TACIS
TACIS ( T echnical A ssistance to the C ommonwealth of I ndependent S tates ; German Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States ) was a financial instrument of the EU . TACIS was founded in 1991 to support the EU's relations with the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA, Eastern Europe and Central Asia) through a technical assistance program. The program promoted the process of transition to a market economy and the democratization of society in the EECA countries. In the first eight years of its operation, a total of 4.226 billion euros flowed into the financing of projects.
An EU regulation adopted in January 2000 opened a new phase of cooperation between the EU and the partner countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The aim of this is to provide financial aid totaling 3.138 billion euros by the end of 2006, which will focus on certain key areas:
- Support for institutional, legislative and administrative reforms.
- Support to the private sector as well as assistance to general economic development.
- Support to alleviate the social consequences.
- Development of infrastructure .
- Improvement of nuclear safety.
- Improving environmental protection and the use of natural resources .
- Development of Agriculture.
The program is created and managed by two General Directorates of the EU Commission . Since January 2001, the Directorate-General for External Relations has been responsible for political direction (e.g. for negotiating partnerships and cooperation agreements) and negotiating long-term programs (indicative programs), while the EuropeAid Co-operation Office oversees project management and annual programs.
The programs are very versatile and several special sub-programs have been developed over time. There are always hundreds of ongoing projects across all sectors, countries and territories, some sample projects available as case studies. The countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia whose cooperation with the European Union was regulated under the TACIS program include: Armenia , Azerbaijan , Belarus , Georgia , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Moldova , Mongolia , the Russian Federation , Turkmenistan , Tajikistan , the Ukraine and Uzbekistan .
In 2007 TACIS (together with MEDA ) merged into the European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI), the financial instrument of the European Neighborhood Policy .