Glossary
Absorption capacity the ability of a national administration to plan for and implement external assistance.
Accession Partnership document agreed by the Council setting out the Union’s view of priorities in accession preparations in the short and medium term for candidate countries.
Backlog the aggregate commitments under Phare or for an individual country not yet contracted.
Candidate countries Countries that have applied to join the European Union and whose application has been accepted, yet did not join the European Union in 2007. This status currently applies to Croatia, Turkey and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
CFCU the Central Financing and Contracting Unit set up in all candidate countries which administers tenders, contracts and payments for all Institution Building and some investment projects.
Decentralisation the process by which management of EU funds is devolved to candidate country administrations. This is presently governed by the Decentralised Implementation System (DIS). It is now envisaged to replace Commission ex-ante control with ex-post control under a system of Extended Decentralisation Implementation System (EDIS).
Deconcentration the process by which management of EU funds is devolved from Commission headquarter to Delegations.
Ex-Post Evaluation the evaluation of the impact of an activity after completion.
Implementing Agency the agency in the candidate country responsible for tendering, contracting and payment for projects assigned to it. The CFCU is the Implementing agency for Institution Building projects.
ISPA Together with Phare and SAPARD one of the three pre-accession instruments. ISPA stands for Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession and finances environment and transport projects.
Joint Monitoring Committee the Committee set up in all candidate countries to co-ordinate monitoring and assessment of pre-accession aid.
Monitoring & Assessment the process of gathering data on project progress, assessing the likelihood of objectives being met, and recommending changes in approach if necessary.
National Aid Coordinator(NAC) in beneficiary country administrations, the NAC ensures a close link between the general accession process and the use of Community financial assistance.
National Authorising Officer (NAO) An official of the national administration heading the NF. The NAO has the overall responsibility for the financial management of Phare funds.
National Development Plan (NDP) the candidate country’s programme for economic and social cohesion and Objective 1-type measures.
National Fund the central treasury entity through which the Community funds are channelled into the candidate country or new Member State.
National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis (NPAA) the candidate country’s own timed and costed action programme for accession preparation.
New Member States Former candidate countries that have completed negotiations and have become members of the European Union on 1 May 2004. These are Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.
Project Authorising Officer head of an Implementing Agency.
Regular Report the annual report by the Commission on the state of readiness of each candidate country.
SAPARD Together with Phare and ISPA one of the three pre-accession instruments. SAPARD stands for Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development.
Transition Facility Temporary financial assistance instrument ( 2004-2006) for the new Member States to develop and strengthen their administrative capacity to implement and enforce Community legislation and foster exchange of best practice among peers.
Twinning an agreement between a candidate country and one or more Member State administrations to transfer acquis-related skills and knowledge (progress towards adoption of part of the acquis).