Ecos-Ouverture (Phare and Tacis)

Important Remark

The Ecos-Ouverture program officially ended on 31 March 1999 but some projects are still running. The activities of the program will be integrated in the INTERREG III program which is currently under preparation and will become effective in 2001. INTERREG is a cross-border, transnational and interregional cooperation program that seeks to encourage the balanced and sustainable development of the whole Community area.

Budget Line Number
N/A

Budget Amount
N/A

Objectives

The aim of Eco-Ouverture was to support and promote the role of local and regional authorities in the regional development and political and economic transformation process underway in the beneficiary countries. The main objectives for 1999 were to :

• encourage cooperation between regional actors from different geographical zones through the development of common projects based on the exchange of experience and know-how;

• encourage decentralisation and the development of local and regional initiatives by helping improve competencies at regional and local level;

• strengthen the capacity and working methods of local and regional authorities and actors in CEE, NIS, non-EU Mediterranean countries and EU regions in the field of economic and social development;

• promote concrete pilot regional and local development actions in a region or in neighbouring regions to serve as models of good practice for other regions;

• enhance and strengthen pre-accession strategies of regional and local authorities in CEE by familiarising them with EU policy, in particular in relation to the structural funds.

Eligibility

The guidelines required cooperation projects between 3 and 6 main partners, at least two of which had to be from an EU member state and at least one from CEE. Although the principal partners had to be regional/local authorities or organizations controlled by an authority, NGOs could be associated with the project.

Geographical Area

EU, accession countries, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, and FR Yugoslavia., the NIS, and non-EU Mediterranean countries.

Contact Name

George Vlandas

Contact Address

Directorate-General for Regional Policy
European Commission
Rue de la Loi 200
B-1049 Brussels
Tel: (32 2) 296 55 40
Fax: (32 2) 295 36 14
e-mail: george.vlandas@cec.eu.int
Website: http://europa.eu.int/enlargement/pas/phare/work/pab.htm

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