Translation of "pays tiers méditerranéens " (French → English) :

E. noting that, instead of a uniform framework for financial assistance, the EU has many different arrangements, i.e. macrofinancial assistance (for the Balkans and Eastern Europe), structural adjustment aid (third countries in the Mediterranean region), general financial aid (the ACP developing countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific), assistance with the budget of the Palestinian authority, which is a special case, and, according to the proposal for a new regulation governing EU cooperation with Asian and Latin American countries , currently under consideration by the Council and Parliament, a new framework will soon be est ...[+++]ablished for them as well. Recalling, in this respect, the request to divide the framework for the cooperation with these two regions into two separate regulations, as established in Parliament's resolution of 15 November 2001 ;

- in the case of the Mediterranean third countries, in support of the development of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, issues relating to environment, health and water issues, as well as protection of the cultural heritage.

1. Tempus III shall concern the countries which are beneficiaries under Council Regulation (EC) No 2666/2000 of 5 December 2000 on assistance for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia(7), and the new independent States of the former Soviet Union and Mongolia referred to in Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 99/2000 of 29 December 1999 concerning the provision of assistance to the partner States in eastern Europe and central Asia(8), and Mediterranean non-member countries and territories listed in Council Regulation (EC) No 1488/96 of 23 July 1996 on fin ...[+++]ancial and technical measures to accompany (MEDA) the reform of economic and social structures in the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership(9).

19. At the end of 2000 the EU was allocating EUR 9 300 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 5 600 million in payment appropriations per annum to cooperation with third countries, with the bulk of this aid focused on five main areas, namely: the European Development Fund (EDF) for the ACP countries; the Asian and Latin American developing countries (ALA); Mediterranean third countries (MEDA); assistance for the countries of central and eastern Europe (PHARE); and technical assistance for the Commonwealth of Independent States (TACIS).

The first, MEDUrbs, is intended to improve the quality of life in urban areas, promote the development of local democracy and, most important of all, decentralized cooperation between local authorities in Mediterranean non-member countries and such local authorities and their counterparts in the European Union. The second, MED-Invest, is aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises, with the main goal being to facilitate the exchange of information and contacts between potential partners by making available to SMEs in the Mediterranean ...[+++] non-member countries existing Community instruments and programmes originally created to assist European SMEs.

This partnership became a reality with the adoption of the Barcelona Declaration by the EU Member States and the following 12 Mediterranean non-member countries (MNCs): Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey.