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Commission approves package to support Central Asian countries in regional co-operation and transition to a market economy

The European Commission has adopted the 2003 annual Tacis Action Programme for Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan). The programme focuses on regional co-operation, national programmes and poverty alleviation in some pilot regions. With a total budget of € 50 million, this programme makes the European Union one of the largest single donors in Central Asia with a total of more than € 1 billion made available to the region from 1991 to 2003.

Central Asia: priorities for 2003

1. Regional co-operation

The regional co-operation covers areas such as energy (inter alia, emergency actions to rehabilitate, for safety reasons, gas pipelines in Kyrgyzstan), environment (development of environmental strategies), border management, fight against drug trafficking and rehabilitation of railways.

2. National programmes

This part of the programme includes support tailored to the specific needs of each of the 5 countries. For example:

• preparation of WTO accession (Kazakhstan)
  
  
• Support to the implementation of the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement (Uzbekistan)
  
  
• Reform of the Civil Service (Tajikistan)
  
  
• development of local governance (Kyrgyzstan)

3. Pilot poverty reduction schemes

In this area, support will aim at alleviating poverty in the regions of Khatlon (Tajikistan), Batken (Kyrgyzstan) and the Fergana Valley (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan). It is intended to take a community-based and demand driven approach, focusing on the most vulnerable groups. A central condition to these programmes will be the respective government's commitment to reducing poverty, notably through their Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs). A preliminary study is currently under way, with a view to defining more precisely the content of the programme.

Background

Over the period 1991-2003, the European Union has provided to Central Asia assistance of more than € 1 billion, of which € 465 million through the Tacis programme, € 175 million through Echo and Food Aid, € 165 million for Food Security and € 285 million for exceptional financial assistance (part of which in loans, now fully reimbursed)

Following the events of September 11, the Commission adopted, on October 30, 2002, a new strategy for its Tacis assistance to the region. This strategy consists of:

1. doubling the assistance budget:

2. pursues the 3 following objectives

• promote security and conflict prevention.
  
  
• eliminate sources of political and social tension.
  
  
• improve the climate for trade and investment

3. organising the implementation on the basis of the above-mentioned three-track approach

• a regional co-operation programme
  
  
• a regional support programme, implemented at national level
  
  
• a poverty reduction scheme piloted in 2-3 target regions

This Tacis Action Programme is part of a total of € 68 million earmarked for Central Asia in 2003, including: € 50 million for the Tacis Programme, € 10 million under the humanitarian aid (ECHO programme) and € 8 million under the Food Security Programme. In addition, the countries of Central Asia also benefit from the 2003 Tacis Regional Programme.

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