1998R2760 — EN — 10.09.2002 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COMMISSIONREGULATION(EC)No2760/98
of18December 1998
concerningtheimplementationofaprogrammeforcross-bordercooperationintheframeworkof
thePHAREprogramme
(OJ L 345, 19.12.1998, p. 49)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Commission Regulation (EC) No 1596/2002 of 6 September 2002 L 240 33 7.9.2002
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COMMISSIONREGULATION(EC)No2760/98
of18December 1998
concerning the implementation of a programme for cross-border
cooperationintheframeworkofthePHAREprogramme
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3906/89 of 18
December 1989 on economic aid to certain countriesof central and
eastern Europe(1), aslas t amended by Regulation (EC) No 753/96(2),
and in particular Article 8 thereof,
Whereasthe European Council, meeting in Luxembourg in December
1997, set out the enhanced pre-accession strategy which is intended toenable all applicant countriesof central and eas tern Europe eventuallyto become membersof the European Union and, to that end, to alignthemselves as far as possible on the Union acquis prior to accession;
Whereas the accession partnerships, the key feature of enhanced pre-
accession strategy, have defined priorities for further work towardsaccession and must be taken into account in the context of cross-border
cooperation;
Whereas the first years of implementation of Commission Regulation
(EC) No 1628/94(
3), establishing the PHARE cross-border programme
in conjunction with Interreg, have already produced a number of posi-
tive results, notably through establishing a dialogue and cooperationbetween European Union border regionsand adjacent regionsin coun-triesin central and eas tern Europe, contributing to economicdevelopment in the border regionsof thes e countriesand to greater
convergence with the level of development on the European Union
side, and offering the opportunity to these regions to familiarise them-selves with Interreg practices and procedures, including the design ofregional development strategies for border regions;
Whereasfurther improvementss hould be aimed at, in particular
through increasing the number of projects of a real cross-border nature,and through improving their pace of implementation;
WhereasRomania, asonly applicant country without a common border
with the Union, should also become eligible for the PHARE cross-border cooperation programme;
Whereas the PHARE cross-border cooperation programme will gradu-
ally become part of a wider regional development policy in the contextof the pre-accession strategy which would correct present imbalancesbetween budgetary resources allocated for cross-border cooperationand the other pre-accession priorities and between different regions
inside the applicant States;
Whereas the Council has repeatedly stressed the need to reinforce
cooperation and stimulate integration of the countries of central and
eas tern Europe and the European Community, aswell asthe need tosupport stability and security in the region;
Whereas, in view of the future participation of accession states in the
structural policy of the Union, further alignment of the PHARE cross-border cooperation programme with Interreg isrequired, notablythrough setting up common cross-border programmes and commonprogramming structures;
Whereas, for applicant countries of central and eastern Europe, the
present geographic definition of the PHARE cross-border cooperationprogramme needsto be gradually extended in order to compris e, inaddition to regionsadjacent to the European Union, borderswith other1998R2760 — EN — 10.09.2002 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ L 375, 23. 12. 1989, p. 11.
(2) OJ L 103, 26. 4. 1996, p. 5.
(3) OJ L 171, 6. 7. 1994, p. 14.
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applicant countries which are PHARE beneficiaries; whereas, in a later
stage, borders with other neighbouring countries benefiting fromPHARE or other Community assistance programmes may also become
eligible;
Whereas eligible actions should be similar to Interreg within the overall
framework of the accession partnerships;
Whereas it is necessary to strengthen the involvement of local and
regional actors in cross-border cooperation, to enhance the botton-up
approach, to bolster their capacities for programming, implementation
and monitoring, and to allow local authoritiesin border regionstotake decisions on small projects of a real cross-border nature throughsetting up small project funds;
Whereas it is necessary to replace Regulation (EC) No 1628/94;Whereasthe pres ent Regulation isin accordance with the opinion of
the Committee for Economic Restructuring in certain countries of
central and eastern Europe,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Within the overall framework of the PHARE programme asdefined by
Regulation (EEC) No 3906/89, the following ruless hall apply forfinancing actionsof a s tructural nature in border regionsof countries
of central and eastern Europe, which are PHARE beneficiaries.
These actions will be implemented taking into account the Community
structural policies, and Interreg in particular.
Article 2
1. The eligible bordersare thos e between the countriesof central
and eastern Europe and the Community, and those between thefollowing applicant countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia,
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
2. The border regionsconcerned will be fixed by each country
concerned in agreement with the Commission, taking into account themethodology adopted for Interreg.
3. Allocationsbetween beneficiary countriess hall be made taking
into account criteria of population, GDP per capita and surface of the
border regionsconcerned.
Article 3
Community grantsunder thisprogramme will primarily finance the
participation of the country of central and eastern Europe concernedin joint projectswith each State with which it s haresa border asdefined in Article 2.
The aimsof thes e projectsare:
(i) to promote cooperation of border regionsin countriesin central
and eastern Europe with adjacent regions in a neighbouring countryasdefined in Article 1 and thusto help the border regionsin
central and eastern Europe to overcome the specific development
problemswhich may aris e, inter alia , from their position within
the national economies, in the interest of the local population andin a manner compatible with the protection of the environment;
(ii) to promote the creation and the development of cooperation
networks on either side of the border, and the establishment oflinks between these networks and wider Community networks.1998R2760 — EN — 10.09.2002 — 001.001 — 3
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Article 4
1. In the border regionss elected according to Article 2, the projects
to be included in the cross-border cooperation programme can take theform of:
(i) projects linked with measures that are supported by Interreg or by
other Community external assistance programmes;
(ii) projects agreed by the countries concerned, that have a cross-
border impact, contribute to the development of structures inborder regionsand facilitate cooperation between the countriesas
a whole.
