European Commission: Strategy Paper and Report 2003

The financial framework

In its information note of 30 January 2002, the Commission has proposed a common financial framework for the accession negotiations. This framework was based on the overall Berlin financial framework and on the assumption that ten new Member States would join the European Union. The Commission's proposals remain valid. In particular, the Commission considers that:

• In the field of agriculture, the objective of gradually introducing direct payments for farmers in the new Member States from the year 2004 should be maintained.
• The structural actions should be based on a share of one third for the cohesion fund and be based on the overall volume proposed in January 2002. Once this overall envelope is agreed, the individual amounts per country and per policy will be determined on the basis of the percentages of the total allocation which has been determined following the methodology applied for current Member States for the period 2000-2006.
• As to internal policies, additional funds should be allocated for a transition facility for institution building and continuous decommissioning efforts for the Ignalina nuclear power plant in Lithuania and, in order to fully commit funds allocated under pre-accession assistance, for the Bohunice nuclear power plant in Slovakia.
• A temporary budgetary compensation, through a lump sum payment, should be envisaged for each new Member State which would find itself in a net budgetary position which is worse in comparison with its situation in the year before accession as beneficiary of pre-accession funds.
• The Commission reiterates the need to earmark additional funds for the northern part of Cyprus in order to back up a political settlement.