Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument

TAIEX

TAIEX is the Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument of the Institution Building unit of Directorate-General Enlargement of the European Commission. In operation since 1996, TAIEX provides centrally managed short-term technical assistance in the field of approximation, application and enforcement of legislation. Its services are complementary to the several alternative assistance programmes the European Commission offers to new Member States, candidates for accession to the European Union, and the countries of the Western Balkans. The role of TAIEX is that of a catalyst, channelling requests for assistance, as well as that of a facilitator, acting as a broker between the concerned institutions and European Union Member States for the delivery of appropriate tailor-made expertise to address problems at short notice. TAIEX is demand driven in that most of the assistance provided is in response to requests from the beneficiary countries, the Commission Services, and Member States. TAIEX is also strategy driven in that requests are addressed in accordance with the priorities identified by the Commission. The strategic approach is also evident in the large number of TAIEX's own initiatives.

The TAIEX mandate to provide assistance covers the following groups of beneficiary countries:

• Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania
• Croatia, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey
• Turkish Cypriot Community in the northern part of Cyprus
• Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo (as defined in UN Security Council Resolution 1244 of 10 June 1999)
• Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Moldova, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia, Ukraine and Russia

The twelve new Member States will remain beneficiary countries for TAIEX assistance, and will continue to receive TAIEX support to institution building in the first years after accession.

TAIEX's main tasks are:

• to provide technical assistance and advice on the transposition of the acquis communautaire into the national legislation of beneficiary countries and on the subsequent administration, implementation and enforcement of such legislation;
• to provide technical training and peer assistance to the officials of the administrations of the twelve Member States, who remain beneficiaries of TAIEX assistance;
• to provide programmed technical assistance to the countries of the Western Balkans;
• to be an information broker by gathering and making available information on the Community acquis; and
• to provide database tools for facilitating and monitoring the approximation progress as well as to identify further technical assistance needs.

TAIEX Services

TAIEX services may be delivered to single or several countries or all beneficiary countries depending on the identified need. These may be single, stand alone actions responding to an identified need. They may also be sequenced where assistance and guidance is required over a longer time period and is not available through other technical assistance instruments.

The services currently provided by TAIEX are:

• Experts sent to a beneficiary country to advise on legislative acts and interpretation of the acquis, or to provide guidance on administrative arrangements for its implementation and enforcement.
• Study visits providing opportunities for officials of beneficiary countries to understand how Member States deal with practical issues related to the implementation and enforcement of the acquis and issues related to the interaction with stakeholders.
• Seminars and Workshops to present and explain issues related to the acquis to a wider audience. Such assistance can be focussed on the needs of an individual country or of a group of countries facing similar challenges. The multi-country format also provides a valuable opportunity to network and to exchange experience between beneficiary countries.

• Training to provide necessary technical skills to inspectors in administrations.
• Monitoring and analysis of progress through Peer Reviews which inter-alia help to refine strategies and targeting of further assistance.
• Database and information products providing an efficient and cost effective means of supplying and receiving uniform information on the acquis including the monitoring of the alignment of national legislation.
• Translation – guidance on the organisation of the translation of the acquis by beneficiary countries but also, as necessary, translation of documents for beneficiary countries or Commission services.

Beneficiaries of TAIEX assistance

The beneficiaries of TAIEX assistance includes those sectors, both public and private, who have a role to play in the beneficiary countries in the transposition, implementation and enforcement of EU legislation. The main target groups are:

• civil servants working in public administrations;
• civil servants working in administrations at sub-national level and in associations of local authorities;
• Members of Parliaments and civil servants working in Parliaments and Legislative Councils;
• professional and commercial associations representing social partners, as well as representatives of trade unions and employers’ associations;
• the Judiciary and Law Enforcement authorities;
• interpreters, revisers and translators of legislative texts.

TAIEX does not provide direct support to private citizens, or to individual companies.