The current Regulation, concerning the provision of assistance to the partner states in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, covers the years 2000-2006 (Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 99/2000 of 29 December 1999).
The current regulation is based on an understanding that co-operation is a reciprocal process, encouraging a move from ‘demand-driven’ to ‘dialogue-driven’ programming. More flexibility in the way that Tacis is structured allows potential technical assistance to be mobilised and implemented according to the capacity of each partner country.
The 2000 Regulation concentrates Tacis activities on fewer areas of cooperation:
– Support for institutional, legal and administrative reform;
– Support to the private sector and assistance for economic development;
– Support in addressing the social consequences of transition;
– Development of infrastructure networks;
– Promotion of environmental protection and management of natural resources;
– Development of the rural economy;
– Support for nuclear safety, where applicable.
The areas where Tacis funding is used are designed to complement each other, and each national or multi-country programme focuses on no more than three of the above mentioned fields (plus nuclear safety, where appropriate), so that each can be most effective.
The Regulation also focuses on projects of sufficient scale (projects of at least €2 million in Russia and Ukraine and €1 million in the other partner countries) and supports the objectives of the PCAs.
As the present Tacis regulation is due to expire at the end of 2006, the Commission services are currently in the process of devising proposals for a new Tacis concept and regulation.