Table of Contents

A. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO ICELAND, THE WESTERN BALAKANS AND TURKEY 4

CROATIA.. 4

1. SUMMARY.. 4

2. STRATEGIC PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING.. 4

3. IMPLEMENTATION OF EU FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN 2011. 9

4. IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING MODALITIES AND STRUCTURES. 21

TURKEY.. 25

1. SUMMARY.. 25

2. STRATEGIC PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING.. 25

3. IMPLEMENTATION OF EU FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN 2011. 31

4. IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING MODALITIES AND STRUCTURES. 46

ICELAND.. 51

1. SUMMARY.. 51

2. STRATEGIC PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING.. 51

3. IMPLEMENTATION OF EU FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN 2011. 55

THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC of MACEDONIA.. 57

1. SUMMARY.. 57

2. STRATEGIC PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING.. 57

3. IMPLEMENTATION OF EU FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN 2011. 60

4. IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING MODALITIES AND STRUCTURES. 67

MONTENEGRO.. 71

1. SUMMARY.. 71

2. STRATEGIC PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING.. 71

3. IMPLEMENTATION OF EU FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN 2011. 76

4. IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING MODALITIES AND STRUCTURES. 86

ALBANIA.. 90

1. SUMMARY.. 90

2. STRATEGIC PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING.. 90

3. IMPLEMENTATION OF EU FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN 2011. 95

4. IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING MODALITIES AND STRUCTURES. 103

SERBIA.. .. 106

1. SUMMARY.. 106

2. STRATEGIC PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING.. 106

3. IMPLEMENTATION OF EU FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN 2011. 110

4. IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING MODALITIES AND STRUCTURES. 119

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA.. 123

1. SUMMARY.. 123

2. STRATEGIC PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING.. 123

3. IMPLEMENTATION OF EU FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN 2011. 127

4. IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING MODALITIES AND STRUCTURES. 134

KOSOVO* 137

1. SUMMARY.. 137

2. STRATEGIC PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING.. 137

3. IMPLEMENTATION OF EU FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN 2011. 140

4. IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING MODALITIES AND STRUCTURES. 144

B. MULTI-BENEFICIARY.. 150

1. SUMMARY.. 150

2. STRATEGIC PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING.. 150

3. IMPLEMENTATION OF EU FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN 2011. 154

C. TOWARDS A MORE EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE DELIVERY OF ASSISTANCE MORE CLOSELY TO THE ENLARGEMENT POLICY PRIORITIES AND THE SECTOR APPROACH.. 166

1. TOWARD A NEW IPA REGULATION FOR 2014 - 2020. Error! Bookmark not defined.

2. TOWARDS A MORE EFFICIENT DELIVERY OF ASSISTANCE: GRADUALLY IMPLEMENTING THE SECTOR APPROACH TO THE ENLARGEMENT POLICY PRIORITIES. 166

D. PHARE, CARDS, TURKEY PRE-ACCESSION AND TRANSITION FACILITY –FINANCIAL DATA AT 31ST DECEMBER.. 171

1. PHARE, TURKEY PRE-ACCESSION AND TRANSITION FACILITY FUNDS IMPLEMENTATION BY CPOUNTRY AT THE END OF 2011: 171

2. CARDS FUNDS IMPLEMENTATION BY COUNTRY AT THE END OF 2011.... .... 173

A. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO ICELAND, THE WESTERN BALAKANS AND TURKEY

CROATIA

1. SUMMARY

For Croatia, 2011 marked the culmination of its accession negotiations with the European Union, with the closure of the accession negotiations on 30 June 2011, followed by the signature of the Accession Treaty on 9 December 2011.

The implementation of EU financial assistance in 2011 in Croatia, also in line with the priorities selected for the MIPD 2011-2013, accompanied these developments by providing support for completing reforms and building up capacity in the key areas necessary for assuming the obligations of membership, such as justice and home affairs or public administration reform, as well continuing the efforts of preparing Croatia for the use of post-accession funds. The 2011 IPA programme of EUR 39.159 million is consistent with these priorities.

A Special Report by the Court of Auditors, finalised after a meeting between the Commission and the Court in October 2011, concludes that EU pre-accession assistance is making a significant contribution to supporting Croatia's preparations to manage structural and cohesion funds. It also stressed that further progress in capacity-building to manage EU funds is needed.

2. STRATEGIC PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING 2.1 Multi-annual Indicative Planning Document

In contrast to the 2009-2011 MIPD, which structured the priorities for EU assistance according to the Copenhagen criteria for enlargement (the political criteria, economic criteria, and the ability to assume the obligations of membership), the 2011-2013 MIPD reflects the shift to a more sectorial approach to EU financial assistance under the IPA Instrument. A positive effect of this new approach was the more targeted assistance allowing easier identification of the remaining gaps as well as improving donor coordination.

The key sectors identified for EU assistance and detailed in the MIPD are as follows: 1. Justice and home affairs and fundamental rights; 2. Public administration reform; 3. Environment and climate change; 4. Transport; 5. Private sector development; 6. Social development; 7. Agriculture and rural development.

The choice to focus on these particular sectors came as a result of the conclusions highlighted in the Enlargement Strategy and Main Challenges 2010—2011 and the accompanying 2010 Progress Report for Croatia[1], where the need to consolidate reforms in the fields of rule of law, fight against corruption and reform of the public sector had been identified as key accession priorities.

Moreover, addressing the priorities identified under the sectors 3 to 7 continues to contribute to the "Europe 2020" objectives of the EU by improving regional competitiveness, as well as human capital and natural resources management. The implementation of the assistance in these sectors took place under IPA Components III, IV and V, allowing Croatia to continue its preparation managing decentralised funds. A special report published by the Court of Auditors[2] has confirmed the good management of these funds.

Table 1: MIFF[3] allocations per component, in EUR million

Component || 2011 || 2012 || 2013 || 2011-2013

I – Transition Assistance and Institution Building || 39,959,128 || 39,969,161 || 19,256,943 || 99,185,232

II – Cross-border cooperation || 15,869,158 || 16,442,542 || 8,499,192 || 40,810,892

III – Regional Development || 58,200,000 || 57,578,127 || 31,000,000 || 146,778,127

IV – Human Resources Development || 16,000,000 || 16,040,000 || 9,000,000 || 41,040,000

V – Rural Development || 26,500,000 || 26,151,182 || 27,700,000 || 80,351,182

TOTAL || 156,528,286 || 156,181,012 || 95,456,135 || 408,165,433

2.2 Programming 2.2.1 Component I

The 2011 National Programme for Croatia under the IPA Transition Assistance and Institution Building component was adopted by the European Commission on 11 November 2011, on the basis of a proposal from the Croatian National IPA Coordinator (NIPAC) and following extended consultations with the European Commission. In addition to this programme, EUR 0.33 million have been allocated to support activities on "Connecting the Croatian Customs Administration (CCA) to the Common Communication Network and Common System Interface" and EUR 5 million to support the preparation of a project pipeline for Structural and Cohesion Funds in Croatia under the JASPERS facility (Joint Assistance to Support Projects in European Regions). These two projects were adopted separately from the main National Programme in order to allow a quicker implementation.

The main 2011 programme contains 10 projects, with the total EU contribution amounting to EUR 33.8 million. Given Croatia's advanced stage of membership preparations, and in line with the 2011-2013 MIPD, the EU assistance under this IPA programme increasingly moved from sheer adoption and concrete implementation of the acquis to more general administrative strengthening of post–accession priorities, with a particular focus on justice, home affairs and fundamental rights, as well as public administration reforms. These priorities had also been highlighted in the Enlargement Strategy and Main Challenges 2010—2011 and 2010 Croatia Progress Report[4].

The Commission, with the support of the EU Delegation in Croatia, organised consultations, both on the MIPD 2011-2013 and on the 2011 National Programme, with EU Member States' embassies and local branches of International Financial Institutions (IFIs) in Zagreb. The assistance provided by IFIs and bilateral donors further reinforced the prospects for sustainability of EU assistance, with a good example provided by the Justice Sector Support Programme financed by the World Bank, which started in 2010 (EUR 27.9 million) and thus complementing the actions to be financed by the IPA 2011 national programme.

Lessons highlighted by a number of IPA related evaluations, such as the thematic Public Administration Reform[5] evaluation, the Country Programme Interim Evaluation 2009 (performed by the European Commission), as well as the Country Programme Interim Evaluation 2010 (carried out by the Croatian authorities), were taken into account in the course of the programming process. In particular, more attention was paid to conditionality and sequencing, where measures have been deployed to improve the administrative ability to implement projects and to enhance the involvement of decision-makers in the execution of projects, and to facilitate inter-institutional coordination.

Furthermore, following the mid-term evaluation of IPA assistance, the NIPAC has taken on a more proactive role throughout the project preparation and selection process. In particular, efforts were made to enhance their role in the prioritisation, sequencing and quality assessment of project proposals before their submission to the Commission.

Table 2: Indicative financial allocations for the year under the National Programme, per priority axis and per project, in EUR million:

Priority Sector || Projects || Budget

Sector 1: Justice and Home Affairs and Fundamental Rights || 19.153

NP 2011 part 3 - 1) || 01-23 - Support to the rationalization of court network || 9.376

NP 2011 part 3 - 2) || 01-35 - Civil Society Facility – Active Civil Society for ensuring durability of policy reforms in post-accession Croatia || 2.859

NP 2011 part 3 - 3) || 01-23 - Restoration and Equipping of the premises for PNUSKOK Osijek and Rijeka || 1.793

NP 2011 part 3 - 4) || 03-24 - Strengthening capacities of the Ministry of the Interior to combat computer crime || 0.665

NP 2011 part 3 - 5) || 03-24 - Construction and Equipping of the Centre for Training Dog Handlers and Police Dogs || 2.312

NP 2011 part 3 - 6) || 03-24 - Upgrading the capacities of the Reception Centre for Foreigners || 2.148

Sector 2: Public Administration Reform || 3.762

NP 2011 part 3 - 7) || 03-18 – Technical assistance in development of business statistics and upgrading of data collection system || 0.693

NP 2011 part 3 - 8) || 04-40 - Flexible Facility for Reinforcement of Administrative Capacity || 2.739

NP 2011 part 1 || "Connecting the Croatian Customs Administration (CCA) to the Common Communication Network and Common System Interface (CCN/CSI)" || 0.330

Sector 3 + Sector 4: Environment and Climate Change" and "Transports" || 5.000

NP 2011 part 2 || JASPERS - Support to the preparation of a project pipeline for Structural and Cohesion Funds in Croatia || 5.000

Sector 7: Agriculture and Rural Development || 4.180

NP 2011 part 3 - 9) || 03-11 - Strengthening the PAAFRD capacities for meeting the challenges arising from the CAP and the CFP reforms and the post-2013 period || 4.180

Supporting programmes || 7.062

NP 2011 part 3 - 10) || 04-65 - Participation in Union Programmes and Agencies ||

TOTAL || 39.159

2.2.2 Component II

The Financing Decisions allowing for the deployment of IPA 2010 and 2011 funds regarding CBC with Western Balkan countries had been adopted in August and September 2010. In 2011, the CBC envelopes available for actions on borders with Croatia amount to EUR 2 million, for the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina EUR 0.9 million, for the one with Montenegro, EUR1.8 million and the same amount is allocated for cooperation with Serbia, these amounts representing the contributions from both sides of the border for each programme.

In the course of 2011, all 2008 CBC programmes between Croatia and its IPA neighbouring countries (3 programmes) were granted an extension of the contracting deadline to allow for the full implementation.

2.2.3 Component III

Under IPA Component III, "Regional Development", the programming exercise continued to follow a multi-annual approach, mirroring the Cohesion and Structural Funds approach. Three Operational Programmes related to the Environment, Transport and Regional Competitiveness sectors were originally agreed for the period 2007-2009. They underwent a first revision in 2010 following the allocation of 2010-2011 funds, and will be revised again in 2012 in order to cover the full programming period (2007-2013).

Despite these two revisions, the strategic priorities of these programmes remain the same: the development of waste management infrastructure, the improvement of the water supply and the waste water management systems, the upgrading of the rail and inland waterway systems, the support of business-related infrastructure, to the technology transfer and the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

2.2.4 Component V

With regard to the multi-annual programme 2007-2013 for IPA Component V, adopted in February 2008, a fourth proposal for modification was submitted to the Commission in July 2011, following consultations and approval by the national stakeholders.

Croatia proposed a number of technical modifications meant to improve clarity and simplify the administration and implementation of the programme by taking into account experience gained so far. The main modification concerned the technical adaptation of measure 202 "Preparation and implementation of local rural development strategies". These updates were also intended to harmonize the programme with the accreditation process. This measure is particularly crucial in the involvement of local rural actors as well as the implementation of IPARD[6] through public-private partnerships and Local Development Strategies.

Moreover, due to lessons learnt from earlier practice, this amendment is expected to increase absorption thanks to the eligibility of projects from Axis I measures for realisation under Local Development Strategies.

Additionally, Croatia has proposed to broaden the scope of potential beneficiaries under the Measure 101 "Investment in agricultural holdings" adjusting and updating the programme indicators.

3. IMPLEMENTATION OF EU FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN 2011 3.1 Success stories

IPA 2008 Component I 'Support to the establishment of a State School for Judicial Officials', EUR 230 000.

Starting 2013 Croatia will appoint new judges and prosecutors exclusively from candidates who having successfully completed the two-year cycle. This project supported the Croatian Judicial Academy, in charge for the School and other involved institutions (State Judicial Council, State Prosecutorial Council, etc.) in preparing a training strategy, developing training programmes, and strengthening selection procedures through structured interviews based on objective criteria. The project contributed to the general need, based on EU standards, of increasing the independence, professionalism and accountability of the judicial system. Specific recommendations were provided in order to guarantee the success of the School in recruiting the most suitable candidates becoming the future Croatian judges and prosecutors responsible for managing the Croatian judicial system within the EU internal market and called to verify on the correct implementation of the EU law in Croatia.

IPA 2008 Component I 'Developing the National Information System for Nature Protection Supervision', EUR 250 000.

The purpose of the project was to ensure the sustainable management and strengthening of supervision in proposed Natura 2000 sites through improved administration of biodiversity data for efficient implementation (pursuant to the Birds and Habitats Directives). The project contributed to the development of an information system that will be used by inspectors and supervisors engaged in nature protection supervision. New additional functionality and new software modules, specially designed for nature protection inspection and supervisors, were established.

IPA Component IV 2007-2011, 'Vocational Education and Training (VET) Quality Assurance Development', EUR 1.74 million.

The project assisted with the implementation of pilot self-assessment process in 20 VET secondary schools throughout Croatia, in line with the recommendation of European Quality Assurance Reference Framework for VET (EQARF-VET). The Self-Assessment Manual produced with the assistance of the project will serve as the main guiding instrument for the remaining approximately 300 VET schools in Croatia to undertake the same self-assessment process. The experience of 20 piloted schools' staff will be available through peer learning activities organized among VET schools, and is already available through a web-based tool which was created with the assistance of this project. In future all VET schools will upload the relevant documents into this newly created tool. This will ultimately result in creation of a comprehensive database which will allow overview at national level and will allow the responsible national authorities to adopt informed decision for modernisation of formal VET in Croatia.

3.2 Overview of the implementation status of the different instruments and components

Regarding IPA, good progress was accomplished concerning the decentralised implementation of the assistance by the Croatian authorities.

Under Component I, this development was expressed by a reduction of the "rejection rate" – in the context of the EU Delegation's ex ante control on tendering and contracting files submitted by the Croatian authorities - in the second half of 2011 to below 5%. This positive trend needs to be sustained in 2012. However, while gradually expanding, absorption capacity remained a challenge for the Croatian authorities in order to catch up past delays (see Part II on financial data). The Commission continued to help the authorities to select mature project proposals for funding in order to ease future implementation.

In regard to Component II, for CBC programmes with other IPA countries, all grants from the first call for proposals were successfully contracted in the first quarter of 2011. The second calls for proposals for all programmes were launched in the second half of 2011. Regarding programmes on the border with current Member States, Croatia continued to participate very actively in the bilateral actions with Hungary and Slovenia, as well as in the regional programmes IPA Adriatic, "Mediterranean" (MED) and "South-East Europe" (SEE). 60 projects were awarded more than EUR 14 million EU funding within the Hungary-Croatia IPA Cross-border Cooperation Programme. Under this last programme, the third Call for Proposals was launched on 22 November 2011.

In the framework of the Slovenia-Croatia cross-border programme, whose main purpose is to make the cross-border area between Croatia and Slovenia highly competitive and also to create sustainable living conditions and prosperity for its inhabitants by exploiting development opportunities arising out of joint cross-border actions, the third Call is expected to be launched in 2012. This is one of the best performing IPA cross-border programmes under shared management, which is also due to the commitment of Croatia to this programme.

As regards Component III, under the Environment Operational Programme all available funds were committed, and contracting was strong in 2011, reaching more than 50% of the available funds. Nevertheless, due to previously accumulated delays, at the end of 2011 EUR 5.2 million were withheld, expecting more improvement in the implementation of operations.

For the Transport Operational Programme, the complexity of the projects specifically in this sector caused important delays in the implementation of the programme, with a contracting rate being at 17%. Nevertheless, tendering accelerated during 2011 and much of the accumulated backlog was reduced. However, this could not prevent the automatic withhold of EUR 9.3 million at the end of 2011. Another similar situation can be found for the third Operational Programme, namely Regional Development, where delays in the design and tendering of projects led to a contracting rate of 30%.

Under Component V, Croatia received the conferral of management powers for the first two measures under IPA Rural Development only in November 2009 and for two additional measures in March 2010. Since then, Croatia continued the implementation of IPARD. Three additional calls for applications were launched in 2011 for the first two conferred measures, namely measure 101 'Investments in agriculture holdings to restructure and to upgrade to EU standards' and measure 103 'Investments in the processing and marketing of agricultural and fishery products to restructure these activities and to upgrade them to EU standards'.

So far, the implementing body – IPARD Agency has received 209 applications out of which 90 projects were contracted, with an IPA contribution of over EUR 19 million by the end of 2011. As regards the two measures conferred in March 2010, namely measure 301 'Improvement and development of rural infrastructure' and measure 302 'Diversification and development of rural economic activities' two calls were launched in 2011. As a result, 156 applications were received for both measures, however only 18 were contracted. This result was a consequence of an important rejection rate under the first call for measure 301 'Rural infrastructure'. Difficulties encountered by beneficiaries – Croatian small municipalities, were related to implementation of public procurement rules. It must be however noted that the second call for the same measure was much more successful with 45 Memoranda of Understanding signed.

The measure 'Rural infrastructure' continued to play an important role in the IPA Component V programme, mainly due to its social impact on the population within the rural areas. Lessons learnt from the first call bore fruit under the second call: higher interest from municipalities as well as their better readiness as regards quality of applications. Based on submitted projects it could be analysed that Croatian rural small towns and villages want mainly to improve and invest in sewerage system, wastewater treatment or local roads.

While the contracting performance in Croatia improved in 2011, payment levels to final beneficiaries remained low. This is due to the fact completion of rural development project can be quite lengthy, and therefore only a small part of contracted projects could be paid in 2011. Pre-financing included, the Commission disbursed about EUR 26 million by the end of 2011.

Moreover during 2011, the Croatian authorities focused strongly also on the preparation of procedures for conferral of management powers for the two remaining programme measures. The national accreditation was granted for measure 501 "Technical Assistance" and the measure 202 "Preparation and implementation of local development strategies" was accredited at the beginning of 2012. It is hoped that the conferral of management for these measures should be obtained in mid-2012, followed by calls for applications.

