European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (2007 - 2013)

The European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) is the financial instrument for European neighbourhood policy (ENP). It is addressed to ENP partner countries including Russia and offers co-funding for promoting good governance and equitable social and economic development process. The ENPI also supports cross-border and trans-regional cooperation as well as the gradual economic integration of recipient countries with the European Union (EU) beneficiary countries. This Regulation establishes the basic principles governing the ENPI, its scope and the programming of assistance.

ACT

Regulation (EC) No 1638/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 2006 laying down general provisions establishing a European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument.

SUMMARY

The European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) aims at supporting the achievement of the objectives of European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) with a view to establishing an area of prosperity and good neighbourhood relations between and with ENP partner countries and Russia. The ENPI provides additional assistance and co-finances the actions of partner countries on the basis of partnerships with the Commission.

Scope of the ENPI

The ENPI supports the following in particular:

• political reform: establishment and adaptation of institutional and administrative capacities, good governance, rule of law, respect for human rights, participation of civil society, multicultural dialogue and the fight against fraud, corruption, organised crime and terrorism;
• economic reform: economic development, market economy, intensification of trade and regulatory convergence with the EU in the areas of common interest with a view to gradual economic integration with the internal market;
• social reform: integration, employment, non-discrimination, fight against poverty;
• sectoral cooperation, in sectors of common interest in particular: environment, sustainable development, energy, transport, telecommunications, health, food security, education and training, research and innovation;
• regional and local development, and regional integration (Euro-Mediterranean regions and regions of Eastern Europe);
• participation in Community programmes and agencies.

In addition, the ENPI can provide support to electoral observation and post-crisis missions and to disaster preparedness.

Management and implementation

Programmes implemented in the field adhere to a strict programming process. Priorities and indicative amounts are initially anticipated in multiannual programming papers for national, multi-country and cross-border strategies (for the entire period) and multiannual indicative programmes (three-year, in principle). Annual action programmes and joint programmes for cross-border cooperation, usually annual, that provide details, financial allocations and a timetable are adopted on this basis. The latter constitute the basis for programmes implemented in the field, namely:

• national and multi-country programmes for each partner country, and regional and sub-regional cooperation: The nature of the programmes is determined by the characteristics of the country or the region, the partner's ambitions and progress achieved;
• cross-border cooperation programmes for cooperation between partners and Member States sharing a land or sea border. Cross-border cooperation actions are presented in joint operational programmes (JOPs) by partner countries and are then adopted by the Commission and managed by a joint authority established, in principle, in a Member State.

However, multi-country programmes may also provide for cross-regional cooperation between Member States and partner countries on common interest issues with no geographical restrictions. Moreover, third countries and territories benefiting from another external assistance instrument may participate in global, regional or cross-border programmes.

The budget for the ENPI amounts to 11 181 million for the period 2007-2013, of which 95 % is for national and multi-country programmes and 5 % for cross-border cooperation programmes.

Measures benefiting from the ENPI concern primarily the implementation of programmes and projects, technical assistance and administrative cooperation such as the dispatch of experts. These measures can be support measures for the application of the Regulation.

The ENPI can also finance investments and microprojects. It can finance support for budgets that are transparent, reliable and efficient, and for the implementation of sectoral and macroeconomic policies. It can support the participation of partner countries in the capital of international financial institutions (IFIs) or regional development banks. However, fiscal measures are excluded from the Regulation's scope.

It can also contribute to the resources at the disposal of the Community, the Member States and financial intermediaries such as the European Investment Bank (EIB), international and regional organisations and other donors.

The actions can be co-funded by the EU and other donors; they can also be funded by the EU and implemented by an international organisation.

However, the Council can suspend assistance in the case of failure to respect the basic values of the EU and its relations with its partners.

Bodies eligible for funding include decentralised institutions and entities in partner countries and regions, mixed organisations, international and regional organisations, IFIs, European institutions and agencies to a certain extent and non-governmental players.

Furthermore, a number of rules have been defined for tendering for government contracts and grant agreements which are open to natural and legal persons of partner countries, Member States, European Economic Area States (EEA) and countries that are beneficiaries of the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA), having traditional links with partner counties or reciprocal access to external assistance. This participation is also available to international organisations.

Implementation of the ENPI should guarantee effectivenesss of assistance, consistency and compatibility with EU policies and external assistance, with the objectives set and with international commitments. It should also guarantee protection of the Community's financial interests, which the Commission and the Court of Audit monitor.

In principle, management is ensured by the Commission, assisted by a committee, but it can also be decentralised. The Commission regularly evaluates its implementation. Specifically, it is required to present a report before 31 December 2010 for the first three years of application of the Regulation and propose any necessary amendments.

RELATED ACTS

Implementation of the ENPI

Regulation (EC) No 951/2007 of the Commission of 9 August 2007 laying down implementing rules for cross-border cooperation programmes financed under Regulation (EC) No 1638/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down general provisions establishing a European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument [Official Journal L 210 of 10.8.2007].

Strategy papers (national, regional and cross-border).

European neighbourhood policy

Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament of 4 December 2006 on strengthening the European neighbourhood policy [COM(2006) 726 final - Not published in the Official Journal]. In this Communication, the Commission not only presents a report on the ENP but also proposes ways of strengthening it. In this respect, the ENP has a potential that should be further exploited. From a financial point of view, the creation of the "governance" facility, which supports progress in the reform process on the basis of action plans, and the Neighbourhood Investment Fund (NIF) supporting IFI loans in partner countries should contribute to the objective of efficiency of assistance.

Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament of 4 December 2004 on the general approach to enable ENP partner countries to participate in Community agencies and Community programmes [COM(2006) 724 final - Not published in the Official Journal].

Last updated: 08.10.2007