47 summAry iv. the national indicative programme is an indicative multiannual programming document specifying the priorities for european neighbourhood and partnership Instrument (enpI) bilateral assistance in a given partner country. the annual programming exercise is a cycle that lasts around one year — from identification to a commission decision — thereby ensuring the relevance of the assistance. furthermore, the enpI is not the only tool available to address issues in the south caucasus. the Instrument for stability is precisely designed to address immediate needs stemming from a crisis. this instrument has indeed been used to respond to specific requests from partner countries (e.g. the post-election crisis in armenia). v. despite initial delays, notably in the case of azerbaijan (see the commission’s reply to observation 43) and some issues resulting from adjustment to external factors (such as in georgia), the overall achievements of the budget support and of twinning arrangements launched in the south caucasus countries are positive. twinning arrangements are now operating in all three countries. reply of the commIssIon regarding georgia, it should be noted that the european neighbourhood and partnership Instrument (enpI) is not intended to be the main instrument to provide conflict-related assistance, but is a strong supplement to the conflict-related instruments, including the Instrument for stability. the Instrument for stability can initiate projects swiftly to respond to crises, but cannot be programmed nor run projects over the medium term, which is when the enpI can take over. vi. the introduction of a new instrument inevitably entails a period of adaptation. the introduction of the european neighbourhood and partnership Instrument (enpI) is no exception. nevertheless, the successful launch of all the action programmes in the region is an indication that there have been no major flaws in the preparations. vii. the commission is continuing to work on further streamlining of the programming process in order to take into account the lessons learned and make the assistance more effective. sector budget support was the preferred form of aid in 2007 due to the potential leverage in terms of enhanced policy dialogue with the partner countries and ownership on their part that it entails. Its use is adequately assessed and direct links and synergies are maintained with complementary forms and action (e.g. the project approach and twinning). special report no 13/2010 – Is the new european neighbourhood and partnership Instrument successfully launched and achieving results in the southern caucasus (armenia, azerbaijan and georgia)? 
47 SAmmAnfAttning iV. det nationella vägledande programmet är ett vägledande flerårigt programdokument som anger prioriteringarna för det bilaterala biståndet i ett visst partnerland inom ramen för det europeiska grannskaps-och partnerskapsinstrumentet (enpi). den årliga programplaneringsprocessen varar i ca ett år – från fastställande till kommissionsbeslut – vilket garanterar biståndets relevans. dessutom är det europeiska grannskaps-och partnerskapsinstrumentet inte det enda verktyg som finns tillgängligt för att hantera frågor i södra kaukasien. stabilitetsinstrumentet är utformat just för att tillgodose omedelbara behov som uppstår till följd av en kris. stabiliseringsin-strumentet har i själva verket använts för att bemöta särskilda förfrågningar från partnerländer (t.ex. krisen efter valet i armenien).