Although Croatia made important progress in 2011 in the implementation of the IPA Rural Development Programme, the delays in implementation and more particularly in payments to final beneficiaries accumulated so far persisted in 2011. Due to this situation, according to the N+3 budgetary rule, a part of the funds allocated in 2008 had to be suspended at the end of the 2011, and more funds are at risk of suspension in 2012. Therefore, in the future all efforts shall be oriented towards further calls for applications together with shortening the period between these calls and completing the payments to beneficiaries.

Nevertheless, the Court of Auditors' Special Report on Croatia[7], prepared during 2011, indicates that EU assistance has made an important contribution to building up Croatia's capacity for managing post-accession funding, including by "learning-by-doing".

3.3 Sector I: Justice and Home Affairs and Fundamental Rights

IPA 2007 Component I 'Strengthening Capacities of the Ministry of the Interior to Combat Narcotic Drugs Trafficking and Drug Abuse', EUR 2.2 million.

This project supported the strengthening of the ability of the Ministry of Interior in the fight against organised crime, especially in the field of combating drugs trafficking and drugs abuse. It contributed to enhancing the ability of criminal police officers, to strengthen the institutional capacities of the Forensic Science Centre ”Ivan Vučetić” in the area of drugs analysis, and to establish a National Contact Point for the transmission of synthetic drugs samples and data exchange with other Forensic Science Centres. Some of the main achieved results were, for example, increased capacity for narcotic drugs analysis and profiling, development of a protocol for cooperation, communication and strengthening of the institutional control model for precursors, establishment of contact points in governmental institutions, and training of police officers on advances methods of investigations related to drug crimes.

IPA 2007 Component I 'Development of modern information system for strengthening Anti-Corruption Inter Agency cooperation', EUR 460 000.

This project supported Croatia in its efforts to implement the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (adopted in 2008). The success of the Strategy relies very much on the good cooperation among all stakeholders (Croatian Ministries, specific administrations, control bodies, other agencies, etc.). Therefore, the project focussed on the development of an IT tool (including Internet portal) to support the Ministry of Justice in coordinating the Croatian anti-corruption efforts of all stakeholders; improving its capacity in managing the flow of information from and towards other involved bodies, facilitating its monitoring and analytical tasks, and improving its communication towards the public. The project contributed to increase the public awareness on corruption. Its effects should allow a better prevention of corruption, allowing Croatia to become also more attractive to international business and foreign investments.

3.4 Sector II: Public Administration Reform

In 2011, the EU Delegation was consulted on 156 requests for TAIEX assistance. The majority of them were related to: Chapter 11 Agriculture and Rural Development (68 requests), Chapter 27 Environment (21 requests), Chapter 24 Freedom, Security and Justice (19 requests), Chapter 23 Judiciary and Fundamental Rights (15 requests), and Chapter 28 Health and Consumer Protection (10 requests). Interventions funded by TAIEX can be extremely well targeted to the needs of the institutions, and were financially not demanding, which justified the high number of requests by the Croatian institutions (on average one each working day).

In 2011, a total of 20 Twinning contracts were under implementation. The sectors targeted by Twinning and partner countries were as follows: under IPA 2007: customs (Spain), regulatory impact assessment (UK), competition and state aid (Italy with UK), anti-corruption (one with Germany and another one with France and Italy), personal data protection (Spain), combating drugs trafficking (Austria), paying agency for agricultural funds (Austria with France and Slovakia), energy (Demark with Latvia and Slovenia), chemical safety (Sweden with Italy), health and safety at work (Austria with Slovakia), plant protection products and pesticide residues (UK); under IPA 2008: judiciary reform (one with Germany and France and another one with the UK and Czech Republic), road safety (Germany with Poland), preparation for Cohesion Funds (one with Lithuania and Hungary and another one with Italy and Poland); under IPA 2009: fight against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children (UK), anti-discrimination (Austria), coordination of social security (Sweden).

17 Twinning light contracts were under implementation in 2011 in the fields of: under IPA 2007: protection of EU financial interests (Romania), public procurement (Greece), medicinal products and medical devices (Spain), environment (Austria), preparation for Structural Funds (Poland); under IPA 2008: fight against counterfeiting of banknotes and coins (Germany), fight against corruption in customs (Spain), fight against corruption in taxation (Austria), public procurement (Austria), judiciary (Germany), taxation (France), education (Finland), employment (Germany); under IPA 2009: postal services (Spain), environment (Spain), customs (Italy), judiciary (Lithuania). The total amount of Twinning and Twinning light contracts under implementation in 2011 was EUR 24.6 million. Several Member States applied to the various Twinning projects in Croatia, resulting in a wide spread of Member States selected by Croatian ministries to implement these contracts.

The SIGMA Programme, a joint initiative of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the European Union aims to strengthen public governance institutions in Croatia, in order to facilitate the accession process by assisting the reform of the public sector. During 2011 SIGMA support to Croatia covered in the area of judiciary and public administration reform , where SIGMA provided assistance to the authorities in finalising the relevant legal framework , as well as participating in round tables organised by NGOs on the following issues: prevention of conflict of interest, financing of political parties, local and regional self-government, etc. Furthermore, SIGMA provided. SIGMA also assisted the national authorities in the areas of public procurement and financial management (Anti-Fraud Strategy, Public Internal Financial Control and Financial Management and Control).

In 2011, Croatia participated in the following EU Programmes: 'Seventh Research Framework Programme'; 'Life-Long Learning Programme' (LLP); 'Youth in Action Programme'; 'Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme' (including 'Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme', 'Information Communication Technologies Policy Support Programme' and 'Intelligent Energy Europe Programme'); 'Progress'; 'Culture'; 'Europe for Citizens'; 'Fiscalis 2013'; 'Customs 2013'; 'Interoperable Delivery of European eGovernment Services to public Administrations Business and Citizens' (IDABC); 'Civil Protection Financial Instrument'; 'MEDIA 2007'; 'Community action in the field of health'; 'Marco Polo II'; Civil Protection Mechanism'; and 'ISA Programme' (Interoperability Solutions for European Public Administrations).

In 2011, Memoranda of Understanding for the following two Programmes were also concluded: 'Criminal Justice Programme' and 'Civil Justice Programme' (both memoranda were concluded on 15 December 2011).

IPA 2008 Component I 'Development of an effective system for fight against counterfeiting of banknotes and coins in Croatia', EUR 230 000.

The beneficiary of this project was the Croatian National Bank in co-operation with the Ministry of Interior's Police National Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime. The project contributed to ensure the efficient functioning of the system for the fight against internationally organised crime in the area of counterfeiting of banknotes and coins in line with EU standards. The achieved results were further alignment of the legal framework and further enhancement of the implementing procedures. In addition, methodological tools were developed while the administrative capacity of the key stakeholders in the system was strengthened through training, workshops and study visits to Member States and the European Central Bank (ECB).

IPA 2007 Component I 'Equipment for anti-smuggling units', EUR 3.45 million.

This project supported the fight against national and international organised crime, thus enhancing safety and security of Croatian and future EU external borders, internal market and collection of national and EU revenue. It provided equipment to the mobile customs units of the customs administration, such as vans, personal vehicles, all-terrain vehicles, vehicles for transport of official dogs, mobile x-ray vehicle, patrol sea boats, patrol river boats, trace detectors, and contraband detectors.

IPA 2007 Component I 'Customs Laboratory Development', EUR 500 000.

This project contributed to maximise the collection of customs duties and taxes by establishing nature, tariff classification, origin and value of goods, and provided support for the prevention of illegal traffic of goods. It contributed to further develop the operational capacity of the Croatian Customs Laboratory, in compliance with EU requirements, resulting in an improved legal basis, management policies, analytical equipment, analytical methods, training programmes and working methods. In terms of results, a Quality Management System in Customs laboratories was introduced and Quality Handbook elaborated; laboratory methods were updated in compliance with EU best practice; written guidelines, regarding laboratory safety, security and hygiene procedures, correct sampling, labelling, packing and despatching of the samples, were developed and disseminated; training policies were delivered; and a plan for co-operation with EU customs laboratories and/or with other analytical institution inside and outside the country were developed.

IPA 2008 Component I 'Strengthening of the tax Administration in the fight against corruption', EUR 207 000.

This Twinning light contributed to improving the legal and institutional framework for efficient and systematic combating of corruption, and the public awareness on the harmfulness of corruption, and to create conditions for preventing corruption in the Croatian Tax Administration. It therefore contributed to the protection of the interests of Croatian and EU citizens, taxpayers and businesses.

3.5 Sector III: Environment and climate change

In Croatia this sector is supported under the Environmental Operational Programme (EPOP) under Component III and it addresses priorities such as municipal solid waste (waste management and cultivation of non-compliant landfills), water and wastewater (treatment plants and networks).

IPA 2007 Component I 'Identification and Setting-up of the Marine Part of Natura 2000 Network in Croatia ', EUR 527 500.

This project contributed to the existing draft proposal of marine NATURA 2000 by identifying potential NATURA 2000 sites. This list of sites was prepared through consultation with relevant stakeholders and the scientific community, with the purpose to further develop the national biodiversity monitoring and reporting system through capacity building, according to the provisions of the Habitats Directive.

IPA 2007 Component I 'Energy Administrative Data Management', EUR 1 095 000.

This project focused on institutional capacity building by developing a methodology for energy administrative data management related to EU Regulations, supplying related hardware equipment to enable the stakeholders to report data, and developing new tailor-made software for web-based energy data collection and management. This project has facilitated the transfer of experiences on energy statistics and international reporting.

3.6 Sector IV: Transport

The "Transportation" Operational Programme under IPA Component III continued to provide support for developing transport infrastructure in the area of railways and inland waterways in Croatia. Besides a series of technical assistance and project pipeline development operations in the rail and inland waterways sectors, there was one investment project under implementation during 2011. This project aims the development of the signalling and telecommunications infrastructure at the Zagreb main railway station.