2. Special attention will be given to projectsin relation to which co-
financing by, or on behalf of, the local authoritiesor economic opera-
torsin the countriesof central and eas tern Europe isprovided.
3. Financing may include resources from other Member States of the
European Union and countriesof central and eas tern Europe, from
international financial institutions, and from other private and publicsources.
Article 5
1. The actionsthat can be financed under thisprogramme could
include:
(a) alleviation of the administrative and institutional obstacles to the
free flow of persons, products or services across the border whiletaking into account the security aspects of such flows;
(b) improving infrastructures, in particular communication facilities
and the provision of local water, gas and electricity supplies,providing benefits across border areas;
(c) environmental protection, for instance waste management, envir-
onmental management and pollution prevention dealing withproblemsexacerbated by the proximity to external borders ;
(d) agricultural and rural development measures with particular atten-
tion for facilitating cross-border cooperation projects;
(e) measures in the fields of energy and transport, aimed at comple-
menting the development of trans-European networks inaccordance with the orientations adopted by the Commission;
(f) actionsrelated to jus tice and home affairsCommunity policy;
(g) promotion of business cooperation, enterprise development, finan-
cial cooperation and cooperation between institutions representing
the business sector (e.g. chambers of commerce);
(h) aid to investment and provision of supporting services and facil-
ities, in particular for technology transfer and for marketing forsmall and medium-sized enterprises;
(i) training and employment measures;(j) local economic development, including tourism;
(k) measures to promote cooperation in health, particularly the sharing
of resources and facilities on a cross-border basis;
(l) the development or establishment of facilities and resources to
improve the flow of information and communicationsbetweenborder regions, including support for cross-border radio, television,newspapers and other media;
(m) cultural exchanges;
(n) local employment, education and training initiatives.
2. With a view to encouraging joint small scale actions involving
local actorsfrom the border regionsand to enhancing their capabilitiesto identify, develop and implement such actions, a joint small projectfund may be established in each border region, for which a limited1998R2760 — EN — 10.09.2002 — 001.001 — 4
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percentage of the appropriationsfor the relevant programmesand
initiatives for cross-border cooperation may be used.
3. Special attention will be given to measures with a strong cross-
border cooperation character which are planned in close cooperation
with the regional and local authoritiesin border areasand whichinclude the establishment or development of shared management struc-tures intended to widen and deepen cross-border cooperation betweenpublic and para-public agenciesaswell asnon-profit organis ations .
4. The establishment of plans for the development of border regions,
project identification and programme formulation, feasibility studies,
assistance for the implementation of the programmes and monitoring
and/or evaluation studies, may also be financed.
Article 6
1. The Community contribution isprovided in principle asa grant.
However, whenever the Community grant contributesto the financingof revenue-generating activities, the Commission shall determine, inconsultation with the authorities involved, the rules for financing whichmay include co-financing by the project'srevenuesor reimburs ement of
the initial grants.
2. The aid may cover expenditureson importsand local expenditure
needed to carry out the projectsand programmes .
Tax duties and charges and the purchase of property shall be excluded
from the Community financing.
3. Costs covered may include technical assistance, studies, training
and other institution-building measures; supply programmes for essen-tial equipment or inputs; investment operations, including workprogrammes.
4. Maintenance and operating costs in central and eastern European
countries may be covered in the start-up phase and in a digressivemanner.
Article 7
1. For each of the border regions, a Joint Cooperation Committee
will be set up consisting of representatives of the countries concernedincluding regional or local representatives, and of representatives of theCommission.
2. The Joint Cooperation Committee will prepare a joint cross-
border programming document in a multi-annual perspective; this
document will include common development strategies and priorities
for the region, seen as one single socio-economic and geographicalentity, and provisions concerning joint implementation. This documentwill guide the programming and implementation of the actionsto beundertaken in the framework of the relevant programmesand initiatives
for cross-border cooperation, assisted by the European Community.
3. The Joint Cooperation Committee will define a common set of
projects once per year, taking into account the joint cross-borderprogramming document provided under paragraph 2. Recommendationsfor projects will be transmitted to the Commission by the Governmentof the country of central and eastern Europe concerned on the basis ofthe proposals submitted by the relevant authorities.
Article 8
1. The Commission will formulate a programme proposal per border
taking into account the joint cross-border programming document
referred to under Article 7(1) and further recommendationsof the JointCooperation Committeesfor projectsto be financed under thisprogramme, astrans mitted by the government of the central andeastern European country concerned.
2. The grant constituting the full or partial contribution of the
country of central and eastern Europe to the joint project will be1998R2760 — EN — 10.09.2002 — 001.001 — 5
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approved following the procedure defined in Article 9 of Regulation
(EEC) No 3906/89 and agreed with the recipient country concernedby meansof a financing memorandum.
Article 9
1. The Commission shall administer this assistance in accordance
with the normal practice applied to the assistance to central and eastern
Europe, asdefined in Regulation (EEC) No 3906/89.
2. Wherever possible, joint monitoring structures should be set up to
facilitate the implementation of the programmes.
Article 10
In implementing the objectivesreferred to purs uant to Article 3, the
Commission shall ensure coordination and consistency between assis-tance from PHARE, other external assistance programmes, andassistance provided by the Structural Funds.
Article 11
ThisRegulation s hall enter into force on the third day following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities , and
shall replace Regulation (EC) No 1628/94 on that day.
ThisRegulation s hall be binding in itsentirety and directly applicable
in all Member States.1998R2760 — EN — 10.09.2002 — 001.001 — 6