Following confirmation by the Commissioner, Mr Hans van den BROEK, that the Commission
could not accept all the amendments adopted in plenary, the rapporteur, Mr Ralf WALTER (PSE,
D) requested and received authorisation for referral of his report back to committee, hoping that
the Commission would show a more flexible approach to the requests.
In its amendments Parliament was concerned in particular to achieve better targeting of
interventions under the ISPA pre-accession instrument.
Stressing the importance of close involvement of the applicant countries in the choice of projects
to be financed, Parliament considered that the ISPA should finance projects of a sufficient size.
The total cost of a measure should not, except in exceptional circumstances and for justified
reasons be less than EUR 5 million. Parliament also considered that all eligible measures where
the cost was less than EUR 5 million should not exceed 5% of the total ISPA funding.
In order to avoid overlap, Parliament stressed the need for coordination between the three per-
accession instruments (Phare, ISPA, agricultural instrument) and with the activities of the financial
institutions (EIB, EBRD). The applicant countries should also participate in other Community
financial instruments (LIFE, European Environment Agency).
Parliament hoped that the local and regional authorities would play an active part in the granting
of Community funding under ISPA.
Parliament added Cyprus to those countries eligible to benefit from the Fund and stressed that the
aim of ISPA was the economic and social cohesion of the beneficiaries and the promotion of their
environmentally stable development.
It considered that a balance had to be established between funding for transport infrastructure
measures and for environmental improvement measures. By 2006 the latter area should account
for at least 50% of all appropriations.
In this context the Community should also seek to:
- promote intermodality and interoperability,
- keep a strict watch to ensure that there was no disproportionate concentration of funding for
road projects to the detriment of other forms of transport,
- strengthen environmental measures by focusing on the needs of each country in specific areas
(water pollution, waste management, etc.).
Parliament called on the Commission to submit a mid-term report in 2003 on the implementation
of ISPA. In order to ensure transparency it called for this instrument, together with other pre-
accession aid, to be placed in a separate budget chapter.
Parliament also stressed the need for constant monitoring of the degree of utilisation of resources.
It proposed that if necessary the aid could be reprogrammed in relation to the needs of countries.
It also suggested a series of penalties in the event of irregularities.
Lastly, Parliament stated that the other applicant countries (those in the second group) should
benefit from equivalent measures.
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