A new major project was approved by the Commission during 2011: Okučani to Novska Railway Rehabilitation and Upgrade. The total investment value is EUR 40 million, with IPA co-financing amounting to EUR 34 million.

ISPA 'Vinkovci to State Border Railways Rehabilitation', EUR 60.2 million, 48% of which was co-financed by the EU.

This project contributed to the achievement of interoperability and safety requirements in line with EU acquis through civil works, electrification, signalling and telecommunication. It allowed the rehabilitation of 38 km of the double track railway line on the European Corridor X (Project of European Interest), Section Vinkovci to Tovarnik (interface with Serbian railway line at Šid).

PHARE 2006 'Supply and implementation of Vessel Traffic Monitoring and Information System (VTMIS)', EUR 5 million

This project delivered supply and support to the implementation of the Vessel Traffic Monitoring and Information System (VTMIS), particularly radar and surveillance and tracking systems, which will significantly contribute to the safety and pollution prevention in the area along the east Adriatic coast, particularly in respect of ships manoeuvring in congested areas, ports and adjacent waters as well as non-SOLAS (International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea) ships and yachts. Through this project, the VTMIS equipment has been installed at the national VTMIS control centre in Rijeka, and regional control centres in Split and Dubrovnik, and also 10 radar stations have been installed along the Adriatic coast and islands.

3.7 Sector V: Private Sector Development

The IPA Component III also provided support to private sector development by providing investment in business-related infrastructure located in less developed regions, as well as the improvement of business climate, the technology transfer and services for start-ups and SMEs, and the first achievements already became visible on the ground.

Six infrastructure projects were renovated or newly built to support the tourism and business-related activities in lagging-behind regions. 10 newly-established Business Support Centres started delivering training and services to SMEs in the e-commerce and e-business activities sector. 21 business centres are being coached and trained to deliver high-level consultancy & training services to the SMEs throughout Croatia. A certification programme is being developed to attract investors at will assist investors in eight lagging-behind counties. New infrastructure and entrepreneurial training curricula are being developed in five universities and research centres in order to boost the technology transfer and commercialisation of public sector R&D.

IPA 2007 Component I 'Implementing Croatian Competition and State Aid Policies', EUR 1 million.

This project contributed to ensure a more solid enforcement record of competition and state aid rules in Croatia and to set up a regulatory environment which is genuinely competition-oriented. The project achieved the following results: the Croatian competition and state aid legislation was further aligned with the relevant EU acquis; the Croatian Competition Agency (CCA) further strengthened its enforcement record and its ability to prosecute the most serious infringements of antitrust law; the CCA is ready to take up its responsibilities within the European Competition Network and has been granted observer status therein; a series of public events ensured the visibility of the CCA as a promoter of competition culture and established its advocacy role in competition-relevant regulatory impact assessment; a smoother interplay of competition enforcement and regulatory intervention has been achieved by providing training to Croatian sectorial regulators and strengthening their co-operation ties with the CCA; the CCA successfully continued to enforce state aid legislation in light of EU state aid policy, with a view to achieving less and better targeted aid.

3.8 Sector VI: Social development

IPA Component IV 2007-2011 'Regional Network of Local Learning Institutions', EUR 5 million.

This project contributed to the modernisation of adult education in Croatia. There were 56 adult education institutions which, as main grant beneficiaries and their partners, provided free training of adult learners for approximately 2,850 people. Technical assistance focused on support to adult education institutions. Reports on learning needs analysis were prepared for each of 21 counties (NUTS 3 level) in Croatia. They provided up-to-date information on the needs of employers and on the state of affairs at the local labour markets in terms of supply and demand. Those reports form a significant background document for future Calls for Proposals to be published by the national authorities in the field of adult education.

IPA Component IV 2007-2011: 'Establishing Support in Social Integration and Employment of Disadvantaged and Marginalized Groups', EUR 90 008.

This grant scheme, as part of the 'People with Disabilities and Support System Model for Improving their Labour Market Approach' project, targeted long-term unemployed people with disabilities, as well as social welfare beneficiaries. Activities supporting active participation on the labour market were delivered through career counselling, monitoring and occupational rehabilitation. Simultaneously, through motivational training and psychosocial aid, the project encouraged the strengthening of social integration, whereas experimental workshops and a round table encouraged partnership in the field of social integration and employment.

IPA Component IV 2007-2011 'Local Partnerships for Employment – Phase', EUR 91 677.

This grant scheme, as part of the 'Education and Networking – Opportunity for Employment' project, targeted unemployed and not adequately employed highly educated people from Osijek-Baranja County. They have been provided with knowledge, skills and practical experience in the field of entrepreneurial support and development and implementation of EU-funded projects. A minimum of 30 persons attended education about business counselling, business plan development and development and implementation of EU projects. With the help of trainers from the Centre for Entrepreneurship Osijek and Regional Development Agency of Slavonia and Baranja, each project team worked on development of concrete project proposal for current call for proposals under EU funds. As a result, the participants gained specific knowledge and experience which will provide them better opportunity for adequate employment. The project had a positive impact on strengthening the capacities of local communities and organisations regarding the development and implementation of EU-funded projects.

3.9 Sector VII: Agriculture and rural development

IPA 2007 Component I 'Capacity Building of the Croatian Paying Agency' and 'Support to establishment of fully operational Paying Agency in line with EU standards', EUR 4.5 million.

In order for Croatia to use EU agricultural funds, a sophisticated administrative and control system meant to manage the EU-tax payers' money needed to be put in place. These two coordinated projects achieved this goal in cooperation with the Croatian Paying Agency. The first one, a Twinning project, involved 3 paying agencies from Austria, France and Slovakia and worked on the specifications of the system. The second one, a technical assistance project, was led by a consortium of Croatian, Czech and Slovene IT companies and developed the software modules needed to build the system. Training was provided to the staff of the Croatian paying-agency and an information campaign on the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) was carried out throughout Croatia. Thanks to that support, Croatia tested the system under its national budget in 2011 and 2012 and could thus familiarise its farmers and its administration with EU requirements prior to accession.

IPA 2008 Component I 'Support to the Implementation of the Common Organization of the Agricultural Market', EUR 230 000.

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) includes support to agricultural markets grouped under the so-called Common Market Organisation. Croatia has to develop the various schemes foreseen by the EU legislation prior to its accession to the EU in order to be able to support its agricultural markets when required. This Twinning Light project supported Croatia to set up the systems needed to administer the following sectors: sugar, milk and milk products outside milk quota, beef and veal, fruit and vegetables, wine, as well as export refunds for processed agricultural products. Under the leadership of the French Market and Intervention Agency, a unique team of experts from four different Member States (France, Germany, Hungary and Poland) supported and trained the Croatian Paying Agency to successfully develop the required procedures for each of the targeted sectors.

3.10 Cross-border cooperation

In 2011 Croatia continued to participate in cross-border co-operation projects with its neighbours in the Western Balkan area (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia), as well as with Member States (Hungary and Slovenia) and in wider regional cooperation projects covering the Mediterranean or Adriatic basins.

Cross-border cooperation projects remain an important aspect of IPA assistance in the Western Balkans by aiming to improve the quality of life in the cross border areas through joint projects in the areas of environment, tourism and cultural space, and private sector development. Furthermore, these efforts are an important contribution to achieving reconciliation following the 1990s conflicts.

IPA Component II, Cross-border programme between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina 'VIOR - Vinkovci and Orašje Heritage Tourism Project', EUR 62 355.

This project contributed to enhance tourism products – notably heritage tourism – to increase the sector’s GDP contribution and create income in the Vinkovci and Orašje regions. It developed joint CBC heritage tourism products and joint tourist itineraries (packages), built capacities in the fields of heritage tourism organization, hosting and preservation of heritage resources through education, training and know-how transfer, and promoted heritage sites and awareness on heritage site protection with use of today's communication tools. The beneficiaries of this grant were the City of Vinkovci in Croatia and the Municipality of Orašje in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in partnership with the Tourist Board of City of Vinkovci and the Tourist Community of Posavina Canton.

IPA Component II, Cross-Border Programme between Croatia and Montenegro, 'Traditional olive industry like a part of cross-border tourism offer', EUR 147 720.

This project contributed to the development of socio-economic conditions through diversification of the tourism offer in the cross-border region. It improved the quality of tourist destination by creating cross-border olive tourism offer based on authentic olive oil production, tradition and culture. On the Croatian side, the beneficiaries of this grant were the Croatian Centre for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and SNV- Netherlands Development Organisation, in partnership with Dubrovnik Neretva County’s association of olive oil producers and Dubrovnik Neretva County’s Regional Development Agency. The Montenegrin partners were the Municipality of Bar, the Association of olive producers Bar and the Association of olive producers, Boka.

IPA Component II, Cross-Border Programme between Croatia and Serbia, 'Toward Recycling Societies in Osijek – Baranja County and North Bačka District', EUR 151 696.

This project contributed to protecting the cross - border environment (air, groundwater and nature areas) of Eastern Croatia and North-Western Serbia. It improved the waste management system in Osijek-Baranja County and North Bačka District through mutual cooperation and exchange of experiences. The beneficiaries of this grant were Green Action - Friends of the Earth Croatia in Croatia, and Centre for Ecology and Sustainable Development (CEKOR)in Serbia, in partnership with the Croatian Zeleni Osijek - Ecological Association Green Osijek.

4. IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING MODALITIES AND STRUCTURES

One of the main objectives of the IPA instrument is that, in addition to supporting the efforts of the country in the negotiation process, it also helps to prepare the country for managing the structural and cohesion and rural development funds which become available after accession. In order to achieve this, the full potential of IPA is reached when the beneficiary country becomes fully responsible for managing the assistance it receives from the EU.

