Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council - IDA II Mid-Term Evaluation
Date: 2003-03-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: administrative cooperation, data transmission, electronic government, exchange of information, project evaluation, telematics, transmission network

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 07.03.2003
COM(2003)100 final

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL

IDA II Mid-Term Evaluation

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL

IDA II Mid-Term Evaluation

1.

INTRODUCTION

the 

first  phase  of 

IDA  Programme 

The 
(Interchange  of  Data  between
Administrations)  was  launched  in  1995  through  Council  Decision  95/468/EC.  The
aim  of  the  programme  was  to  promote  the  electronic  exchange  of  information
between  administrations,  in  order  to  support  the  functioning  of  the  Internal  Market
and the  implementation of  a  wide  range  of  Community  decisions1.  This  first  phase
established a number of important telematic networks in areas such as employment,
health, agriculture, fisheries, statistics and competition.

to 

also 

contributed 

IDA  Programme 

The 
inter-institutional
communication  and  the  Community  decision-making  process,  e.g.  via  management
of  official  documents  and  e-mail  support  for  committees,  and  the  operation  of  the
European  Agencies,  e.g.  in  the  pharmaceutical  sector  or  through  the  connection  of
European  environmental  organisations.  Furthermore,  IDA  acted  as  an  important
vehicle for the re-engineering of working processes of European administrations by
means of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).

facilitating 

1.1.

IDA II DECISIONS

1.1.1.

The  second  phase  of  the  IDA  Programme  (IDA  II)  was  adopted  by  the  European
Parliament  and  the  Council  in  their  Decisions  No 1719/1999/EC2  (hereinafter  the
Guidelines  decision),–  on  a  series  of  Guidelines,  including  the  identification  of
projects  of  common  interest  (PCIs)  and  No 1720/1999/EC3  (hereinafter  the
Interoperability  decision,  providing  the  legal  basis  for  Horizontal  Actions  and
Measures - HAMs) of 12 July 1999.

1.1.2. Recognising the need for European administrations to take best advantage of the new
technological  opportunities,  IDA  II  was  re-oriented  with  much  greater  emphasis
being  placed  on  market-orientation  and  interoperability  issues.  IDA  II's  rationale
now  is  not  only  to  maximise  flexibility  and  minimise  the  costs  of  information
exchange, but also to increase efficiency in the provision of online services by public
administrations to citizens and enterprises, notably at the pan-European level.

1 

2 

3 

The  main  objective  of  the  IDA  programme  is  to  support  the  EU-level  business  of  administrations,
notably the implementation of Community policies, inter-institutional communication and Community
decision-making process. IDA therefore serves the Community, with the administrations as the users of
its networks and systems and the citizens and businesses of the EU as the ultimate beneficiaries.
Decision No 1719/1999/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 1999 on a series
of guidelines, including the identification of projects of common interest, for trans-European networks
for the electronic interchange of data between administrations (IDA), OJ L 203, 3.8.1999, p. 1.
Decision No 1720/1999/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 1999 adopting a
series  of  actions  and  measures  in  order  to  ensure  interoperability  of  and  access  to  trans-European
networks  for  the  electronic  interchange  of  data  between  administrations  (IDA),  OJ  L 203,  3.8.1999,
p. 9.

2

                                                
1.2.

AMENDMENTS TO IDA II DECISIONS

1.2.1.

1.2.2.

The  IDA  II  Decisions  have  been  modified  by  Decisions  No 2046/2002/EC4  and
No 2045/2002/EC5  respectively  of  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council.  The
modifications  include  references  to  the  conclusions  and  recommendations  coming
from  two  major  high-level  events  that  took  place  in  2001,  namely  the  Ministerial
Conference on e-Government - jointly organised by the Commission and the Belgian
Presidency  of  the  Council,  and  the  IDA-Swedish  Presidency  Conference  'e-
Government in the service of European citizens and enterprises - what is required at
the European level' in Sandhamn. The IDA II decisions now also have as one of the
objectives of the Programme, the identification and deployment of pan-European e-
Government services to citizens and enterprises.

This objective extends the scope of the IDA Programme, reinforcing its contribution
to e-Europe 2005, in which e-Government is one of the priority areas. In parallel, the
amendments lay the foundation for the integration of all Candidate Countries in the
their
interchange  of  data  between 
implementation  of  the  acquis  communautaire.  Furthermore,  the  modifications
support  in  particular  the  enhancement  and  operation  of  a  secure  communication
infrastructure  between  public  administrations  across  Europe  and  allow  the  IDA
Programme  to  better  support  the  European  administrations  in  providing  efficient
online services and reducing the administrative burden on citizens and enterprises.

administrations, 

facilitating 

thereby 

1.3.

MID-TERM EVALUATION

1.3.1.

1.3.2.

Articles 9 and 13 respectively of the two decisions require the Commission to submit
an evaluation of the IDA II Programme to the European Parliament and the Council,
no  later  than  the  draft  budgets  for  the  year  2001,  2003  and  2005  respectively,
together  with  any  appropriate  proposal  for  the  amendment  of  the  annex  of  the
Guidelines  decision  and  any  appropriate  proposal  for  the  amendment  of  the
Interoperability decision.

The  IDA  II  mid-term  evaluation  was  initiated  in  January  and  concluded  by
September 2002.  The  evaluation  was  performed  by  the  Commission  with  the
assistance  of  a  team  of  independent  experts,  coming  from  a  consultancy  company
(TietoEnator Trigon AB). The terms of reference and the progress of the work were
discussed  with the Member States at  a  series of  ad  hoc meetings  of  the  Telematics
between Administrations Committee (TAC). On the basis of the work performed by
the  consultants6,  the  Commission  finalised  the  results  of  the  evaluation  and,  at  the
meeting  of  03.12.2002,  presented  them  for  examination to  the  TAC,  in  accordance
with the provisions of Article 9(3) of Decision No 1719/1999/EC and Article 13(3) of
Decision No 1720/1999/EC.

1.3.3.

The  results  of  the  IDA  II  mid-term  evaluation  are  presented  in  this  Report.  These
results will be used to enhance the implementation of the programme and serve as an
input  for  the  future  Commission  proposal  for  post-IDA  II  activities  after  31
December 2004, the expire date of the IDA II Programme. This proposal will also be

4 
5 
6 

OJ L 316, 20.11.2002, p.4.
OJ L 316, 20.11.2002, p.1.
The final report of the consultants is available on the IDA web site http://europa.eu.int/ISPO/ida.

3

                                                
based on the context provided by the e-Europe 2005 action plan, in which IDA plays
a  key  role  in  particular  in  relation  to  e-Government,  as  well  as  the  results  of  the
online  consultation  on  "Pan-European  e-Government  services  for  citizens  and
enterprises:  The  role  for  IDA"  and  the  outcome  of  the  related  conference  of  19-20
September 2002.

2.

GENERAL COMMENTS

The general  comments made here  are, to a  large extent, based on  the  observations,
conclusions  and  recommendations  presented  in  the  final  report  of  the  independent
experts, which in return are based on investigations made and inputs received  from
several  Member  State  administrations  and  Commission  services  (the  observations,
conclusions  and  recommendations  were  discussed  between  the  experts,  the
Commission and the TAC at a number of ad hoc meetings).

The  evaluation  acknowledges  that  since  the  first  evaluation  of  the  IDA  II
Programme,  the  range  of  policy  areas  covered  by  Projects  of  Common  Interest
(PCIs)  has  considerably  expanded,  for  example  to  the  fields  of  humanitarian  aid,
food safety and civil protection, as well as security, freedom and justice. The use of
Horizontal  Actions  and  Measures  (HAMs),  in  particular  generic  services  (TESTA,
CIRCA, the IDA PKI and the Architecture Guidelines), by PCIs has also consistently
increased.

In  general,  on  the  basis  of  the  results  of  the  first  and  the  mid-term  evaluation  and
taking  the  above  into  account,  the  implementation  of  the  IDA  II  Programme  has
shown  a  continuous  progress  since  its  launch  on  3  August  1999.  The  number  of
beneficiaries  among  administrations  has  increased,  while  the  benefits  are  not  only
limited to administrations, but gradually extending also to citizens and enterprises.

2.1.

PROJECTS OF COMMON INTEREST

2.1.1.

2.1.2.

The  PCIs  must  be  seen  as  the  HAMs’  principal  customers.  One  of  the  main
conclusions from the first evaluation was that  special  effort must be  applied by the
Commission service managing the IDA programme (with the support of the TAC) to
understanding  the  common  requirements  of  the  PCIs  and,  based  on  this,  acquiring
and/or  developing  suitable  horizontal  tools  and  services.  In  parallel,  the  other
services  and  sectoral  committees  should  accept  active  guidance  and  co-ordination
from  the  IDA  programme  management  and  also  contribute  actively  to  the
programme. Although already in place, this trend needs to be further encouraged if it
is to become embedded into IDA II.

It is recommended that further work should be done to improve the communication
within  the  IDA community,  for the  benefit of decision-makers and programme and
project management, as well as through the spread of best practice and by means of
people  networking.  In  particular,  the  role  and  nature  of  the  Global  Implementation
Plan  (GIP)  for  sectors  and  sectoral  committees,  as  well  as  for  the  rest  of  the
programme  should  be  reviewed  in  the  light  of  the  experience  and  feedback  of
producing  the  first  set.  Establishing  an  integral  information  and  communication
procedure  and  making  sure  obligations  are  clear  from  the  start,  are  critical  success
factors for IDA funded projects.

4

2.1.3.

Furthermore,  it  is  recommended  that  IDA  II  should  establish  a  consistent  system
laying down the criteria for continued funding and acting as a vehicle for monitoring,
reporting  and  evaluating  projects.  The  level  of  influence  that  IDA  II  can  exert  on
actions  initiated  before  it  started  is  limited.  However,  it  is  still  possible  to  assess
them against programme objectives.

2.1.4. As  far  as  monitoring  and  reporting  are  concerned,  it  is  recommended  to  build
measurable  criteria  in  the  annual  reports  on  all  projects  activities  (focusing  on
expenditure  and  achievements)  and  to  further  synchronise  this  process  with  the
yearly  work  programme  and  budget  allocation.  In  order  to  reduce  the  reporting
requirements  for  the  sectors,  it  is  suggested  to  produce  the  yearly  report  on  the
uptake  of  the  outputs  of  horizontal  actions  and  measures  by  all  sectoral  projects
(covering both IDA and other sectoral networks) on the basis of the annual reports.
This will primarily assist sectors and sectoral committees to provide well-supported
proposals to IDA.

2.1.5.

2.1.6.

2.1.7.

The adoption of Work Programme entries, preparatory reports and GIPs runs through
a process of "double" comitology, i.e. an initial examination by the relevant sectoral
committee,  followed  by  the  opinion  of  the  TAC.  In  order  to  make  the  sectoral
committees  better  aware  of  their  responsibilities  in  relation  to  IDA  projects,  it  is
recommended  to  let  them  not  only    examine  the  preparatory  reports  and  GIPs
concerned, but also to  to be informed on the annual information reports - for their
sector - to be submitted to the TAC under Article 8§2 of Decision No 1719/1999/EC.
Sectoral  committees  will  be  informed  by  IDA  accordingly.  Whereas  this  approach
has  already  been  implemented,  additional  efforts  should  be  made  to  strengthen  it,
despite the limited resources available.

The  identification  of  the  business  case  and  measurable  objectives,  and  the
consequent  and  effective  “instrumentation”  of  the  projects,  should  be  pursued  with
greater vigour, in combination with self-managed efforts on cost-benefit analysis to
be used by sectors. This is an area where the Commission service managing the IDA
programme should make additional efforts to offer active assistance for the sectors. It
is  especially  important  that,  independently  from  policy  requirements,  the  business
case for the technical developments be identified and followed up.

to  extend 

their  horizon 

Through  the  Decisions  and  the  GIPs,  IDA  has  already  encouraged  sectoral  project
managers 
that  follows
to 
implementation. In principle,  IDA  funding is  not available for this phase, however,
sectoral  projects  are  able  to  continue  making  use  of  IDA  generic  services.  The
transition  to  the  operational  phase  and  the  implication  of  this  need  to  be  better
worked through. A related recommendation in this context is to attempt to reduce the
average  lifetime  of  PCIs  in  the  IDA  Programme  by  putting  a  limit  on  the
development and pilot-implementation phase (e.g. 2 or 3 years).

the  operational  phase 

5

2.2.

HORIZONTAL ACTIONS AND MEASURES

2.2.1. Whereas the quality of the section on HAMs of the Work Programme has each year
gone  through  continuous  improvements,  it  is  recommended  to  include  an  overall
description of the organisation surrounding each HAM, as well as the responsibilities
and  mandates  of  all  parties  concerned.  Furthermore,  it  is  recommended  to  regroup
the  HAM-activities  in  the  section  of  the  work  programme  in  order  to  attune  the
structure  better  to  the  needs  of  IDA's  customers  (administrations,  citizens  and
enterprises).

2.2.2. At  the  level  of  the  individual  entries,  one  should  include  a  clear  indication  of
measurable  benefits  and  objectives.  In  this  context,  it  is  also  recommended  to
categorise  in  development  activities  and  operational  activities,  accompanied  by  a
budget breakdown into these categories. This would facilitate follow-up of budget, in
particular expenditure on new functionalities and services.

2.2.3.

There should be a continuously maintained register (matrix) of the HAM outputs and
the  projects  that  use  them,  incorporating  contact  details  for  the  IDA  and  sectoral
project managers. Following on the TESTA achievements with networking services,
as  well  as  the  significant  increase  in  users  of  CIRCA  group  working  applications,
this register would need to keep delivery to sectoral customers firmly in mind. The
“spread of best practice” activity could help in this respect, building on the provision
of  the  existing  catalogue  of  IDA  generic  services  and  catalogue  of  IDA  common
tools and techniques.

2.2.4. Committing  funds  should  be  seen  much  more  strongly  as  just  one  (significant  but
early)  milestone  in  a  project,  rather  than  in  some  sense  the  endpoint.  Actions  and
measures should report on achievements in relation to the expenditure that applies to
a specific reporting period. The Commission wishes to underline here that as a point
of principle for the future evaluations, each HAM-activity  should be encouraged to
conduct periodic reviews or surveys of user satisfaction and that the results should be
collated into a programme summary.

2.2.5.

It  is  recommended  to  clearly  define  and  formalise  follow-up  on  generic  services,
both in terms of customer satisfaction and costs in relation to benefits. TESTA serves
as  a  good  practice  in  serving  the  user  community  with  regular  follow-up.  Defined
measures,  such  as  user  satisfaction  surveys  and  cost-benefit  analyses,  should  be
applied  across  the  board.  These  measures  aim  at  serving  the  users,  as  well  as  the
TAC  as  a  basis  for  taking  decisions.  Whereas  some  user  satisfaction  surveys  have
been executed in key areas (TESTA and CIRCA), it is recommended to widespread
the  use  of  this  type  of  instrument  and  to  explore  the  possibilities  for  proper  cost-
benefit analyses in relation to generic services.

2.3.

IDA PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT

2.3.1.

It is recommended that  IDA  continues  to  do  everything  possible  to  reduce  the  size
and complexity of procedures and documents, within the constraints imposed by the
IDA Decisions and official Community procedures. Some elements are likely to be
immutable,  but  other  aspects  are  more  under  IDA’s  control.  In  particular,  the
procedures should be streamlined in order to reduce administrative overhead. At the
same time, however, reporting should be  improved  by  a  more  regular  collection  of
basic information, notably on the status of projects and actions.

6

2.3.2. On the  national co-ordination within  the Member States,  the  Commission takes the
view  that  the  role  of  the  Telematics  between  Administrations  Committee  (TAC)  is
crucial. Some TAC members are better  connected than others to  all  sectors  in  their
country.  Effective  programme  management  requires  that  this  “people  network”  in
each country be strengthened where possible. The Community cannot insist on  this
point, given the principle of subsidiarity. However, it has facilitated this by making
up-to-date lists of sectoral representatives available to the TAC. It is recommended to
conduct such collection and dissemination routinely in future.

2.3.3.

2.3.4.

The  process  leading  to  the  adoption  of  the  Work  Programme  is  still  long  and  the
approval late, to a large extent due to the complex formal procedures. Whereas it is
understood that this is related to the different steps of the formal procedures and to
the  late  adoption  of  the  first  IDA  II  Work  Programme  in  November  1999  as  a
consequence of the late entry into force of the IDA decisions (August 1999), efforts
should continue being made every year to anticipate the adoption. There is a need for
a more  strategic  focus,  notably  in  terms  of  consultation  of  stakeholders  (other  than
national administrations), in order to meet new demands. An overall strategy in the
Work  Programme  for  the  entire  IDA  II  duration,  especially  as  regards  the  HAM
section of the Work Programme, should be considered.

There is a very  good level of cooperation between the Member States and the  IDA
team,  and  much  competent,  conscientious  technical  project  management  being
conducted within the IDA community. The total pool of knowledge and expertise is
impressive,  and  the  opportunities  that  IDA  can  bring  for  cross-fertilisation  in  this
respect  are  among  its  great  strengths.  Effective  technical  project  managers  have
established a good understanding of the business, good links to the user community
and high-level user management commitment. This approach is underpinned by the
IDA  Decisions  and  by  the  GIPs,  but  IDA  can  actively  advise  on  how  to  make  it
happen,  by  drawing  on  the  useful  experience  of  expert  and  project  group  meetings
that  report  to  the  TAC  Working  Group  on  Horizontal  Actions  and  Measures
(TAC/WHAM).

2.3.5. One  has  to  remark  here  however,  that  changes  in  the  focus  and  orientation  of  the
IDA  Programme  as a result of  the  amendments  to the  IDA  decisions,  may  demand
changes  in  the  organisation  and  allocation  of  resources,  as  well  as  new  and/or
complementary types of expertise.

2.4.

FUTURE ORIENTATIONS

2.4.1. During the mid-term evaluation process, IDA stakeholders (project officers, sectoral
project  managers  and  TAC  members)  have  been  asked  by  means  of  questionnaires
and  interviews  about  their  opinion  on  the  expected  future  for  the  programme.  The
questions were related to the following issues:

– 

– 

– 

– 

e-Europe 2005 - Pan-European e-Government services;

Amendments to the IDA Decisions;

Enlargement (participation of Candidate Countries in IDA);

The possibility for non-member countries to use IDA generic services.

7

2.4.2.

2.4.3.

In  parallel,  a  discussion  paper  was  produced  on  the  issue  of  pan-European  e-
Government services, with the aim of highlighting potential risks to the use of these
services by trans-border users. The paper also addresses the necessity to ensure that
the  development  of  e-Government  services  is  congruent  with  Single  Market
objectives as well as to promote their provision through multiple channels and in line
with  the  needs  of  the  "customers"  (citizens,  enterprises  or  administrations).  The
discussion paper was the subject of an online consultation, of which the conclusions
were  subsequently  discussed  at  the  conference  "Pan-European  e-Government
services  for  citizens  and  enterprises:  The  role  for  IDA"  (hereinafter  referred  to  as
"IDA Conference") of 19-20 September 2002.

The comments from the IDA stakeholders and the various organisations that replied
to the open consultation will be  used as an  input for the discussion  on  post-IDA  II
activities in terms of a new Community programme on pan-European e-Government
services to administrations, citizens and enterprises, covering the period 2005-2009.
The discussion should address issues such as the challenges ahead of the EU and the
necessary  commitments  (notably  in  relation  to  the  integration  of  the  pan-European
dimension  in  national  e-Government  strategies),  scope  and  objectives  of  the  new
programme, 
forms  of  participation  of  national  administrations  and  other
stakeholders,  strengthened  role  for  IDA  horizontal  actions  and  streamlining  of  the
procedures, in particular in relation to the preparation of Work Programmes.

2.4.4. With reference to  the provision of pan-European e-Government services to citizens
and  enterprises,  among  the  important  issues  for  policy-makers  provided  as  input  is
the need:

– 

– 

– 

To categorise these services on the basis of their functions and ensure that the
pan-European dimension is taken into account, when any of these categories of
services are developed at the national level;

interoperability  and
To  define  clearly  policies  and  specifications  for 
information  management  in  the  context  of  a  pan-European  Interoperability
Framework (this would be a key component of a future e-Government service
strategy);

To  promote  and/or  deliver  the  pan-European  e-Government  services  at  the
regional and local level. This would strengthen the involvement of regions and
local  municipalities  and,  due  to  the  customer  proximity  and  familiarity,
increase the take-up of these services.

Finally  in  relation  to  the  mechanisms  applicable  to  a  new  programme,  it  is
recommended to include a defined financial framework for the whole duration of the
programme and  determine budget allocation for larger projects over  more  than  one
year, as well as to  perform the budget  allocation in  connection with  natural  project
milestones.  This  latter  would  increase  the  efficiency  in  the  projects  and  activities,
while  funding  decisions  could  be  made  for  the  whole  project  lifetime  and  funds
would be released at the defined project milestones. This would possibly also change
the  demand  for  project  information  and  documentation  during  the  project  lifetime.
Instead  of  full  Work  Programmes,  more  exception-based  reports  could  be  issued,
decreasing  the  workload  for  project  managers/officers  and  TAC-members.  With
regard  to  future  potential  bigger  and  longer  projects,  it  would  be  important  to

2.4.5.

8

3.

3.1.

3.2.

3.3.

3.4.

develop  further  the  synergies  between  IDA  and  the  Commission  services  dealing
with e-government within the IST programme, in order to enhance complementarity.

CONCLUSIONS

The Commission considers the mid-term evaluation results a useful assessment of the
IDA II Programme as a whole and the projects and actions launched under it. These
results are, to a large extent, based on the conclusions and recommendations of the
final evaluation report produced by the external consultant and serve as a baseline for
the coming evaluation, to be carried out in 2004.

In  parallel  with  the  mid-term  evaluation  and  immediately  after,  steps  have  already
been taken: In the context of IDA quality assurance, activities have started to include
criteria related to the definition of project milestones and measurable benefits in the
template for the GIP. In parallel, a Dashboard has been set up to measure progress in
relation to the HAM-activities. Furthermore, a detailed guide for advice to the sectors
was drawn up during the second half of 2001, clearly stating every step needed in the
application process for IDA funding, while in the field of the HAMs a catalogue of
IDA common tools & techniques has been put together.

In support of the e-Europe 2005 action plan and in line with the new IDA objective
of  identifying  and  deploying  pan-European  e-Government  services  to  citizens  and
enterprises,  several  actions  have  been  launched.  In  this  context,  one  can  refer  in
particular to the launch of the portal of the EU administration (public services.eu) at
the IDA Conference.

Regarding citizens and businesses, IDA II should continue to ensure and verify that
citizens  and  enterprises  benefit  from  IDA  networks,  as  well  as  to  encourage  the
introduction of citizens and enterprises as users wherever possible. In the context of
the  e-Europe  2005  action  plan,  and  taking  into  account  the  subsidiarity  principle,
IDA should promote direct access to Government’s information and contribute to a
reduction of the administrative burden on citizens and enterprises, as  well as to  the
provision of pan-European e-Government services. Further to the open discussion at
the  IDA  Conference,  consideration  should  be  given  to  how  IDA  will  maintain
appropriate  consultation  links  with  different  tiers  of  Government,  enterprises  and
citizens.

3.5.

Specific  actions  identified  in  the  IDA  II  mid-term  evaluation  process  and  to  be
carried  out  in  the  period  until  2004  (also  in  the  light  of  the  new  IDA  Decisions)
concern:

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

Further  strengthening  of  the  assistance  from  the  IDA  team  to  the  different
sectoral administrations participating in the programme;

A review of the monitoring/reporting mechanisms for both PCIs and HAMs;

Emphasis on cost-benefit analysis for both PCIs and HAMs;

Establishing a description of an infrastructure, which shall serve as a platform
for the development of PCIs and Other Sectoral Networks (OSNs);

Continuing  the  organisation  of  tutorial  sessions/information  days  in  both  the
Member States and the Candidate Countries;

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Keeping an open dialogue with all stakeholders concerned on pan-European e-
Government services to citizens and enterprises.

3.6.

Based on the mid-term evaluation and the experience  gathered during four  years of
the IDA II programme, as well as the context provided by the e-Europe 2005 action
plan  and  the  results  of  the  online  consultation  process/outcome  of  the  IDA
Conference, this Report will serve as an input for the future Commission proposal for
post-IDA  II  activities  after  31  December  2004,  the  expire  date  of  the  IDA  II
Programme.

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