FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS OF EU DEVELOPMENT AND REGIONAL POLICY FOR WESTERN BALKAN COUNTRIES

Abstract

Instruments for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) are one of the most important instruments fo EU development and regional policy avaliable to the candidate countries for EU accession. Enlargement of EU can cause, what already can be seen, considerable problems. Especially when the level of economic development is lower in some new member states and candidate countries than in " old " EU member states. Amon these countries are also western Balkan countries which use IPA funds (IPA I and IPA II) to solve problems caused by lack of money on national, regional nad city level as well as for the citizens. The aim of this paperwork is to explain what the European Commission has done by analyzing experiences in the utilizing IPA I funds. In the paper work we try to explain the new conditions, beside indispensable Stabilisation and Association Agreement, for programming and absorbing IPA funds that should increase impacts of financial and technical support for achievement of reform goals, particulary emphasising EU 2020 Strategy for smart, suinstable and inclusive development.