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Institution-building – reinforcing institutional and administrative capacity – is a key requirement, together with economic and social cohesion, for EU accession. To enable the adoption, implementation and compliance with the acquis communautaire, candidate and potential candidate countries need to strengthen their institutional and administrative capacities.
Institution-building comprises two areas of action: transfer of “know-how” and investment. EU resources for the transfer of know-how are provided through three main instruments: TAIEX, twinning and SIGMA.
TAIEX (Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument) provides short-term technical assistance for the approximation, application and enforcement of EU legislation. TAIEX serves as a catalyst, channelling requests for assistance, and as a facilitator for the provision of expertise by EU Member States at the request of institutions in beneficiary countries.
Twinning involves the secondment of experts from EU Member States to candidate and potential candidate countries on specific projects for a minimum of one year. Twinning not only provides technical and administrative assistance, but also helps to establish long-term relationships between existing Member States and candidate/ potential candidate countries.
Twinning Light, introduced in 2001, fills the gap between short-term TAIEX assistance and longer-term secondments under twinning, providing medium-term expertise for up to six months.
SIGMA, a joint initiative of the OECD and the EU financed primarily by the EU, is the institution-building instrument providing assistance in horizontal areas of public governance (public administration reform, public service and the administrative framework, financial control, external audit, public expenditure management, public procurement, policy-making and co-ordination, and public integrity systems).
For more information on institution-building, consult the Europa website.
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