Report from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee concerning the implementation of Council Regulation n° 764/2000 regarding the implementation of measures to intensify the EC-Turkey Customs Union and of Council Regulation n° 257/2001 regarding the implementation of measures to promote economic and social development in Turkey
Date: 2001-04-10
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU financing, European Communities, Türkiye, action programme, cooperation policy, customs union, economic development, social development

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 10.04.2001
COM(2001) 200 final

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION
TO THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
AND THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE

concerning the implementation of Council Regulation n° 764/2000 regarding the
implementation of measures to intensify the EC-Turkey Customs Union and of Council
Regulation n° 257/2001 regarding the implementation of measures to promote economic
and social development in Turkey

1.

THE REGULATIONS

• Council Regulation n° 764/2000 of April 2000 regarding the implementation of

measures to intensify the EC-Turkey Customs Union.

Budget heading .........................................................................................................: B7-4035
Total budget ................................................................... : 15 Mio Euro for a period of 3 years.

General objective : to provide financial support for measures to intensify the EC-
Turkey customs union,
the alignment of Turkish legislation on
Community legislation.

in particular

• Council Regulation n° 257/2001 of January 2001 regarding the implementation of

measures to promote economic and social development in Turkey.

Budget heading .........................................................................................................: B7-4036
Total budget ...................................................................: 135 Mio Euro for a period of 3 years

General objective : to provide financial support for measures to promote economic
and social development in Turkey

*******

2.

SUMMARY OF OPERATIONS FINANCED DURING THE 2000 FINANCIAL YEAR

• Council Regulation n° 764/2000 of April 2000 regarding the implementation of

measures to intensify the EC-Turkey Customs Union.

Project : Support to the quality infrastructure
EU contribution : ........................................................................................... 13,000,000 Euro

The overall objective of the project is to remove the regulatory barriers to trade between
Turkey and the EU. This will be done through support to the efforts made by Turkey’s private
and public sector in the process of technical harmonisation and in aligning their quality
infrastructure with that of the EU in areas of direct relevance to the Customs Union
Agreement, more specifically the parts concerned with technical barriers to trade. The project
is designed to take account of both the customs union and the accession criteria and as such,
will be a stepping stone towards the alignment with the acquis communautaire in the area of
Free Movement of Goods.

The programme is envisaged as a technical assistance project. It will provide, in a broad way,
access to expertise, either for training purposes, consultancy services or the creation of
awareness. This will be achieved by providing a framework for technical assistance that will
consist of four components:

– Legal and technical advice on the design of legislative instruments;

– Institution building support for the strengthening of the application and enforcement of the

legal instruments in question;

– The transfer of know-how to both the public and private sector;

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– Awareness raising on the implications of the Customs Union Agreement for the public and

private sector.

Under each of the components the following assistance instruments will be used:

– The provision of training programmes, workshops, seminars and internships.

– The provision of consultancy services.

– The provision of translation and interpretation services.

The beneficiaries of the project will provide in kind the physical facilities for use in the
training programmes and workshops e.g. meeting rooms including training facilities and/or
equipped working space for short-term experts.

The Turkish private sector will form the ultimate group of beneficiaries of the programme, as
they will be able to profit from the enhanced conformity assessment infrastructure and the
removal of technical barriers to trade. The project will seek active participation in the
programme of the stakeholders in the quality infrastructure in Turkey. These will include
government conformity assessment practitioners, trade and professional associations and
academic institutions. The stakeholders themselves will have the possibility to propose
activities for the programme, fitting with earlier defined priority areas. This will help to
ensure that the stakeholders have a real interest in the programme and that it will remain
flexible and responsive to their evolving and different needs.

*******

3.

PLANNED INDICATIVE PROGRAMME FOR THE 2001 FINANCIAL YEAR; FORECAST
FOR 2002

• Council Regulation n° 764/2000 of April 2000 regarding the implementation of

measures to intensify the EC-Turkey Customs Union.

Project : Participation of Turkey to the TAIEX facility
EU contribution : ............................................................................................. 2,000,000 Euro

Objectives: Technical assistance to support
legislation with the ‘acquis communautaire’

the harmonisation of the Turkish

The budget available under Council Regulation n° 764/2000 of April 2000 should be
exhausted by the end of 2001.

• Council Regulation n° 257/2001 of January 2001 regarding the implementation of

measures to promote economic and social development in Turkey

Project : GAP Regional Development Programme
EU Contribution :........................................................................................... 43,500,000 Euro

Objectives: The overall objective of the GAP Regional Development Programme is
to improve the economic and social conditions of people living in the South-East of
Turkey. The programme will support national objectives such as sustained economic
growth, alleviation of regional disparities, increasing productivity and employment
capacity in the region. The project has three components, i.e.

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1.

SME Component

Activities under this component include: training of staff for SME centers, provision of
information, advice and training in various fields (management,
finance, accounting,
trade) for start-ups entrepreneurs and potential Turkish and foreign
marketing,
investors.

internet

2.

Rural Development Component

In the South-Eastern region of Turkey, many rural households have a vulnerable subsistence
livelihood, based on primitive agriculture and animal husbandry, relying on natural rainfall
conditions on very limited and fragmented arable land. Cultural, social, and ethnic
composition is very heterogeneous. Infant mortality is higher than the national average. By
any indicator, these areas belong to the less, if not least, developed sections of Turkey. To
reduce poverty and alleviate those adverse conditions a Rural Development and Micro Credit
Component will be implemented. It will enhance the geographical coverage of income-
generating opportunities, rural extension and advisory services, further processing and rural
marketing, credit provision, and improved environmental awareness in the GAP region.

3.

Cultural Heritage Development Component

The GAP Region has an outstanding richness of cultural heritage. Its ancient history of
mankind and its cultural varieties over the ages makes it unique in Turkey. The historical
monuments in the region are generally in very poor condition. The historical monuments and
archaeological sites are numerous and yet only a few of those monuments are kept properly.
The primary target group of the Cultural Heritage Component is the people living in the GAP
Region as well
in charge of
protecting/safeguarding and preserving the local cultural endowment and finally the Ministry
of Culture, officially responsible for documentation, maintenance and enhancement of the
cultural heritage.

and the municipalities

local government

the

as

The programme in its totality will enhance the conditions for the reduction of socio-economic
disparities affecting the South-East of Turkey. It will emphasise the human dimension of
development through operations at the grass roots level.

For the 2002 financial year, similar initiatives are foreseen in other poor provinces of Eastern
and South-eastern Turkey.

*******

4.

PROGRESS ON INDICATIVE PROGRAMME

• Council Regulation n° 764/2000 of April 2000 regarding the implementation of

measures to intensify the EC-Turkey Customs Union

Project: Participation of Turkey to the TAIEX facility

A mission of Taiex officials has been organised in Turkey. Procedures have been launched in
order to associate Turkey with the other candidate countries to benefit from the next Taiex
facility.

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• Council Regulation n° 257/2001 of January 2001 regarding the implementation of

measures to promote economic and social development in Turkey

Project

: GAP Regional Development Programme

The GAP Regional Development programme was developed during the course of 2000. A
feasibility study in the region was carried out by external experts in direct co-ordination with
the EC Representation in Ankara, after which a Financing Proposal was drawn up. The MED
Committee, on 5 December 2000, gave unanimously a positive opinion on the proposal.

*******

5.

EVALUATIONS CARRIED OUT

The projects have not yet started. Therefore no evaluations were carried out during the
reporting period.

Currently the draft Financing Agreement for the ‘Support to the quality infrastructure’ project
is in circulation for signature by the Commission and the Turkish counterparts. The
contracting procedure for the management of the programme will start immediately after the
Financing Agreement is signed.

*******

6.

INFORMATION ON TURKISH COUNTERPARTS FOR THE OPERATIONS

Support to the Quality Infrastructure Programme

Two operational partners have been selected for the programme. From the government side
the Under-secretariat of Foreign Trade, DG for Standardisation, will participate. This DG has
extensive experience of working with the EU and is one of the organisations in Turkey
responsible for co-ordinating the alignment of sectoral legislation.

From the private sector, the Turkish Society for Quality (KalDer) will participate. KalDer was
founded in 1991 and is an independent, non-profit organisation aiming to expand awareness
of total quality in industry, service and public sectors. KalDer is the main quality association
in Turkey, with currently 1500 members, either individuals or companies. Through its
membership network KalDer is able to involve a great number of stakeholders from the
private sector for the project.

One of the activities organised by KalDer is the set-up of working groups for the transfer of
know-how to the quality society. The working groups range from Calibration and Metrology
to the “Learning Organisation”. KalDer is one of the managing partners awarding the
National Quality Award in Turkey, based on the European Quality Award Model. The
National Quality Award has been extended to include an SME category, a new category for
the public sector is planned. During its relatively short existence KalDer has provided training
on quality issues to more than 23.000 people.

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GAP Regional Development Programme

The overall partner for the project is the GAP Regional Development Administration, which
is attached to the Prime Ministry in Turkey. The GAP Regional Development Administration
integrated regional development project, the South-Eastern
co-ordinates a multi-sectoral,
Anatolian Project called ‘GAP’. This project is being carried out , by the Turkish Government
in nine provinces: Adiyaman, Batman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Kilis, Mardin, Siirt, Sanliurfa
and Sirnak.

For the implementation of the SME component of the programme the GAP Administration
will sign a contract with the United Nations Development Programme’s Resident
Representation to Turkey (UNDP-Turkey) which has already a lot of experience in that field.
For the Rural Development and Micro Credit Component the GAP Administration will sign a
contract with the Development Foundation of Turkey (TKV). It is an indigenous, private,
non-governmental and non-profit development organization that was incorporated in 1969 for
promoting rural and agricultural development among Turkey’s rural poor. The TKV system
that has emerged now implements through its network of local and countrywide organizations
a wide range of development projects in some twenty locations throughout Turkey. In the
‘GAP’ region, TKV has been implementing agricultural development projects since 1975.
The thrust of activities has focused on mobilization, organization, and training so that rural
people participate in, commit themselves to, and organize themselves for self-sustaining
activities to improve their lives.

TKV offers support and intervention to the target group during a transition period, through
five strategic pillars: human resources development and technical assistance, organization of
basic inputs, assistance with further processing and marketing, access to and effective
management of natural resources and appropriate rural credit. TKV is well placed for and
fully supports the gender-balanced approach to development. The involvement of women is
sought at all levels of project objectives. TKV has played a pioneering role in devising and
implementing environmental awareness programs for duplication by government agencies.

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