92001E2046

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2046/01

by Caroline Jackson (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(13 July 2001)

Subject: Conduct of EU Technical Assistance Programmes (PHARE and TACIS) in the Ukraine

Can the Commission state what action it has taken to implement the recommendations made in the report entitled Ukraine Evaluation of EC Country Programme, published in July 1998, and to learn from any mistakes made during TACIS and PHARE intervention in the Ukraine?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(18 September 2001)

The 1998 evaluation of the Ukraine Programme concluded that TACIS technical assistance projects had not always resulted in a real improvement in Ukrainian policies, mainly because of a lack of agreement on the direction reforms should take. The impact has been greatest in training and institution building with substantial benefits for individual project partners, while private sector development has shown mixed results, particularly in enterprise restructuring. The evaluations recommended focusing assistance on a more limited number of priority areas and to base the programme on a policy dialogue with the Ukrainian authorities.

Since the evaluation, the Commission has worked to improve the focus of TACIS support for the Ukraine, by working increasingly in dialogue with the Ukrainian authorities in the context of our Partnership and Co-operation Agreement. Achieving a better focus of TACIS

is also a central aim of the new Council Regulation adopted in 2000 and the Indicative Programme for 2000-2003, which identified three priority areas: institutional, legal and administrative reform; private sector development; and the social consequences of transition. This new multi-annual Country Strategy approach enables the Commission to concentrate Community assistance efforts on key areas of mutual interest, where there is a clear will to reform, such as, for the period 2002-2003, upgrading border management against the background of EU enlargement, the legal and regulatory business framework and judicial reform. In parallel, co-ordination with other Community funded programmes and co-operation with other donors has been strengthened at both the level of programming and implementation. This concerns in particular our cooperation with the international financial institutions and programmes to promote investment in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and municipal utilities.

The Ukraine is not eligible for aid under the PHARE programme.