Following the Commission decisions to confer the management of the IPA funds to the Croatian national authorities in 2008 and 2009, Croatia continued to implement IPA programmes in 2011 on a decentralised basis, with ex ante controls by the European Union Delegation in Zagreb.

Furthermore, Croatia moved closer in 2011 to the ultimate objective of the conferral of management process, the decentralised implementation without ex ante controls by the Commission for IPA Components I to IV. Component V has operated directly without ex ante controls since the conferral of management decision in 2009.

Under Component I, Croatia established in December 2009 a roadmap with indicative benchmarks and time limits to achieve decentralisation without ex ante controls. In 2011, the Commission continued to monitor its implementation through the regular reports submitted by the Croatian authorities. The main indicators are the quality of procurement – expressed in the "rejection rate" of tendering and contracting files submitted by the authorities to the EU Delegation in the context of its ex ante control -, and the pace of implementation. The first indicator improved significantly in the course of 2011, especially in the second semester. The absorption capacity, however, remains a challenge for the Croatian authorities, as they need to catch up with past delays. Nevertheless, capacity under this component is gradually increasing. The overall positive trend therefore needs to be sustained in 2012.

Under Component II, the Commission's assessment on whether conditions for waiving ex ante controls are met, will focus on the functioning of the system (given the low number of transactions under this component and the involvement of a partner country). In 2011, the Commission conducted a follow-up audit on the conferral of management powers for IPA Component II. The Croatian authorities have started to address the relevant findings.

In 2011 the Commission, under the initiative of the national authorities, carried out twelve meetings of the sectorial monitoring sub-committees (two times six sectorial meetings, in April and October) and two TAIB Sectorial Monitoring Committees, in June and December.

Whereas the sectorial monitoring sub-committees reviewed the progress of each individual project, the interest of the sectorial monitoring committees was to explore the ways to accelerate the implementation of projects and review the progress in the implementation of the roadmap for the waiver of ex ante controls.

In parallel, the on-the spot visits to the projects being implemented have continued, and some of them have been carried out jointly with the implementing bodies. The EU Delegation thus had the opportunity to give recommendations which do not deal only with project implementation, but with improving the monitoring process carried out by the national institutions.

PART II - FINANCIAL DATA

On implementation of assistance at 31 December 2011

IPA Croatia

Croatia || Allocated || Contracted || % Contracted || Paid || % Paid

IPA 2007 || 82,704,005 || 82,584,944 || 99.86% || 73,242,931 || 88.56%

IPA 2008 || 183,318,922 || 182,899,550 || 99.77% || 114,461,570 || 62.44%

IPA 2009 || 103,600,000 || 64,472,406 || 62.23% || 36,213,965 || 34.96%

IPA 2010 || 72,100,000 || 39,551,787 || 54.86% || 15,620,838 || 21.67%

IPA 2011 || 68,900,000 || 4,200,000 || 6.10% || 3,990,000 || 5.79%

Total || 510,622,927 || 373,708,687 || 73.19% || 243,529,303 || 47.69%

IPA – Component I National Programme Croatia

Croatia || Allocated || Contracted || % Contracted || Paid || % Paid

IPA 2007 || 42,302,572 || 40,775,209 || 96.39% || 33,309,085 || 78.74%

IPA 2008 || 41,374,000 || 34,257,159 || 82.80% || 18,999,249 || 45.92%

IPA 2009 || 44,601,430 || 15,015,505 || 33.67% || 8,945,672 || 20.06%

IPA 2010 || 38,623,458 || 10,576,022 || 27.38% || 9,932,625 || 25.72%

IPA 2011 || 39,159,128 || 0 || 0.00% || 0 || 0.00%

Total || 206,060,588 || 100,623,895 || 48.83% || 71,186,631 || 34.55%

IPA – Component II (CBC) Programme Croatia

Croatia || Allocated || Contracted || % Contracted || Paid || % Paid

IPA 2007 || 2,653,020 || 1,536,854 || 57.93% || 628,439 || 23.69%

IPA 2008 || 2,706,080 || 2,410,832 || 89.09% || 1,176,506 || 43.48%

IPA 2009 || 2,760,202 || 472,357 || 17.11% || 282,033 || 10.22%

IPA 2010 || 2,200,000 || 0 || 0.00% || 0 || 0.00%

IPA 2011 || 2,200,000 || 0 || 0.00% || 0 || 0.00%

Total || 12,519,302 || 4,420,043 || 35.31% || 2,086,977 || 16.67%

TURKEY

1. SUMMARY

In 2011, positive developments in the management of the financial assistance were observed in Turkey. The country is continuously improving the capacities of key institutions in charge of programming, implementation and monitoring of EU funds. The implementation of IPA projects, under all IPA components, is now well underway and is starting to show a substantial impact as all necessary operating structures for the management of IPA funds are about to be granted conferral of management powers.

Important reforms have improved the programming of funds, with the new MIPD 2011-2013 adopted in June 2011 following the sector approach logic. The first steps towards a more strategic, focused and inclusive approach to programming has been taken while programming 2011 funds for Transition Assistance and Institution Building (Component I) focused on a limited number of sectors identified in the MIPD, with larger projects on the priorities of the accession process as well as aligned with sector priorities, for a total value of EU contribution of EUR 229.968 million. Following the elections in June 2011, particular emphasis has been given to the justice, home affairs and fundamental rights sector priorities aiming to implement the necessary reforms to build an independent and efficient judiciary, law enforcement services as well as developing civil society dialogue.

Efforts were also made to improve the monitoring of funds by reforming the monitoring system, setting out the roles and responsibilities of each institution and the various tools available for this purpose as well as strengthening the capacities of Turkish authorities.

2. STRATEGIC PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING 2.1 Multi-annual Indicative Planning Document

The new Multi-Annual Indicative Planning Document for Turkey covering the years 2011-2013 was adopted on 28 June 2011. The MIPD identifies priorities based on the needs documented in the Accession Partnership of the country as well as the latest progress report and the Turkish authorities' own strategies. It takes into account the lessons learned outlined in the Commission’s own assessment of past performance and on recent audits and evaluations.

The MIPD 2011-2013 puts the stress on a more sector based approach together more ownership towards setting priorities for assistance as it was drafted based on the priorities established by Turkish authorities. In order to support a more effective delivery of IPA and to move towards a more sector based approach with more focus and impact, the following strategic objectives for the new MIPD have been chosen.

In line with the MIPD sectors and identified priorities the 2011 IPA funds have been programmed mainly supporting projects in sectors justice, home affairs and fundamental rights, private sector development, energy, social development and agriculture and rural development, environment as well as horizontal support activities.

The selection of a limited number of sectors in the MIPD allows for a targeted approach towards EU assistance that aims to deliver the expected results and meet the envisaged objectives in a sustainable manner. The sectors and priorities chosen have potential to support the catalytic effect and additional EU support. Where linkages between sectors exist, these are closely explored in order to ensure that assistance provided is mutually reinforcing. This is the case, especially where strong ownership and political commitments are present. EU assistance provides added value and often initiates important reform processes that will continue in a sustainable manner beyond the duration of the EU programmes.

Table 1: MIFF[8] allocations per component, in EUR million

Component || 2011 || 2012 || 2013 || 2011-2013

I – Transition Assistance and Institution Building || 231.26 || 227.49 || 246.20 || 704.95

II – Cross-border cooperation || 5.13 || 2.17 || 2.21 || 9.51

III – Regional Development || 293.40 || 356.83 || 378.00 || 1028.23

IV – Human Resources Development || 77.60 || 83.93 || 96.00 || 257.53

V – Rural Development || 172.50 || 189.78 || 213.00 || 575.28

TOTAL || 779.90 || 860.22 || 935.50 || 2575.62

2.2 Programming 2.2.1 Component I

In order not to delay the implementation of mature projects, it was decided to split the national programme for 2011 into two parts. The IPA 2011 component I programme part 1 (adopted on 25 July 2011) includes 9 projects, which have been selected among the priorities identified in the 2011-2013 MIPD after analysis of the Turkish authorities and in consultation with the Commission under sector 1 – justice, home affairs and fundamental rights, 2 – acquis harmonisation in areas of transport and 3 – social development. Projects under above mentioned sectors were selected as they were mature for implementation and are of high priority for Turkey. Additional sectors of the MIPD are supported under the IPA 2011 part 2 programmes which have been adopted by the Commission on 25 July 2011. These are based on the second part of the priorities of the MIPD, national programme for 2011 and support 16 projects in the sectors justice, home Affairs and fundamental rights, private sector development, energy, social development and agriculture and rural development as well as horizontal support activities. In addition, in the sector environment and climate change, a sector measure has been included in the programme which could be considered as a first step towards sector approach.

While programming 2011 IPA funds efforts were made to better focus projects on the political priorities of the accession process as well as on aligning them with sector priorities. The largest part of the budget has been programmed to support projects in the justice, home affairs and fundamental rights sector, aiming to strengthen effective law enforcement, successful fight against crime and corruption and improved integrated border management and prevention of illegal migration. For example the project ''Protecting victims of human trafficking'' (EUR 1.7 million) aims to contribute to the effective implementation of the national strategy and policy on organized crime including trafficking of persons. A number of the projects included into 2011 programme are follow-up actions to previous projects, which allow achieving the full impact in the concerned area over a multi-annual basis, where an approach in stages was required due to the complexity of reforms.

Besides further projects in other priority sectors, the National Programme part 2 also introduces the "Enhanced Support Activities to Strengthen the European Integration Process" (ESEI) a flexible facility to address gaps of a limited scope, identified in the implementation of the acquis. Twinning and Technical Assistance projects are financed and mobilised in a rapid manner without having to undergo the full programming cycle. The facility is managed by the Turkish Ministry for EU Affairs (MEUA).

All of the programme's projects have been designed to achieve concrete results and we expect them to make a significant impact in bringing forward the reform efforts of Turkey in the concerned areas.

