European Court of Auditors

QJ-AB-09-012-EN-C
ISSN 1831-0834
IN THIS REPORT, THE EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS ANALYSES THE EUROPEAN
EFFECTIVENESS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION’S PROJECTS IN THE
AREA OF JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS FOR THE WESTERN BALKANS.
COURT OF AUDITORS
THE REPORT COVERS BOTH INVESTMENT AND INSTITUTION-BUILDING
PROJEC TS IN THE FOUR JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS SUB AREAS:
ASYLUM AND MIGRATION, INTEGRATED BORDER MANAGEMENT,
2009
JUDICIARY AND POLICE.
AG A I N S T T H E B AC KG R O U N D O F A D I F F I C U LT P O L I T I C A L A N D
ORGANISATIONAL ENVIRONMENT, THE COMMISSION’S MANAGEMENT
OF JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS PR OJEC TS HAS BEEN LAR GELY
Special Report No 12
EFFEC TIVE. HOWE VER, THE COUR T IDENTIFIED SHOR TCOMINGS,
PARTICULARLY IN TERMS OF OWNERSHIP AND SUSTAINABILIT Y OF
RESULTS. THE REPORT CONTAINS RECOMMENDATIONS WHICH COULD
HELP THE COMMISSION TO PROVIDE MORE EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE
ASSISTANCE.
EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE
COMMISSION’S PROJECTS IN THE
AREA OF JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS
FOR THE WESTERN BALKANS
EN
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Special Report No 12 2009
the effectiveness of
the commission's
projects in the area
of justice and home
affairs for
the western balkans
(pursuant to Article 248(4), second subparagraph, EC)
european court of auditors

european court of auditors
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E-mail: euraud@eca.europa.eu
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Special Report No 12 2009
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It can be accessed through the europa server (http://europa.eu).
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Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2009
ISBN 978-92-9207-454-8
doi:10.2865/80334
© European Communities, 2009

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
Printed in Luxembourg
3
CONTENTS
Paragraph
ABBREVIATIONS
I–V EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1–5 INTRODUCTION
6–10 AUDIT SCOPE AND APPROACH
11–55 OBSERVATIONS
11–28 EU INVESTMENT SUPPORT MOSTLY SUCCESSFUL BUT SUSTAINABILITY AT RISK

12–15 REAL NEED FOR INVESTMENTS DUE TO EU STANDARDS AND DILAPIDATED INFRASTRUCTURE
16–19 MIXED RESULTS FOR A MAJOR CATEGORY OF INVESTMENT PROJECTS: BORDER MANAGEMENT
AND SECURITY
20–23 ALIGNMENT OF EU AND NATIONAL PRIORITIES A NECESSARY PRE-CONDITION FOR SUCCESS
24–26 IMPACT AND SUSTAINABILITY OF INVESTMENT PROJECTS AT RISK
27–28 INVESTMENTS NOT MATCHED WITH NECESSARY INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITIES
29–49 SIGNIFICANT INSTITUTION-BUILDING NEEDS BUT ONLY LIMITED CHANGE

RESULTING FROM EU SPENDING
30–35 CHANGE MANAGEMENT AND INSTITUTION-BUILDING LIMITED AND POORLY MEASURED
36–39 SUSTAINABILITY OF INSTITUTION-BUILDING COMPROMISED BECAUSE OF CHANGES
IN KEY STAFF AND CORRUPTION
40–45 TRAINING — MORE OUTPUTS THAN RESULTS
46–49 LOCAL OWNERSHIP A KEY SUCCESS FACTOR IMPROVING THE RULE OF LAW
50–55 MANAGEMENT APPROACHES AND DONOR COORDINATION

51–52 NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MANAGEMENT APPROACHES
53–55 BENEFICIARY-LED DONOR COORDINATION NOT ENHANCED
56–58 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
A NNEX I — CARDS JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS PROJECTS AUDITED

AND AN ASSESSMENT OF THEIR EFFECTIVENESS
ANNEX II — AUDIT METHODOLOGY AND SAMPLE
ANNEX III — TOTAL GRANT ASSISTANCE DURING 2006–08, 4 240 MILLION EURO BY SOURCE
ANNEX IV — LEVEL OF PERCEIVED CORRUPTION — THE WESTERN BALKANS
ANNEX V — THE COMMISSION'S MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE IN THE WESTERN BALKANS
ANNEX VI — TOTAL GRANTS AND LOANS DURING 2006–08, 10 488 MILLION EURO BY SOURCE
REPLY OF THE COMMISSION

