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Regional Policy

3. Pre-Accession Funds

The pre-accession funds were specially designed for candidate countries or potential candidates to prepare for the future administration of the Structural and Cohesion funds. Starting January 2007, the new Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) absorbed programs which previously filled this function, including PHARE, PHARE CBC, ISPA, SAPARD, CARDS and the financial instrument for Turkey.

There are five strands of IPA funding:

1. Funding for transition and institution building
2. Cross-border cooperation with EU and IPA countries
3. Regional development for the economy, the environment, and transport
4. Human resources and greater inclusion
5. Rural development

Beneficiaries of the IPA have two types of eligibility:

• First two strands only – Potential candidate countries in the Western Balkans, including Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia, including Kosovo.
• All five strands – EU Candidates including Turkey, Croatia and Macedonia