There was continuous information exchange between the EU Delegation in Ankara and donor organizations working in Turkey with a view to avoid duplication of financial assistance and support complementary actions where appropriate. During 2011 the Commission and the EU Delegation in Ankara conducted several coordination meetings on the coordination of financial cooperation in Turkey also following evaluation report on Mapping of European Commission, IFI & Donor Activity in Turkey financed by the EU Funds. Following the recommendations provided in the report it has been proposed to Turkey to take a stronger lead in donor coordination through Ministry of EU Affairs (for accession related donor coordination) and the Treasury/Ministry of Development (for investment related donor activity).

In terms of programming, progress could be noted by the Commission as regard further cooperation with IFIs, in particular the cooperation with the World Bank. Under 2012 IPA Component I programme Energy project is being developed together with the World Bank, which will be implemented under joint management mode.

The Commission and the World Bank will further coordinate their future strategies and their implementation in order to explore further areas where synergy and value added can be found through a joint approach.

Table 2: Indicative financial allocations for the year under the National Programme, per priority axis and per project, in EUR million

Priority Sector || Projects || Budget

Sector: Justice, Home Affairs and Fundamental Rights || 101.36

2011 NP part 1 || TR2011/0324.01 Trafficking || 1.71

2011 NP part 1 || TR2011/0324.02 Civilian Oversight || 3.80

2011 NP part 1 || TR2011/0136.03 IDPs in Van || 3.42

2011 NP part 1 || TR2011/0136.04 Local planning || 1.80

2011 NP part 1 || TR2011/0136.05 Cultural heritage || 2.70

2011 NP part 1 || TR2011/0136.06 Students EU || 3.21

2011 NP part 1 || TR2011/0135.07 CS Development || 6.62

2011 NP part 2 || TR2011/0124.10 Demining || 39.45

2011 NP part 2 || TR2011/0124.11 Witness Protection II || 1.50

2011 NP part 2 || TR2011/0124.12 Forensic Capacity || 8.00

2011 NP part 2 || TR2011/0123.13 Data protection || 2.00

2011 NP part 2 || TR2011/0123.14 Ombudsman || 2.00

2011 NP part 2 || TR2011/0135.15 CS Dialogue IV || 10.60

2011 NP part 2 || TR2011/0135.16 Trade unions dialogue || 1.60

2011 NP part 2 || TR2011/0136.17 Jean Monnet || 14.75

Transport || 1.84

2011 NP part 1 || Maritime Strategy || 1.84

Social Development || 63.07

2011 NP part 1 || Union programmes || 56.27

2011 NP part 2 || TR2011/0319.22 ÇASGEM || 2.25

2011 NP part 2 || TR2011/0336.23 Sports inclusion || 1.80

2011 NP part 2 || TR2011/0328.24 Cancer || 2.75

Environment and Climate Change || 25.18

2011 NP part 2 || Environment and climate measure || 25.18

Private Sector Development || 15.35

2011 NP part 2 || TR2011/0318.18 Statistics || 5.35

2011 NP part 2 || TR2011/0465.19 TK participation 7 FwP || 10.00

Energy || 3.00

2011 NP part 2 || TR2011/0315.20 Energy efficiency || 3.00

Agriculture and rural development || 1.35

2011 NP part 2 || Training for MARA || 1.35

Support and other activities || 17.00

2011 NP part 2 || ESEI envelope || 17.00

TOTAL || 229.95*

* The figure only concern National Programme 2011 and not include the amount allocated to the CSF

2.2.2 Component II

On 17 July 2011 the Commission adopted an annual programme on financing the participation of Turkey in the ENPI Black Sea Basin programme[9], worth EUR 3 million. To streamline implementation, for the last three years (2011–2013) of the programme, it has been decided to front load the remaining IPA contribution within a single financing decision of EUR 3 million to be adopted in 2011. The multi-annual Black Sea basin programme (2007-2013) aims at supporting stronger and sustainable economic and social development of the regions of the Black Sea basin and enhanced mutual understanding through cross-border partnerships.

2.2.3 Components III-V

Component III and Component IV programmes were adopted in 2007 and 2008 covering the 7 year programming period.

As concern revision of Environment, Regional Competitiveness and Transport operational programmes (OPs) under IPA component III, in 2011 preparations were done regarding the distribution of the total allocation and the project pipeline. In the transport and the environment sector, the pipeline is continuous while in the regional competitiveness sector new operations needed to be identified in 2011. In 2011 there was an increased interest from the Turkish civil society, municipalities and regions regarding projects to be founded under the regional competitiveness programme. The short listing of these projects was finalised by the end of 2011.

In regard to the revision of Human Resources Development (HRD) OP under IPA component IV, which was revised in 2010, the related Financing Agreement was concluded by the Commission and by the Turkish authorities in December 2011. Furthermore and in line with the recommendations of the Commission to improve the involvement of NGOs and other stakeholders in the design of the operations, the Operating Structure (OS) started to organise consultation meetings for the new operations under preparation. The OS has started the revision of HRD OP for years 2012-2013 by organizing workshops involving active participation of relevant stakeholders together with the EU Delegation.

The latter has also intensified its dialogue with the World Bank in the context of IPA Component IV. The World Bank is involved in the management meetings of an operation to improve the quality of the public employment services for the purposes of strengthening policy dialogue and avoiding duplications between the operations of the EU and the Bank. Talks have also been initiated for possible cooperation under the same component of IPA for concrete operations. However this is still subject to agreement of the hierarchy as well as to the possible implementation modalities under IPA Component IV.

As regards IPA Component V, the third modification of the IPA rural development programme (IPARD) was adopted by the Commission on 22 June 2011 following technical work recommendations started in 2010. The programme amendments mainly concerned the fine-tuning of the definition of eligibility conditions, beneficiaries, the requirements for the implementation of EU standards as well as the geographic scope.

3. IMPLEMENTATION OF EU FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN 2011 3.1 - Success stories

IPA Component I, 2008 project “Promoting Gender Equality in Working Life", EUR 950 000

The Twinning project helped to the Turkish authorities transpose the equal opportunities acquis and has delivered positive results. The Turkish, German and Austrian experts have jointly scrutinised the labour and social security legislation to identify the gaps vis-à-vis the acquis, as well as from a gender mainstreaming perspective. As a first step, gender elements have been merged into the draft trade union legislation. The work of the project is critical for when negotiations on Chapter 19 begin. Furthermore the project initiated a gender equality award for the Turkish companies, which will be sustained by the Turkish authorities annually. This should intensify the debate on harmonisation of work and private life in the private sector. Overall the project had more favourable impact on men and women in Turkey in the medium term. It has also helped trigger further debate in the public administration concerning a fundamental EU principle.

IPA Component I 2007 project ''Modernisation of the Turkish Customs

Administration - IV'', EUR 3.145 million

The Project financed under IPA 2007 programme was implemented in 2011. The customs laboratory project aimed to modernize the Turkish Customs Administration for strengthening its position to fulfil the tasks and obligations of EU Member States by establishing effective classification systems for goods in order to improve trade facilitation in Turkey and enhance the capacity of Turkey to better compete on the international market. Under Twinning Light component, Turkish and Italian customs laboratory experts studied the management policies and working methods in consideration with the EU best practices and trainings were delivered on certain analyses and accreditation. The customs administration took on board the Italian experts' recommendations on the organisation and established a central customs laboratory department to coordinate the activities of regional customs laboratories. Modern laboratory equipment, specific to the needs of customs, was supplied and placed in use. This project has made a very tangible and visible impact to start up the ISO 17025 accreditation process of Turkish customs laboratories.

IPA Component I 2008 project “Strengthening the Court Management System” EUR 5.5 million

The latter is a follow-up of a project implemented from 2007 till 2009 which assisted Turkey in re-designing the court management system and in implementing the new system in five pilot court houses: new positions of court managers and judicial assistants to free the judges and prosecutors from the administrative tasks; guidance and information desks set-up; brochures and guidebooks for the public; media spokespersons trained; restricted access to certain areas in the pilot court houses. The success of this project led to full ownership of the second IPA 2008 project which started in September 2011. Not only high level support from the Ministry bureaucracy, (e.g. up to the unusual Undersecretary level participating to steering committee) but also from the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors and majority of the Bar Associations has been established during the implementation. Other court houses which were not selected as “pilots” are volunteering to take part in this project.

IPA Component I 2007 project ''Training of Military Judges and Prosecutors''

EUR 2 million

The project aims to train all military judges and prosecutors (appr.350) on the European Convention on Human Rights and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The project, whose beneficiary is the Ministry of National Defence, is being implemented with the Council of Europe. Implementation started in November 2010 and gained momentum in 2011-12. The project will come to an end by October 2012. As a result of the training component a pool of 52 national trainers has been established. The translation of 20 ECtHR judgements was completed and they were put on the intranet web-site of the Ministry. The analysis of military justice systems in other European countries and Turkey in light of the case law of the ECtHR was launched and two reports have been drafted as a result of the work conducted by the second working group. The findings and recommendation of the working group will be disseminated at the final international conference. It is hoped that the increased institutional capacity will ultimately lead to a decrease in the number of cases against Turkey on the decisions given by the military judiciary.

IPA Component I ''Post-earthquake Support to the Province of Van'' EUR 4 million

Following October 2011earthquake in the Van Province (Erciş) around 40,000 people were homeless due to the considerable number of collapsed or damaged buildings. A direct grant of EUR 4 million was signed with Turkish Red Crescent to provide temporary housing to the earthquake victims in the province of Van. The installation and furnishing of 950 housing units was completed in January 2012, accommodating 6,000 people rendered homeless after the earthquake.

Under IPA Component III and IV:

A high number of relevant projects have been approved in 2011. Even if their implementation did not begin in 2011, their approval can be considered as a success as a good project pipeline is an important premise for a full absorption of funds and a positive step to reach the purpose to prepare Turkey for the management of the Structural Funds.

An important achievement under the environment operational programme (IPA component III) is an impressive IPA Major Project pipeline put in place by the operational structure (Ministry of Environment and Forestry). During the second half of 2011, the Commission adopted 10 major projects and respective Bilateral Project Agreements were signed. In total, these signatures led to 12 major projects approved under this programme and ensured that the programme during 2011 was able to request payments exceeding EUR 28.7 million. In parallel, work continued on the preparation of new IPA projects to further strengthen the pipeline.

In 2011, the transport sector mirrored considerable success as two major railway projects were contracted successfully and their implementation has started as well. These two railway projects are key investments under the Transport Operational Programme (TROP), which identifies joint policy priorities in the transport sector in the context of EU accession. The overall objective of the programme is to re-establish a reasonable balance between road and rail transport in Turkey. In this respect, rail lines and rail connections to maritime infrastructure have been given priority over other investments. Under TROP, the EU is providing a EUR 600 million grant for Turkey to support the modernisation of railway infrastructure and ports.

The first major project that EU is financing is the last leg of the high speed railway between Ankara and Istanbul by providing a EUR 136 million grant complementing the EUR 1.45 billion loan by the European Investment Bank. This flagship project will lead to significant time gains for travellers. It will also support economic development, improve quality of life and generate major environmental benefits. With the completion of the route, travel time between Ankara and Istanbul will be reduced to only three hours. The project is expected to generate more than EUR 3 billion of economic benefits for the Turkish economy. It will also greatly benefit the Turkish environment by encouraging car and airplane travellers to use trains, thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing environmental protection.

The second major project is the modernization of the Ankara-Karabük-Zonguldak Railway Line with the largest contract ever funded in Turkey (EUR 188 million). This is the first major improvement of this north-south freight line since it was constructed in the early times of the Turkish Republic to serve the steel mills around Western Black Sea Coast. The EU provides a total amount of EUR 330 million for the project, including a loan by the European Investment Bank (EIB). The Irmak-Karabük-Zonguldak line in its history has played an important role in the development of the region by providing effective means of transportation to the steel industry. Modernization of the line will thus increase competitiveness of the local economy and quality of life in the region.

Lastly in 2011, Filyos Port major project, which is a new planned port the end point of Irmak-Karabük – Zonguldak rail line, has been submitted for IPA financing in March 2011 and its appraisal was finalised in July 2011.

Under the Environment Operational Programme (EOP) of component III, implementation of the major project “Urdu Wastewater Treatment Plant” had started in the last quarter of 2011 with the signature of one service and one works contract. Total cost of the project is EUR 25 634 950 with a maximum EU contribution of EUR 19 226 213. The overall aim of the project is to achieve a high level of environmental protection and compliance with EU Directives relevant to the wastewater sector. More specifically, this project is to protect the Black Sea from the negative effects of the raw wastewater discharge by establishing a sound wastewater management system to the Municipality of Urdu in accordance with EU and Turkish Legislation. Moreover, the treatment will enable the improvement in the quality of coastal waters in Urdu, such that the coastal sites will be suitable for bathing. The project targets to develop activities in the tourism and fishery sectors and reducing negative health effects (water borne diseases) imposed by the present situation. The project will also cover leak detection surveys and rehabilitation of sewer and water networks. In this context, the realization of the Urdu Wastewater Treatment Plant Project will be a major contribution to the improvement of the infrastructure for the protection of the environment, since it will improve the wastewater services and enhance the ecological status of the Black Sea which is at increasing risk of eutrophication and has been considered as a sensitive area with specific attention given to the reductions of nitrogen and phosphorous loads.

A couple of examples of selected projects under the IPA component IV call for proposals in the vocational education and training (VET) field that were implemented in 2011:

Promoting Women's Employment Operation (completed in 2011, approximately EUR 24 million):

A grant scheme supported under the operation with a total value of about EUR 24 million has improved women’s employability, supported women’s entrepreneurship and helped diminish cultural and other obstacles that hinder women’s participation in the labour market through 131 projects implemented in the less developed regions of Turkey by NGOs, education institutions, professional organisations, social partners and local authorities. A variety of actions including the fisheries sector, care services, tourism, food processing, entrepreneurship, information technologies, viniculture, and mosaics design have been supported throughout the implementation. The projects have not only increased the employment prospects of women, but also led to social empowerment and increased the awareness of the target group about the public employment services. About 9 900 women have benefited from projects, completed in November 2011. The eventual job placement rate in the formal sector is around 20%, and is expected to increase.

Promoting Lifelong Learning Operation (grant component completed in 2011, service component still on-going, approx. EUR 13 million):

The objective of this operation was to promote the development and implementation of coherent and comprehensive strategies for lifelong learning. In this context, the operation with a total value of approx. EUR 13 million has financed institutional capacity building activities as well as training activities in different formal and non-formal institutions on basic skills and further development of skills provided by different actors. In addition, the operation supported the National Qualification System and VOC-test Centres. The beneficiaries of this operation include teachers, students in VET (Vocational Education and Training) institutions, illiterate, low skilled and unemployed adults particularly women as well as formal and non-formal education providers. For instance, around 2,800 people have received a certificate after having followed basic skills courses. About 350 teachers have benefited from technical trainings in different sectors. 23 occupational standards were developed by VOC-Test Centres and endorsed by the Vocational Qualifications Authority.

Increasing Enrolment Rates Especially for Girls Operation (started May 2011 and will end May 2013 - with a total value approximately EUR 4 million).

The overall objective of the operation is enhancing investment in human capital by increasing the quality of education, improving the linkage between education and the labour market, and raising enrolment rates at all levels of education, especially for girls. Under the operation, national awareness campaigns were initiated through the three-spot films produced featuring the president, the prime minister and the minister of education. The films are currently being broadcasted in two campaigns –the first more than 4000 times on TV within a single month with an overall target of 19 million viewers. Through social networks an increasing number of young people are following and commenting this campaign (Twitter and Facebook, target 2 million people). Approximately 200 trainers have been trained in counselling and psychological guidance of students targeting the students at risk of dropping out. Teacher training in counselling is on-going (the target is 1,500 teachers trained). Assessments, studies and field research plans are finalised and field research is stillon-going. Internal IT/web-based monitoring system is developed for the project and optional for wider use by the Ministry of National Education. Research-based action plans for further work on increasing enrolment and decreasing drop-out are being developed. They will be implemented and monitored in the 16 pilot provinces during 2012.

3.2 Overview of the implementation status of the different instruments and components 3.2.1 Component I

EU assistance implementation under IPA component I has advanced substantially compared to the last year and Turkey is positively making up for the back-log created in the initial years of IPA. The financial performance has been positive overall in 2011 thanks to a substantial effort and the good cooperation among different institution at the end of the year that resulted in contracting almost 90% of the NP 2007 part 1.

Due to the reallocations of funds under the 2008 programme and extension of the final contacting deadline the high risk of loss of funds was avoided in 2011. Nonetheless despite good contracting rates of 2007 and 2008 funds the contracting less than 2009 and 2010 programmes was facing huge delays. The lengthy preparation of the tender files and then of the evaluation process, explains the long time required to get to the contract signature.

Payments however still remain low due to the fact that they are lagging behind contracting and that final payments are only made on average several months after contracts are fully implemented.

3.2.2 Component III

The implementation of the operational programmes (OPs) under component III could start only following the conferral of management powers and signature of the Financing Agreements (autumn 2009). The Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation, responsible for the environment OP, and the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology, in charge of the regional competitiveness OP, obtained their accreditation in 2011. This process was still on-going last year for the Ministry of Transport, responsible for the transport OP. Nonetheless there has been substantial progress in implementation of transport sector projects. A total of 9 contracts have been signed with a total value of EUR 390 million. A total of 4 new projects were programmes in civil aviation, maritime and land transport fields. Absorption rate is high and the outlook for 2012 is even better. The only possible risk area is the programming where efforts need to be renewed in establishing a project pipeline. EU contribution to the twelve projects approved in 2011 is EUR 84 million. In total, ten tenders were launched; 6 contracts were signed (EU contribution is EUR 22 million), hence increasing the contracting rate to 17.25 %.

Progress in programming exercise, which remained to date at 65%, did not reach to the expected level in 2011 since the staff of the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology concentrated more on the accreditation process of their finance and contracts department. It should be noted that if the whole programming exercise cannot be completed by mid-2012, there is a risk of de-commitments starting in 2012.

The EU Delegation provided regular on-the job training / support to the staff of the Ministry in order to accelerate the programming exercise and to ensure a smooth transition period for taking over the procurement responsibilities form the CFCU.

Under the environment OP, Turkey submitted 1 new major project (MP) applications and 10 revised MP applications in 2011. The Commission approved 10 MP through a formal decision. This OP has a long list of project applications awaiting approval amounting to more than EUR 600 million while the available funds for 2007-2011 are only EUR 393 million. As regards the transport OP one major project was submitted and one MP was approved in 2011. For the regional competitiveness OP, one MP was re-appraised by the Commission, however due to the low quality of the supporting documents it was sent back again for further clarification and revision.

3.2.3 Component IV

Progress is on-going concerning the Human Resources Development Operational Programme - IPA Component IV. A total of 16 contracts, 5 service and11 supply contracts were signed in 2011 with a total budget of EUR 17.8 million. The total contracted amount since the beginning of the programme reached EUR 111 million (IPA share: EUR 94.3 million). This represents 60% contracting rate for the IPA funds allocated to the first period of the HRD OP covering 2007-2009 (EUR 158.7 million). The disbursement rate has shown a significant increase and reached 35%. In 2011 more than 400 grant projects finished implementation under the operations concerning the promotion of women's employment, youth employment, registered employment and increasing enrolment rates especially for girls. New operations were identified by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security for improving the quality of VET and increasing the adaptability of employers and employees in the tourism sector.

