Decentralized Management of IPA Components III and IV, Fulfillment Requests

A status of one country in the accession process is determining the eligibility for the IPA Components to be used, or which projects will be financed from components. Potential candidate counties have at their disposal IPA Components I and II (Transition Assistance and Institutions Building and Cross-border Cooperation), while the candidate counties may, in addition to the aforementioned two Components, use the remaining three components (Regional Development, Human Resources Development and Rural Development) .

The characteristics of IPA Components III and IV, compared to the first two ones, derive from the manner in which these components are used and the institutional framework through which the funds are being used. These two components are designed in a manner that they actually represent a “forefront” of structural funds, financial instruments used by the EU member states. In the light of the above, similarities with the structural funds are reflected both in the preparation of strategic and programming documents (using a multi-annual approach to programming), both defining the priority areas to which the funding will be directed, and the establishment of the institutional framework for the implementation of such support...