IPA – Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance. A new focus to EU assistance for enlargement

European Union enlargement has always been a two-way process. New Member States benefit from belonging to this unique organisation – the world’s largest trading bloc and most advanced exercise in shared government. And the EU gains from extending itself into wider territories, welcoming new cultures, and linking in to new markets.

Since 2007, all the EU assistance to the countries now with a prospect of EU membership – Turkey and the Western Balkans – has been brought under a single heading, the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA). This brings a new focus to EU assistance for enlargement.

This booklet offers a snapshot of what IPA is, why it was created, how it operates, and how it benefits both the EU and the countries currently seeking to join it.