3.2.4 Component V

Major progress was achieved for IPA Component V, when the implementation of Component V started in the second half 2011 following a conferral of management for implementation granted by the Commission on 29 August 2011. A first set of three calls for proposals was organised in 2011 for which some 250 applications were received. Before the end of the year, the first four contracts were signed with beneficiaries under the first call and the assessment and contracting of projects from the second and third call will continue in 2012. Complicated application procedures, a lack of guidance for potential beneficiaries and overlap with national rural development measures are considered as major obstacles to implementation. The Turkish authorities have been requested to set up an Action Plan to address these issues. Under the on-going Twinning Light project "Capacity Building for Extension/Advisory Services for IPARD" (SEI 2008, EUR 250 000) training is being provided to 400 advisors, helping to improve the availability of guidance. Measures are also underway for the implementation of the second phase of the Programme, including a further 22 provincial offices and three additional measures (agro-environment, LEADER and technical assistance).

3.3 Sector I: Public Administration Reform

In the MIPD 2011-2013, Public Administration Reform (PAR) is addressed under the sector of "Justice, Home Affairs and Fundamental Rights" where one of the sector objectives is "Effective implementation of the legislation regarding the reform and restructuring of the central public administration and transferring authority to the local and provincial administrations; reduced bureaucracy, strengthened policy making systems and sustainable development of a professional, accountable, transparent and merit-based civil service; parliamentary and civilian oversight mechanism over security sector secured; oversight, control and participatory mechanisms supported including strengthened external and internal audit functions and establishing an independent data protection system".

Within this framework, the project "Further Support to the Local Administration Reform in Turkey (IPA 2007- EUR 4 million)" which was managed by the UNDP (as a direct grant recipient), the Ministry of Interior and the Turkish Union of Municipalities (co-beneficiaries) was successfully completed in December 2011. The project aimed to develop and strengthen the administrative capacity and co-operation of Turkish Ministry of Interior (particularly the General Directorate for Local Authorities, Governorships and District Governorships), Unions of Local Authorities and local authorities themselves in the task of ensuring the effective implementation of new policy and legislation on local administration.

Project "Decision making and Performance Management in Public finance" (IPA 2008 – EUR 2.176 million) is on-going with the aim of strengthening financial decision making, strategic planning and performance management capacity of strategy development units in the Ministry of Finance, Prime Ministry, Undersecretaries of the State Planning Organization, and Undersecretaries of Treasury. Through the Twinning contract with Finnish experts, the aim was to provide training and preparation of a draft legislation harmonised with EU best practices.

Project "Improving Data Quality in Public Accounts" (IPA 2008 - EUR 1.721 million) is on-going with the aim of developing and piloting a public accounting system and to improve the quality of government financial statistics by means of different training and best practice exchange activities.

In 2011, SIGMA carried out regular annual assessment missions. The Regional Conference on Public Procurement was organised in Turkey in March 2011. The SIGMA-instrument also delivered a number of public procurement-specific seminars to the Turkish officials, particularly a key seminar organised on external and internal audit in October 2011.

Twinning:

In Turkey, one of the main challenges is the need to strengthen their administrative and judicial capacity to implement and enforce the acquis. Under IPA, the Commission continued to mobilise significant human and financial resources to help Turkish public administrations with this process, using the mechanism of Twinning administrations and agencies.

In 2011, 13 Twinning contracts have been signed with Member states (Finland, Italy, France, Greece, Germany etc.) in the area of improving skills of forensic experts, modernisation of the Turkish customs administration, strengthening the capacities of civil enforcement offices etc.

In total, 84 out of 117 projects initiated over the period 2002-2010 have been implemented and completed in 2011. Twinning continues to be an important element for further implementation. Through the so-called Twinning Review Mission tool, in a form of a TAIEX mission, the sustainability of Twinning projects is reviewed once a year.

TAIEX:

Partner administrations benefit from TAIEX’s flexibility to help meet wider training needs on EU legislation by reaching a significant number of officials, especially in the fields of heavy acquis chapters such as agriculture, environment and justice and home affairs.

During 2011, more than 60 workshops and expert missions took place in Turkey in addition to many Turkish officials who took part in numerous study visits and multicounty seminars in various European countries.

Two examples in order to better illustrate these activities:

A workshop on Chemical Safety Assessment was held in İstanbul on 5-6 October 2011 with broad participation by different ministries, associations, unions and manufacturers. The participants had different levels of background knowledge and experience. At the end of the workshop, their knowledge on chemical safety assessment under Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation was improved.

Another example is the workshop on Irregular Migration held in Ankara in December 2011. Around 60 people from various ministries, institutions and provinces participated in the workshop. In the workshop many topics were discussed regarding irregular migration and cooperation between Turkey and EU in the field of combating irregular migration. It was considered very beneficial, especially for the Asylum and Migration Bureau of the Ministry of Interior.

3.4 Sector II Justice, Home Affairs and Fundamental Rights

One of the objectives set in the MIPD 2011-20213 under the justice, home affairs and fundamental rights sector is to implement the necessary reforms to build an independent, impartial and efficient judiciary. The second objective is to foster effective law enforcement, successful fight against crime and corruption and improved integrated border management and prevention of illegal migration. The third objective is to achieve measurable progress towards the full enjoyment of all fundamental rights and freedoms by all individuals without discrimination. The fourth objective is to set up strong democratic institutions and civil society promoting pluralism and the values of European integration. Several IPA projects have contributed to these objectives during 2011.

Under the first MIPD sector objective, ‘Enhancing the Role of the Supreme Judicial Authorities in respect of European standards’ (IPA 2008 – EUR 3 million) project was on-going which was designed to enhance the respective roles of the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors and of the higher courts (Constitutional Court, Court of Cassation and State Council) as the superior judicial authorities in the accession process and in the adoption of the European high judicial standards. It aims to enhance the commitment level of the Turkish Superior Judiciary to the EU accession criteria by raising the awareness of the leading judicial actors and establishing stronger relations with the EU and with its member states’ judicial institutions with a view to benefiting from their experience in the harmonisation of legislations and judicial practices

In the penitentiary field ‘Dissemination of Model Prison Practices and Promotion of the Prison Reform in Turkey’ (IPA 2007 – EUR 7.2 million) project is still on-going with the aim of supporting the improvement of the penitentiary system in Turkey in line with European Prison Rules and international standards.

The Twinning Project "Implementation Capacity of the Turkish Police to prevent disproportionate use of force" (IPA 2008, EUR 1.9 million) had a very dynamic start in September 2011 and implementation of activities is in full swing. The Turkish National Police shows particular interest in and strong ownership of this project. The Minister of Interior has participated in the opening ceremony and the Twinning partners from the German and Austrian Police have expressed great satisfaction with the open and cooperative attitude of their Turkish counterparts.

The project "Justice for Children" (IPA 2010, EUR 3.15 million) is implemented via a direct grant agreement with the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF). It aims to make a contribution towards humanisation of the juvenile justice system in Turkey via the introduction of child and youth friendly methods of dealing with offences against the law. The project started in February 2012 with the participation of the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Family and Social Policies. Furthermore, several other institutions are actively participating in the project, namely the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors and the Justice Academy.

The project "Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education" (IPA 2009, EUR 9.1 million) is managed by the Ministry of National Education and implemented via a direct agreement with the Council of Europe. This project has begun with its first activities back in 2001. The purpose of the project is to increase the institutional capacity of the Ministry of National Education on democratic citizenship and human rights education through developing and revising regulations and curricula on democratic citizenship and human rights education; producing educational materials and increasing the capacity and awareness on democratic citizenship and human rights education from pre-school, primary and secondary school communities (teachers, pupils, students, non-teaching staff, parents and community leaders).

3.5 Sector III Private Sector Development

The MIPD 2011-2013 for Turkey under Private sector development envisages support to increase employment, productivity and export of goods and services, particularly in the regions where employment and business stocks are low. In this framework the following activities are being implemented:

There has been significant progress regarding the facilitation of access to finance opportunities for SMEs. The Greater Anatolia Guarantee Facility (GAGF), a financial instrument designed and implemented by the European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group) for the benefit of SMEs operating in Turkey, has become fully operational in 2011. With a project budget of EUR 32 million, complemented by an EIB loan programme of EUR 250 million, the project provides loans to SMEs through Akbank, Yapı Kredi, Vakıfbank and Halkbank and micro-credits through Kredi Garanti Fonu.

Another project is the G43 Venture Capital Fund also launched during 2011 which should establish a venture capital fund targeting the least developed regions of Turkey. The project (EUR 16 million) is expected to become fully operational in early 2012.

Lending activities accelerated under the Crisis Response Package, where the Commission mobilized some EUR 470 million through the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in late-2010. Thanks to this programme, small businesses started to receiving loans from local banks to meet their working capital and investment needs, including investments for energy efficiency.

Lending activities under the Small Enterprises Loan Programme (SELP-II), a lending facility implemented by German Development Bank KfW in association with the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), remained active during 2011.

Under the 2011 ESEI portfolio, a project regarding the information society and the telecommunications sector was initiated - “Technical assistance for achieving the information society and stimulating high-speed broadband services to the benefit of consumers". The main objective of the project is to support the creation of multi-service, high-speed, country-wide Next Generation Networks (NGN) and enhance consumer welfare in electronic communication sector, in order to spread out high-speed broadband services to consumers at affordable prices.

3.6 Sector IV: Environment and climate change

Environment and climate change continued to be one of the highest priorities under MIPD and IPA I. EU support has been increasing over the years in line with the MIPD horizontal priorities on environment, nature protection and climate change. A national Climate Change Strategy and a National Climate Change adaptation plan have been adopted by the Turkish Authorities in line with the MIPD priorities.

Environment and Climate Change projects portfolio has a wide range of environment and climate related projects including environmental investments reaching up to EUR 720 million active project assessments, including all available pre-accession instruments. Under Component I and III, 179 contracts are active in different implementation stages The OP Environment is the most significant result of pre-accession assistance programme.

Started in in 2011, the Control