2002-03-18
Funding for policy of support for Central and Eastern Europe

The funds available for the Dutch policy of support for Central and Eastern Europe form a cluster within the Homogeneous Budget for International Cooperation (HGIS), which encompasses all expenditure relating to the Dutch presence abroad. The funding of the Central and Eastern Europe cluster is split into three components:

· The Social Transformation Programme (Matra) run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Matra programme applies to Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Belarus. Romania and Bulgaria have only qualified for support under the programme since 1 January 1997.

· The exclusively economic Eastern European Cooperation Programme (PSO) and the generic instruments for the promotion of commercial relations. This programme also applies to the countries listed above.

· Annual contribution to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), for which the Minister of Finance is responsible.

Some of the Balkan countries (Bosnia Hercegovina, Macedonia and Albania) and the countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia are included in the list of developing countries issued by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD. Support for these countries is therefore the responsibility of the Minister for Development Cooperation. It may take the form either of project aid or of macro- economic support, the latter preferably being provided as part of a multilateral programme.

Central and Eastern Europe cluster in the Homogeneous Budget for International Cooperation (HGIS) · The Social Transformation Programme (MATRA)
· The Eastern European Cooperation Programme (PSO) and generic instruments for the promotion of commercial relations
· Annual contribution to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Social Transformation Programme (Matra)

Aims
The aim of the Social Transformation Programme is to support the transition from totalitarianism to pluriform, democratic constitutional states in fourteen countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Social transformation means the process of change in the state, its institutions and non-governmental organisations (and their interrelations) towards a democratic society which individuals are able to assume responsibility for shaping.

Criterion
The overall criterion for the entire Matra programme is that activities should contribute to the process of social transformation. The essential point in this respect is that the activity should promote public involvement in the shaping of society. This can also be achieved by a more democratic, efficient and accessible form of government.

Two approaches
The content of the Matra programme is based on two approaches to social transformation, one via the public and the other via government.

As regards the public, the aim is to construct what has become known as civil society. This involves, for example, increasing the legal certainty and legal protection offered to individuals and encouraging awareness, pluralism and initiative. This can be achieved by means such as promoting the active use of judicial procedures, increasing public involvement in decision-making and encouraging individuals to organise.

As regards government (lower tiers of government, generally municipalities and provincial authorities), the programme concentrates on promoting democracy, public administration and social policies by increasing the transparency (comprehensibility) of government actions, making government more accessible and strengthening the constitutional state.

Themes
The general aims of the programme have been fleshed out in consultation with the central government departments most closely involved. As a result, fifteen themes have been identified to dictate the content of the programme. These fifteen themes represent aspects of society which are deemed relevant to the process of transformation. These themes are: legislation and the law, public administration/the police, the international nature management programme (PIN), environment and nature, strengthening government agencies in the environmental field, housing, education, the media and public education, culture, welfare provision, health care, employment and social policies, human rights and minorities, and the role of the armed forces in a democratic society.

Instruments
Social transformation will need to be achieved in a variety of fields. For this reason, a range of tools is being used to implement the Matra programme. Five different instruments have been developed: the Matra Projects Programme, the Matra Small Embassy Projects Programme, the Matra Multilateral Programme, the Matra Training Programme and the Matra Political Parties Programme. In 1996, a total of NLG 37.5 million was made available for these programmes, which are described in more detail below.

Matra instruments
· Matra Projects Programme
· Matra Small Embassy Projects Programme
· Matra Multilateral Programme
· Matra Training Programme
· Matra Political Parties Programme

Matra Projects Programme
The Matra Projects Programme is the most important of the Matra programme instruments. It concentrates in the first instance on cooperation between non- governmental organisations (NGOs), with Dutch NGOs offering support for projects carried out with and by local partners. In addition, many projects are submitted by Dutch municipalities and provinces in connection with their twinning arrangements with towns and provinces and by firms of consultants. The programme supports activities relating to a broad range of subjects. Many projects focus on the themes of the environment, media (general public information and education) and health care and welfare provision. As part of international environmental policy, the Projects Programme includes work on the strengthening of environmental authorities and on international nature management. Support is also given to projects designed to promote networking between NGOs in the environmental field. The general aim is to boost environmental awareness, both in government and in society at large. Support is also provided for the changes these countries need to make to their environmental policies before they can join the European Union.

Projects relating to the media cover the whole field of public information provision: not just radio, television and the press, but also consciousness-raising projects undertaken by non-governmental organisations.

Within the health care and welfare provision theme, projects are carried out in the field of primary health care, mental health, the care of the elderly and disabled, and patients' rights.

The following general criteria are applied in relation to the Matra Projects Programme:
· projects should directly or indirectly serve the interests of individual citizens;
· projects should preferably produce concrete, measurable results;
· projects should be directed primarily at the transfer of knowledge and experience: technical assistance and advice, or education and training;
· the demand for the project should come from the recipient country and there should be clear support for the project in that country;
· the organisation to be charged with the management and implementation of the project, and with supervising project implementation, should be in a position to meet the criteria relating to financial management;
· the local organisation/body should be in a position to implement the project activities in an effective manner.
In 1996, a total of NLG 20.6 million was spent on 40 projects.

Activities not funded by the Projects Programme are supplies of goods or materials, individual grants, one-off exchanges or events, activities relating to infrastructure or construction, humanitarian aid, studies or purely academic projects.

Matra Small Embassy Projects Programme
This programme relates to what are known as Small Embassy Projects (KAP): small- scale local initiatives given modest financial support by a Dutch embassy (maximum contribution per project: NLG 15,000). It is the ideal way to offer support for the establishment of small non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and to provide small contributions to NGOs to help fund activities relating to knowledge transfer and culture and public information provision or education. The KAP Programme provides the means to make a positive contribution to the reshaping of society at local level. At the same time, it keeps the embassies up to date with developments in and around NGOs and other bodies involved in the process of transformation. In 1996, 293 projects received support totalling NLG 2.7 million.

Matra Multilateral Programme
Under the Matra Multilateral Programme, financial contributions are made to programmes and projects run by multilateral organisations and international NGOs. These are voluntary contributions to projects run by international organisations with the aim of assisting the process of social transformation and institutional strengthening in Central and Eastern Europe. The underlying philosophy is that some activities can be undertaken more effectively on a larger scale, while at the same time use can be made of expertise available within certain international organisations. Cooperation takes place under the Multilateral Programme with organisations including the Council of Europe, the European Union (Phare and Tacis programmes), UNDP, WHO, IOM, ILO and a number of smaller organisations. Many projects relate to more than one country. In addition, support is given to projects run by international NGOs not based in the Netherlands.

In recent years, there has been a rather stronger geographical emphasis within the Matra Multilateral Programme on activities in Eastern Europe. This is primarily a result of the changing emphasis in the projects undertaken by multilateral organisations. However, the new emphasis also reflects the policy intention to strive for greater involvement in projects within Eastern Europe. In 1996, support was given principally to projects in the field of legislation, human rights, education, crime prevention, international peace and security, migration problems and the traffic in women. Total expenditure on the Multilateral Programme in 1996 amounted to NLG 9.4 million.

Matra Training Programme
Under the Matra Training Programme, grants are made available each year to enable individuals from Central and Eastern Europe who are employed by government services, educational institutions, non-governmental organisations etc. to attend specialist training courses at Dutch educational institutions. The aim is to make a structural contribution to the process of social transformation through the continuing development of human resources. The programme embraces, for example, training courses in the field of international relations, health care, international law, environmental management, land-use planning and cultural education. The programme budget for 1996 was NLG 3 million.

Matra Political Parties Programme
The Matra Political Parties Programme provides subsidies for the training of officials of political parties in Central and Eastern Europe. This involves annual expenditure amounting to NLG 2 million. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for the implementation of the programme. The scheme offers Dutch political parties the opportunity to cooperate in a practical way with like-minded and allied parties in Central and Eastern Europe, by organising joint training courses, seminars and conferences, etc. They can claim a share of the scheme's funds proportional to the number of seats they occupy in the Lower House of Parliament.

The coming years
The budget for the Matra programme has increased sharply over recent years. Expenditure has risen from NLG 25 million in 1995 to NLG 38 million in 1996 and a budgeted amount of NLG 56.8 million in 1997. Rapid progress with social transformation in some Central European countries and the need for projects in this field both in the Eastern European countries and in Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia make it necessary to deploy Matra resources more intensively in this second group of countries.

In Central Europe, however, it remains important to continue supporting certain sectors which have so far lagged behind in the process of transformation. At the same time, there is an increasing demand from the countries of Central Europe for knowledge transfer in support of the process of accession to the European Union.
Source: Artservis by MT