Consultations with institutions and civil society about EU pre-accession assistance 2013

Pristina, 16. March 2011 - Today, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of European Integration, who is also the National IPA Coordinator, Mr. Edon Cana, sent an invitation to all relevant institutions in the Republic of Kosovo and to non-governmental organizations regarding their contribution to consultations on the future of EU pre-accession assistance after 2013.

The EU Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) is anticipated to end in 2013. Consequently, the European Commission has initiated comprehensive consultations about the future of pre-accession assistance after 2013.

The objective of this consultation is to gather information in order to better understand the priorities for pre-accession financial assistance, to demonstrate the value received from it, as well as to research how this assistance can be improved in the context of the future financial framework.

The consultation is open to all relevant actors involved in preparing and implementing pre-accession assistance, especially those from EU member states, countries benefiting from the IPA, financial partner institutions, other bilateral donors and civil society organizations.

To this end, the European Commission has put a survey online at the following link http://ghkint.com/enlargement, which will be in operation until 31 March 2011. The link includes additional explanations regarding how to answer the survey. The survey results will be used to draft an evaluation of pre-accession assistance after 2013 and during the discussions that will be organized between the European Commission and relevant actors.

EU financial assistance for Kosovo is of great importance for Kosovo and in the future, will help it on its path toward European integration. For this reason, the Ministry of European Integration, as the institution coordinating this process, in addition to EU financial assistance, invites all individuals working in institutions of public administration and in civil society organizations, involved in IPA financial assistance to contribute by responding to this survey.