Context
All of the countries in South-East Europe are aiming to become members of the European Union. Although some countries are closer than others to achieving this goal, they all face the task of implementing extensive reforms in accordance with the Copenhagen criteria. This will in turn enable them to gradually adopt the acquis communautaire that binds all EU Member States.
Sharing their experiences allows the individual countries to learn from one another and speed up the accession process. However, on their path towards EU membership, the countries have so far failed to make sufficient use of the potential offered by regional cooperation. In order to overcome mistrust and reduce the historical tensions in the region, regional cooperation in South-East Europe has become a key criterion for accession to the EU.
On behalf of the German Government, GIZ has been supporting the EU accession process since 2007 via its Open Regional Funds (ORF). GIZ promotes regional exchange and the creation of regional networks and initiatives.
The focus of the ORFs is on addressing regional issues and implementing jointly devised solutions at national level. Moreover, greater regional cooperation provides considerable economic potential.
Objective
The countries of South-East Europe enter into regional cooperation arrangements, form regional networks and share experiences. In so doing, they accelerate the process of EU accession as they meet specified standards. Regional stability is enhanced and the potential for conflict reduced.
Approach
The project complements the four other ORF measures by means of a module which promotes integration. This module supports the steering of internal management processes for the individual ORFs and improves cooperation between them. As a result, it strengthens all ORFs in terms of their external relationship with EU-relevant partners. The module also offers training courses and seminars on specific EU policies to partners involved in the steering and coordination of the EU accession process.
With the aid of this three-pronged approach, regional networks are provided with effective support to develop solutions to issues and requirements jointly via regional cooperation.
Results
Together with the authorities for EU integration and the EU directorates of the foreign ministries, the project addresses issues in the accession process which affect all countries in equal measure. One example is the preparation and harmonisation of negotiating positions in the accession negotiations with line ministries. This leads to the relevant institutions being able to carry out their role in the accession process more effectively.
Seminars are also held on key EU policies, for example with regard to the new requirements on economic governance. These help to improve knowledge of EU requirements and how they are addressed. The partners also exchange information on solutions used in neighbouring countries. Good working contacts are established between similar institutions and officials which facilitate further direct communication and make collaborative learning possible. As a result, in a region where recent history has been dominated by conflicts, some of which remain unresolved, tensions between the countries are reduced.
The project has strengthened its cooperation arrangements with other projects and donors in the region and scaled up exchange between them. It also strengthens the effectiveness of ORF measures by creating synergies in their fields of activity, in particular grouping general requirements such as results monitoring, quality management and public relations.