European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument
Legal basis: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 2006, “laying down general provisions establishing a European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument” (EC) No 1638/2006.
The ENPI replaces the MEDA (for the Mediterranean countries) and TACIS (for the Eastern European countries) programs.
Objectives: The main aim of this program is to create an area of shared values, stability and prosperity, enhanced co-operation and deeper economic and regional integration by covering a wide range of co-operation areas. The ENPI has three strategic objectives, namely: supporting democratic transition and promoting human rights; promoting the transition towards the market economy and the promotion of sustainable development; and identifying policies of common interests (antiterrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, conflict resolution, the rule of international law, etc.). These objectives are addressed by Annual Action Programmes which in turn lead to a number of projects.
EC assistance priorities under ENPI are identified in:
- General Strategy Papers covering the period 2007-2013, e.g Country Strategy Papers (CSPs) or Regional Strategy Papers (RSPs)
- More detailed Indicative Programmes which cover 2007-2009 and 2010-2013, e.g. National Indicative Programmes (NIP) and Regional indicative Programmes (RIP); detailed Annual Action Programmes (AAP) for each year of the programming period.
The regulation establishing the ENPI provides a non-exhaustive list of 29 different types of measures which the instrument may be used to fund. The measures relevant for non-state actors are the following:
- Measures aiming at poverty reduction, to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs);
- Measures intended to promote social development, social inclusion, gender equality, non-discrimination, employment and social protection, including protection of migrant workers, social dialogues, and respect for trade union rights and core labour standards, including on child labour;
- Measures aiming to promote health, education and training, including not only measures to combat the major communicable diseases and non-communicable diseases and disorders but also access to services and education for good health, including reproductive and infant health for girls and women;
- Measures intended to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms, including women's rights and children's rights;
- Measures intended to foster the development of civil society and of non-governmental organizations.
The overall allocation for the ENPI instrument amounts to almost €12 billion for the seven-year period 2007-2013. This represents an increase of 32%, in real terms, compared with the amount available over the period 2000-2006 for the MEDA and TACIS programmes. Around 90% of ENPI funds will be used for bilateral actions, i.e. country-specific initiatives and for regional actions involving two or more partner countries. The remaining 10% are reserved for specific new areas of joint activity, namely cross-border co-operation (CBC), and specific initiatives like the Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF).
Eligible partners: All of no-profit, non-state actors are eligible to receive ENPI funds.
Sources and useful links: