But when investigators polled Ukrainians this year, some 60 percent responded that Tacis was a U.S. program. A poor or non-existent public image represents only one of the multiple problems plaguing the two controversial EU aid efforts. Four separate reports released this spring and summer criticize their effectiveness.
None uncover rampant corruption.
But all call for urgent reform. When the two programs were launched in 1989 after the collapse of communism, they focused on providing emergency food and transport aid. Under a mandate from the European Parliament, independent consultants prepared so-called interim evaluations in August. At the same time, the EU's Luxembourg-based Court of Auditors audited the two programs. Significant overlap was uncovered in the two aid programs.