Transcript EU rural development policy

EU experience on Pre-accession assistance for
Agriculture and Rural Development.
What can be done in the Western Balkans?
Jorge CASQUILHO
DG AGRI – EII.4 – Pre-accession assistance for agriculture and RD
CEI SEF Summit Meeting, Tirana, November 22-23rd 2006
Workshop: integration of Western Balkans agricultural markets into EU
Some facts on SAPARD
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Pre-accession aid started in 1990 under PHARE,
In 2000 two new instruments started to operate: ISPA and SAPARD,
These were the 3 pre-accession instruments made available for the period
2000-2006.
SAPARD supports 10 Candidate Countries in their efforts to implement the
EU acquis concerning to the Common Agricultural Policy and related
policies and also in helping to solve priority and specific problems of rural
areas.
Up to now more than 38 thousand projects were contracted under
SAPARD, involving a EU Contribution of around €2,3 billion which implies
a total estimated investment of around €5.5 billion.
In 2004 eight out of ten beneficiary countries which became MS managed
to commit all available SAPARD funds,
Bulgaria and Romania are still benefiting from SAPARD until accession,
Croatia started implementing a SAPARD programme in 2006.
Upon accession all SAPARD beneficiary countries also benefited from
having established administrative structures able to start the
implementation of EU rural development measures.
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The SAPARD
measures
1. Investments in agricultural
holdings
2. Processing and marketing
3. Quality control for food
4. Rural Infrastructure
5. Diversification
6. Land reparcelling
7. Land registers
8. Renovation of villages
9. Setting up Producer
groups
10. Agri-environment
11. Forestry
12. Farm relief/management
services
13. Water resources
14. Training
15. Technical assistance
16. Leader type approach
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SAPARD
EXPERIENCE
CHOICE OF MEASURES IN SAPARD COUNTRIES
(% of EU contribution as in the programmes 2000-2006)
26
23
23
12
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Others
TA
Forestry
Diversifcation
Rural
Infrastructure
Farm
Investments
Processing &
Marketing
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New Financial perspectives
« Europe as a global Partner »
For the period 2007-2013
Six instruments to substitute more than 100
Policy driven instruments:
► Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA)
► European Neighborhood & Partnership Instrument (ENPI)
► Development Cooperation & Economic Cooperation Instrument
(DCECI)
Crises response instruments:
► Humanitarian Aid Assistance
► Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA)
► Instrument for Stability
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What is IPA?
 IPA is an integrated Pre-Accession Instrument to assist
candidate and potential candidate countries
 It replaces 5 different programmes and instruments: Phare,
ISPA, SAPARD, CARDS and Turkey pre-accession
instruments
 It will ensure:
– Higher level of coherence and co-ordination of EU Assistance
and
– better preparation for Structural, Cohesion and Rural
development Funds through progressive emulation of EU funds
rules
 Financial envelope allocated for the period 2007–2013:
10.2 billion € (at 2004 prices)
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IPA – Components &
Beneficiary Countries
1. Transition Assistance &
Institution Building
Annex II: Albania,
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Montenegro, and
Serbia incl. Kosovo
2. Cross-Border Cooperation
3. Regional Development
4. Human Resources Development
Annex I:
Croatia, Turkey
FYR of
Macedonia
5. Rural Development (IPARD)
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Objectives
SAPARD = IPARD
• Contribute to the implementation of the acquis
communautaire concerning the Common Agricultural
Policy
• Contribute to the sustainable adaptation of the
agricultural sector and rural areas in the candidate
country
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SAPARD
lessons
to be used under IPARD (I)
 Need to better focus IPARD measures to the specific
objectives of this component by:
– Stronger focus on the EU acquis related issues
namely on market efficiency, quality and health
standards and
– Concentrating the number of IPARD measures to
the main priorities (from 16 measures under
SAPARD to 9 under IPARD).
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SAPARD
lessons
to be used under IPARD (II)
 Need to improve the programming exercise by:
– Enhancing the knowledge of the Agricultural and
Rural situation of the country concerned,
(in depth sector analyses for the main
sectors to be supported must be carried out)
– Better targeting the final beneficiaries of
investment measures to those that have the
possibility of having the capacity to compete in
the EU and cannot make the necessary change
using only their own funds.
 Addressing the rural credits issues from the
beginning of the exercise.
 Addressing the advisory services issues in advance.
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IPARD – 3 Priority Axes
and 9 Measures
Priority Axis 1-Improving market efficiency and implementing Community
standards
• Investments in farms to restructure and upgrade to the EU standards;
• Supporting setting up of Producer groups
• Investments in processing and marketing of agriculture and fishery products to
restructure and upgrade to the EU standards;
Priority Axis 2-Preparatory actions for implantation of the agri-environmental
measures and Leader
• Preparation to implement actions designed to improve the environment and the
country side
• Preparation of local private-public partnerships to implement local development
strategies;
Priority Axis 3-Development of rural economy
• Improving and developing rural infrastructure;
• Development and diversification of rural economic activities;
• Improvement of training;
Technical assistance
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Co-financing principle
SAPARD = IPARD
Private
contribution
EU contribution
up to 75% of
public aid
National
contribution:
25% of public
aid
Public aid up to
50% of total
eligible costs
of the investment
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Beneficiary Cash flow
SAPARD = IPARD
100 %
GRANT
50%
INVESTMENT
60 +/- DAYS
CONTRACTING
CLAIM
PAYMENTS
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IPARD basic conditions
= SAPARD
1. IPARD Programme approved by a Commission
Decision;
2. Bilateral agreement(s) legally biding both
parties (Framework, sectoral, financial);
3. Managing Authority;
4. National Fund under the National Authorizing
Officer’s responsibility;
5. Nationally accredited IPARD Agency to which
the management of aid was conferred via a
Commission Decision.
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What must be done to
benefit from IPARD?(I)
 Establishing national structures able to define
strategies, programmes, management and
monitoring conditions for IPARD type programmes;
 Enhancing the knowledge and the transparency of
the Agricultural and Rural situation (rural census,
farm register, land cadastre, price statistics, sector
analysis for the more important agricultural sectors,
etc);
 Starting the definition of a National Strategy for
Rural Development involving other public bodies
and the relevant civil society partners;
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What must be done to
benefit from IPARD?(II)
 The main public bodies that must be involved:
– Veterinary authorities,
– Environmental authorities.
 Support the organization of the civil society
partners, namely:
– Farmers,
– Food processors,
– Environment and,
– Local rural development associations.
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What must be done to
benefit from IPARD?(III)
 Support initiatives to facilitate access to
credits to farmers and rural business (not
eligible under IPARD),
 Establishment of advisory and extension
services for farmers and rural population
(not eligible under IPARD),
 Try to gain experience through well defined
and targeted ‘pilot projects ’
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What must be done to
benefit from IPARD?(IV)
 Make use of all possible types of support,
namely:
– National resources,
– IPA - Institution Building Component,
– TAIEX,
– IFI’s (World Bank, EBRD, etc.)
– FAO, and other possible bilateral and
multilateral support.
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IPARD Web-Sites
DG Agriculture
http://www.ec.europa.eu/agriculture/external/enlarge/index_en.
htm
DG ENLARG
http://www.ec.europa.eu/enlargement/countries/candidate_en.
htm
Commission Manual on Procurement Rules
http://www.ec.europa.eu/comm/europeaid/index_en.htm
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