongolia, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan