Phare
Encyclopedia
The Phare programme is one of the three pre-accession instruments financed by the European Union
to assist the applicant countries of Central and Eastern Europe
in their preparations for joining the European Union.
Originally created in 1989 as the Poland and Hungary: Assistance for Restructuring their Economies (PHARE) programme, Phare has expanded from Poland
and Hungary
to currently cover ten countries. It assists the eight of the ten 2004 accession Member States: the Czech Republic
, Estonia
, Hungary
, Latvia
, Lithuania
, Poland
, Slovakia
, and Slovenia
, as well as those countries that acceeded in 2007 ( Bulgaria
and Romania
), in a period of massive economic restructuring and political change. Phare means lighthouse
in French
.
Until 2000 the countries of the Western Balkans (Albania
, Macedonia
, and Bosnia-Herzegovina) were also beneficiaries of Phare. However, as of 2001 the CARDS programme (Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stability in the Balkans) has provided financial assistance to these countries.
Following the 1993 Copenhagen Council's invitation to Central and Eastern European countries to apply for membership, PHARE support was reoriented to this aim, including a marked expansion of support for infrastructure investment. PHARE's total pre-accession focus was put in place in 1997, in response to the Luxembourg Council’s launching of the present enlargement process. Phare funds focus entirely on the pre-accession priorities highlighted in the Road Maps and the Accession Partnerships which establish the overall priorities the country must address to prepare for accession and the resources available to help them do so. The National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis is the candidate country's timetable for preparing for accession. It estimates the timing and cost of the steps needed to prepare the country for membership and the implications for staff and financial resources.
2. Promote convergence with the European Union’s extensive legislation (the acquis communautaire) and reduce the need for transition periods.
3. Promote Economic and Social Cohesion.
These orientations were further refined in 1999 with the creation of SAPARD
and ISPA
, which took over rural and agricultural development (SAPARD) and infrastructural projects in the environmental and transport fields (ISPA) allowing Phare to focus on its key priorities that were not covered by these fields.
Given that all 10 countries which previously were eligible for the Phare programme, are already Member States of the European Union, substantial changes are being made to the scope of the Phare programme. 2003 was the final programming year for the new Member States, but contracting of projects will continue till 2005 and payments based on these contracts can continue till 2006. However, given the phasing out of Delegations in the new Member States and their replacement by smaller Representations, from May 2004 the new Member States must take over the full responsibility for the management of the Phare programme through a process of Extended Decentralisation.
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
to assist the applicant countries of Central and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
in their preparations for joining the European Union.
Originally created in 1989 as the Poland and Hungary: Assistance for Restructuring their Economies (PHARE) programme, Phare has expanded from Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
to currently cover ten countries. It assists the eight of the ten 2004 accession Member States: the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, and Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, as well as those countries that acceeded in 2007 ( Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
and Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
), in a period of massive economic restructuring and political change. Phare means lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
.
Until 2000 the countries of the Western Balkans (Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
, and Bosnia-Herzegovina) were also beneficiaries of Phare. However, as of 2001 the CARDS programme (Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stability in the Balkans) has provided financial assistance to these countries.
Following the 1993 Copenhagen Council's invitation to Central and Eastern European countries to apply for membership, PHARE support was reoriented to this aim, including a marked expansion of support for infrastructure investment. PHARE's total pre-accession focus was put in place in 1997, in response to the Luxembourg Council’s launching of the present enlargement process. Phare funds focus entirely on the pre-accession priorities highlighted in the Road Maps and the Accession Partnerships which establish the overall priorities the country must address to prepare for accession and the resources available to help them do so. The National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis is the candidate country's timetable for preparing for accession. It estimates the timing and cost of the steps needed to prepare the country for membership and the implications for staff and financial resources.
Objectives
1. Strengthen public administrations and institutions to function effectively inside the European Union.2. Promote convergence with the European Union’s extensive legislation (the acquis communautaire) and reduce the need for transition periods.
3. Promote Economic and Social Cohesion.
These orientations were further refined in 1999 with the creation of SAPARD
Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development
SAPARD was established in June 1999 by the Council of the European Union to help countries of Central and Eastern Europe deal with the problems of the structural adjustment in their agricultural sectors and rural areas, as well as in the implementation of the acquis communautaire concerning the...
and ISPA
Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession
Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession is one of the three financial instruments of the European Union to assist the candidate countries in the preparation for accession...
, which took over rural and agricultural development (SAPARD) and infrastructural projects in the environmental and transport fields (ISPA) allowing Phare to focus on its key priorities that were not covered by these fields.
Given that all 10 countries which previously were eligible for the Phare programme, are already Member States of the European Union, substantial changes are being made to the scope of the Phare programme. 2003 was the final programming year for the new Member States, but contracting of projects will continue till 2005 and payments based on these contracts can continue till 2006. However, given the phasing out of Delegations in the new Member States and their replacement by smaller Representations, from May 2004 the new Member States must take over the full responsibility for the management of the Phare programme through a process of Extended Decentralisation.
- This article incorporates text from the PHARE page on the European Union web site. According to its copyright policy, reproduction is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged.