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The Experience of Integrated Projects (Ips) for the renewed Community Structural Funds (CSFs) Abstract The Campania Operational Programme shares the Community Structural Fund’s objectives to provide incentives for development throught a radical change in the programming and management of actions and stakeholder practices through Integrated Projects. The Campania Region proposes its experience as an EU best practice. The added value of its Integrated Projects is: a) balance between governance and government; b) integration between funds (European Regional Development Fund – ERDF and European Social Fund – ESF) anticipating the machanisms for the new Structural Funds; c) partnership process with local stakeholders, capacity building and transfer of know-how. Weaknesses to be addressed are: a) political orientation of partnerships; b) difficulties in harmonising the timing of individual operations with the financial programming of the Operational Programme measure

Practical guide for Structural Funds interventions Background Many memberstates have experience with Structural Funds operations. Yet this experience is not always in a practical way available for others nor is it transferred to other memberstates. This was the main reason to start a project to establish a practical guide. EIPA, the European institute for public administration and ERAC a specialised consultant in the Netherlands for structural funds interventions therefore took the initiative. This was made possible by the Dutch government in view of the exchange of experience to new memberstates. Content The guide provides practical step-by-step guidelines about all aspects of dealing with the Structural Funds on the programme as well as the project level, including tips and ways of dealing with the different issues: - Structures and Principles - Plans and programming (from the first step until drafting the programme documents) - Organisation and programme

Decentralising Structural Funds' management to the regional level Decentralised programming = Decentralised implementation? Or, Why (further) decentralisation of implementation is a bad idea Since programming will focus on the NUTS 2 level in the future, there will be a tendency to decentralise management of Structural Funds and Instruments to this level. This paper problematises the management side of this issue, arguing that decentralised programming need not automatically mean decentralised management of the programmes, and indeed that there are many reasons why, particularly in the new Member states, any (further) decentralisation of management is likely to have negative consequences. These conclusions are based on the findings of an institutional capacity measurement recently undertaken at 4 implementing agencies in one new member state (to ensure confidentiality, the results will be presented generically and anonymously). Ten criteria were used to measure capacity at exist

STRUCTURAL FUNDS MANAGEMENT IN GREECE: The experience of the Management Organisation Unit of the CSF Presented by: Dex. Agourides Director General M.O.U. S.A. http://www.mou.gr/ mailto:dagourides@mou.gr EU Structural Funds in Greece Greece is a peripheral EU country with no common land borders with other Member States. The major weaknesses of the Greek economy are infrastructure deficits, unemployment rate above the EU average, high share of employment in agriculture, low productivity (deficits in R&D, skilled workforce and business investment) and a lagging behind telecommunications sector. The whole of the Greek territory qualifies as Objective 1 Region under the Structural Funds. There are currently 7 areas of intervention and 24 Operational Programmes (11 national and 13 regional). Key priorities: Ø Infrastructure 56,5% Ø Support to the private sector 21,9% Ø Human resources development 19% For the period 2000-2006, EU structural assistance to Greece amounts to a total of EUR

MANAGING STRUCTURAL FUNDS AND INSTRUMENTS ADDRESSING THE ABSORPTION CAPACITY IN THE NEW MEMBER STATES Mr Stephen O’Sullivan Assistant Secretary Banking Finance and International Division Department of Finance, Ireland ______________________ Introduction The enlargement of the Union to 25 members and the prospective further enlargements present unprecedented challenges for the Union as a whole and for its constituent Member States. One of these concerns the successful and productive absorption of the very considerable volume of resources to be transferred from the Member States with above average levels of development to those which are catching up. There are many aspects to the challenge of absorption. I will say a few words about the overall level of financial commitment involved and talk about the challenges that we in Ireland had to overcome in utilising the funding placed at our disposal from the Union Budget over the years. I am fully aware of course that what may have worked r

In 1996 The Council of Europe ran this campaign against racism and discrimination. In this 10th year anniversary the emphasis is much more on cultural diversity and positive aspects - promoting Human Rights, Diversity and Participation. The partnership bewteen the European Commission and the Council of Europe is launching the campaign in June 2006 and it will run until September 2007. It will have a young people and grass roots approach. There are National Campaign Committees organising activities on a National level, with much campaign material and slogans being translated into many many languages. International educational activities will also be organised around the main themes, including seminars, training for trainings, youth fora etc. Quality standards are being developed so that activities and education events can have the possibility to be awarded the "All Different All Equal" logo. It will also be possible for places to be awarded this (schools, workplaces, organizat

Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia, Radmila Sekerinska and the UK Ambassador to Macedonia, HE Robert Chatterton Dickson, signed four Letters of Understanding for bilateral technical assistance between the Secretariat for European Affairs and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, United Kingdom.“We are entering a period when Macedonia will increasingly receive messages that the three conditions for membership will be administration, administration and administration. That does not mean that political and economical criteria are losing on importance, but that we will fulfil them only if we have the necessary administrative capacity, knowledge, competence and transparency”, Sekerinska emphasised.She added that during the British Presidency of the EU, Macedonia was granted the status of candidate country for EU membership and that this is a fact that will be written in history. Sekerinska expressed her gratitude for the UK assistance and stressed that the positive energy con