Press Release: Council adopts new instrument to govern EU financial assistance to candidate and potential candidate countries for EU membership

Based on a Commission proposal, on 17 July 2006 the Council adopted a regulation establishing a new Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance, IPA. The European Parliament voted a favourable opinion on 6 July 2006. This single financial instrument simplifies and streamlines EU external assistance during the pre-accession period. IPA will, as of 1 January 2007, replace the five existing instruments (PHARE, ISPA, SAPARD, Turkey pre-accession instrument and CARDS). It will cover all EU pre-accession actions, both for candidate and potential candidate countries. IPA will provide financial assistance through a single and more coherent tool to the countries with a clear European perspective having EU accession as the ultimate goal: Croatia, Turkey, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as well as to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia including Kosovo under UN 1244. The global financial envelope for IPA amounts to € 11.468 billion (current prices) over the next 7 years.

European Commission: DG Enlargement: Financial Assistance: IPA http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/how-does-it-work/financial-assistance/index_en.htm

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