Council Regulation (EC) No 617/2007Show full title

Article 2 The programming process

1. The process of programming for assistance to the ACP countries and regions managed by the Commission under the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement shall be undertaken in accordance with Articles 1 to 14 of Annex IV to that Agreement and in accordance with the general principles referred to in Article 1 of this Regulation.

2. Programming for the purpose of this Regulation shall mean, inter alia:

(a) the preparation and development of Country Support Strategies (hereinafter referred to as country strategy papers) and Regional Support Strategies (hereinafter referred to as regional strategy papers);

(b) a clear indication from the Community of the indicative programmable financial allocation from which the countries and regions may benefit during the six-year period of the 10th EDF;

(c) the preparation and adoption of a multiannual indicative programme for implementing the country strategy papers and regional strategy papers;

(d) a review process covering the country strategy papers and regional strategy papers, the multiannual indicative programmes and the volume of resources allocated to them.

3. The programming at national and regional level shall be conducted in a coordinated way. Coordination for the purpose of this Regulation shall mean, inter alia:

(a) the partner country or region concerned shall to the extent possible be the leading force in the programming of Community assistance. Programming shall, except in the cases provided for in paragraph 5, be done jointly with the partner country or region concerned and increasingly aligned with the partner country or region's poverty reduction or equivalent strategies; the joint process shall include other stakeholders where relevant, including parliaments, local authorities and representative non-State actors, that shall be associated in the programming process as early as appropriate;

(b) for the preparation and development of the strategy papers the Commission shall work in coordination with the Member States locally represented and the EIB on matters relating to its areas of expertise and operations, including as regards the Investment Facility. Coordination will remain open to the Member States that are not permanently represented in the country or region concerned;

(c) the Commission and the Member States locally represented shall strive where possible and appropriate to joint programming, including a joint response strategy. Participation in joint programming will, through flexible mechanisms, remain open to the Member States that are not permanently represented in the country or region concerned;

(d) the Commission and Member States shall seek regular and frequent exchanges of information, including with other donors and development banks, and promote better coordination of policies, harmonisation of procedures, complementarity and division of labour, thereby enhancing improved impact of policies and programming. Donor coordination shall as far as possible take place through existing mechanisms of donor coordination and build on existing harmonisation processes in the partner country or region concerned. The partner country or region concerned should to the extent possible be the leading force in the coordination of Community assistance with other donors; whenever the development of common strategies is already under way, joint programming should remain open to other donors and complement, strengthen, and whenever possible be part of these existing processes.

4. In addition to country strategy papers and regional strategy papers, an intra-ACP strategy paper and related multiannual indicative programme shall be prepared and developed with the ACP-EC Committee of Ambassadors, based on criteria set out for an intra-ACP policy framework compliant with the principles of complementarity and geographic scope inherent in Article 12 of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement.

5. In the exceptional circumstances referred to in Article 3(4) and Article 4(5) of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement, when countries cannot access normal programmable funds and/or the national authorising officer is prevented from carrying out his/her duty, the Community shall make specific provisions as referred to in Article 4(7) of this Regulation.

6. Programming shall be designed so as to fulfil to the greatest extent possible the criteria for official development assistance (hereinafter referred to in as ‘ODA’) established by the OECD/DAC.

7. Programming shall, where appropriate, ensure European visibility in partner countries and regions.