TAIEX and TWINNING
TAIEX is the Technical Assistance and Information Exchange instrument of the European Commission. TAIEX supports public administrations with regard to the approximation, application and enforcement of EU legislation as well as facilitating the sharing of EU best practices.
MEI serves as a TAIEX focal point, in close cooperation with EUO helps the line institutions and all beneficiaries to streamline their needs and to support them with the expertise required.
It is largely needs-driven and delivers appropriate tailor-made expertise to address issues at short notice in three ways:
• Workshops: EU Member State experts present specific areas of EU legislation in workshops to a large number of beneficiary officials.
• Expert missions: EU Member States expert(s) are sent to the beneficiary administration to provide in-depth advice on the transposition, implementation or enforcement of a specific part of EU legislation.
• Study visits: a group of three practitioners from a beneficiary administration take part in a study visit to an EU Member State’s administration.
TAIEX assistance is open to:
• Civil servants working in central public administrations;
• Judiciary and law enforcement authorities;
• Parliaments and civil servants working in Parliaments and Legislative Councils;
• Representatives of social partners, trade unions and employers’ associations.
Kosovo benefits from TAIEX Instruments in these sectors: Agriculture, Environment, Transport and Telecommunication, Internal Market and Justice and Home Affairs. During the first semester of 2016, 50 events have been realized, from which, 23 events were held in Agriculture sector, 17 in Environment, Transport and Telecommunication, six in Internal Market and four in Justice and Home Affairs.
Furthermore, 34 Expert Missions have been realized, nine Study Visits and seven Workshops. For more information please refer to the Kosovo Flash Reports as below: For more general information on TAIEX, please visit: https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/tenders/taiex_en
Twinning is a European Union instrument for institutional cooperation between Public Administrations of EU Member States and of beneficiary or partner countries.
Twinning projects bring together public sector expertise from EU Member States and beneficiary countries with the aim of achieving concrete mandatory operational results through peer to peer activities.
Beneficiaries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia [Still still a beneficiary country and at the same time a provider of assistance], the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey.
– European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP):
• ENI South: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia.
• ENI East: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
Objectives: In the IPA region, Twinning aims to provide support for the transposition, implementation and enforcement of the EU legislation (the Union acquis). It builds up capacities of beneficiary countries’ public administrations throughout the accession process, resulting in progressive, positive developments in the region. Twinning strives to share good practices developed within the EU with beneficiary public administrations and to foster long-term relationships between administrations of existing and future EU countries.
Since 2004 the Twinning instrument is also available to some of the EU Eastern and Southern Neighborhood partner countries. In this framework it aims at upgrading the administrative capacities of the public administration of a partner country through the training of its staff and the support to the reorganization of its structure. It also supports the approximation of national laws, regulations and quality standards to those of EU Member States in the framework of Cooperation or Association agreements signed with the EU.
Twinning principles: The beneficiary / partner administration in a Twinning project is a public administration with sufficient staff and absorption capacity to work with a Member State institution having a similar structure and mandate. The beneficiary / partner country must mobilise its staff, demonstrate enduring commitment and ownership and take on board changes and best practices in a sustainable way. Twinning is not a one-way technical assistance instrument but a shared commitment.
Twinning projects are implemented with a view to the mandatory results to be achieved. They are usually articulated in components corresponding to the expected results and foresee a number of activities including workshops, training sessions, expert missions, study visits, internships and counseling. Twinning lies on learning by doing principle and sharing of best practices.
Transferring expertise: To set up Twinning projects, the European Union relies on the co-operation and administrative experience of EU Member States (MS) which mobilise public expertise both from public administrations and semi-public bodies.
Two Project Leaders (one on behalf of the EU Member State leading the project, the other of the beneficiary administration) and a Resident Twinning Adviser (RTA) are the backbone of Twinning projects. The RTA is seconded to the beneficiary administration for a minimum of 12 months up to 36 months throughout the entire duration of the implementation period of the Action and coordinates the project’s activities.
Twinning Light: “Twinning Light” is designed to offer a more flexible, mid-term approach (up to six months, in exceptional cases can be extended to eight months) without the presence of an RTA.
The role of the NCP is:
• Channeling information to BC Ministries and other relevant public bodies and coaching them on the process and development of Twinning projects and the subsequent contracts;
• Co-ordinating the administration of all Twinning activities in the BC and removing any horizontal administrative obstacles;
• Training BC administrations involved in Twinning in the procedural, financial and technical provisions of the Twinning manual;
• Attending Commission meetings with other BC and MS NCPs.
From IPA 2007 programming year until IPA 2014, there are 35 projects which were implemented using Twinning modality in Kosovo. The sector which benefited the most is Rule of Law.
https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/tenders/twinning_en
