5 OBJECTIVES AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES
5.1 GENERAL
OBJECTIVES
The main objectives
of the EC assistance schemes for Bosnia and Herzegovina in the short
and medium term are to help: (1) consolidate the peace process and
foster inter-entity co-operation, (2) ethnic reconciliation and the
return to their homes of origin of refugees and displaced persons,
(3) establish functioning institutions and a viable democracy, (4)
lay the foundations for sustainable economic recovery and growth and
(5) bring Bosnia and Herzegovina closer to EU standards and
principles.
Considered a year of
transition from a phase of "reconstruction" to that of
"stabilisation and consolidation", 1999 will see a mix of
"classic" refugee return schemes and more ambitious
measures addressing the institutional and socio-economical context.
In particular, the shift from systematic grant aid to more market
oriented assistance mechanisms (e.g. credit schemes) will be
emphasised.
5.2 GUIDING PRINCIPLES
The selection of sectors
retained for funding under the Phare and Obnova schemes for 1999 is
made on the basis of several criteria:
a) the
Commission is to support the process laid down in the Dayton/Paris
Peace Agreements and discussed at the Peace Implementation Conferences
under the guidance of the OHR;
b) the
assistance provided to Bosnia and Herzegovina must be consistent with
the objectives and general principles of the EU's regional approach
for South-Eastern Europe in accordance with the Council conclusions,
accompanied by regular assessment on compliance with these principles
by the European Commission;
c) with
regards to Refugee return, EC assistance must comply with the Action
Plans as prepared by the RRTF and the OHR;
d) Bosnia
and Herzegovina should both at State and entity levels comply with the
basic conditionality principles - full commitment of all parties
should be expected to political stability, human rights, safe
environment for refugee return, market economy and regional
co-operation;
e) in
addition, the authorities should be committed to the necessary reforms
and policy measures, notably in the sectors where the EC will offer
support (specific sector conditionality), and make available adequate
means for the implementation of programmes (including a continuity in
personnel and the payment of acceptable salaries for public officials)
notably by reducing army related expenditures;
f) maximum
co-ordination is to be secured with the ECHO activities, in particular
in sectors such as refugee return or where ECHO is planning to phase
out (eg health);
g) the
definition of programmes should guarantee their sustainability and
viability after the withdrawal of EC assistance. Phasing out
strategies should be included in the initial designs.
5.3 REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESS OF THE
PROGRAMMES
A number of additional
elements have been considered in project identification.
a) maximum
donor coordination to avoid duplications or cross-conditionalities and
maximise impact through complemetarity;
b) consistency
with in-country developments and taking into consideration of the
absorption capacity at all levels;
c) lessons
drawn from past EC assistance, in particular where implementation has
been particularly slow due to bad project identification or
shortcomings in the related sectors;
d) continuation
of existing actions where positive results have already been obtained
or where the indicators of such an outcome are good, and where
additional assistance is required;
e) concentration
on a limited number of sectors in order to maximise impact and to make
efficient use of available resources, in particular personnel required
for implementation and monitoring;
f) well
advanced project preparation and design before commitment of funds in
order to speed up the contracting and disbursement of funds.
1999
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