5
ABBREVIATIONS
BiH: Bosnia and Herzegovina
BiHCC: Constitutional Court of BiH
BCP: Border crossing point
CARDS: Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation
DG ELARG: Directorate-General for Enlargement
EAR: European Agency for Reconstruction
EBRD: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
EC: European Commission
EIB: European Investment Bank
EU: European Union
EUPOL-Proxima: European Union Police Mission in the former Yugoslav Republic

of Macedonia
HQ: Headquarters
HRC: Human Rights Commission
IBM: Integrated border management
JHA: Justice and Home Affairs
PAMECA: Police Assistance Mission of the European Community to Albania
SAp: Stabilisation and Association process
SR: Special Report of the European Court of Auditors
UNSCR: United Nations Security Council Resolution
WCC: War Crimes Chamber
Special Report No 12/2009 — The effectiveness of the Commission's projects in the area of Justice and Home Affairs for the western Balkans
6
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
I. III.
The European Union's strategic interest in The Cour t's audit covered both invest-
the western Balkans is to install democ- ment and institution-building projects
rac y, securit y and long-term stabilit y. The i n t h e fo u r J u s t i c e a n d H o m e A f f a i r s s u b
B a lk a ns have b een affec ted by insec ur it y areas: asylum and migration, integrated
and violence in the past. The political and border management, judiciar y and police.
economic environment is still fragile. The Th e Cour t foun d th at 1 :
relevance of the Justice and Home Affairs
( JHA) s e c to r i s t h e re fo re h i g h fo r t h e EU. ( a) u n l i k e t h e p r e v i o u s a c c e s s i o n p r o -
Th e i n cent ive o f EU memb ership h as con - grammes, the Commission has pri-
tributed to mak ing the EU the biggest and o r i t i s e d t h e J u s t i ce a n d H o m e Af f a i r s
most influential external stakeholder in sec tor and attempted to tack le impor-
the region. Between 2001 and 2006, the tant structural reforms earlier in the
Commission has spent almost 500 million en largement process;
euro on Justice and Home Affairs projec ts
in the western Balkans. The aim of the (b) a g a i n s t t h e b a c k g ro u n d o f a d i f f i c u l t
Com m issio n's assist ance was to align th e p o l i t i c a l a n d o r g a n i s a t i o n a l e nv i r o n -
we s t e r n B a l k a n c o u n t r i e s w i t h EU s t a n d - m e nt, t h e Co m m i s s i o n' s m a n a g e m e nt
a rd s t h ro u g h a p p ro p r i ate a d m i n i s t rat i ve, of Justice and Home Affairs projects
j u d i c i a l and l aw enfo rcement st ruc tures. has been largely effective, although
the Cour t identified some shor tcom-
II. i n g s, p a r t i c u l a r l y i n te r m s o f t h e s u s -
The Cour t's audit assessed to what ex- tain abilit y of results;
te nt :
(c) t h e n e e d s a n a l y s e s w e r e s o m e t i m e s
( a ) n e eds in the J ustice and H ome Affairs inadequate and there was a lack of
area had been proper ly identified and don or coordin ation ;
the projec ts were relevant to the iden-
t i f ied needs, and 1
The summary of findings on projects is in Graph 1.
( b) t h e intended o ut p ut s had b een deliv-

ered and the expected results were
a c h ieved and su st ainab l e.
GRAPH 1
S ummary of findings on audited projects
100 %
80 %
Unsatisfactory
60 %
Partially
40 % satisfactory
20 % Satisfactory
0%
Needs: Needs: Results: Results: Needs: Needs: Results: Results:
relevance assessment achieved sustainable relevance assessment achieved sustainable
Investments Institution-building
7
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
( d ) a l t h o u g h n o t a l l i nv e s t m e n t p r o j e c t s (b) i n v e s t m e n t p r o j e c t s w e r e m a t c h e d
achieved fully satisfac tor y results and more closely with institution-building
the sustainability is at risk, the in- proj ec ts;
vestment assistance financed by the
Commission made a relevant and use - (c) all donors ac tive in the area, including
f u l co nt r ib u t io n to t he nat io nal in fra- the Commission as the main donor, co-
s t ru c t ure and inst it u t io ns; o rd i n ate d b e t te r w i t h e a c h o t h e r ( fo r
ex a m p l e o n e d o n o r co u l d f u n d o r co -
(e) on the other hand the achievements fund a project designed by another
of institution-building projects were don or ) ;
only par tially satisfac tor y and unlikely
to be sustainable. This was due to con- (d) t h e p r o c u r e m e n t p r o c e s s f o r e q u i p -
t i n u e d p o l i t i c a l we a k n e s s a n d l a c k o f ment was reconsidered by the donor
co m m i t m e nt ( ow n e r s h i p) by t h e b e n - c o m m u n i t y. W h e r e v e r p o s s i b l e , j o i n t
eficiaries, as most reform initiatives investment pools man aged by th e re -
do not come from within the region cipient countries should be consid-
but from the European Commission or e re d.
ot her ex ter nal st akeho l ders;
V.
(f ) t h e re w a s n o s i gn i f i c a nt d i f fe re n ce Pro j e c t s u s t a i n a b i l i t y co u l d b e i m p rove d
in the degree of success achieved in if :
p rojec ts managed by the D elegations
com p ared w it h t ho se manag e d by th e ( a) b e n e f i c i a r y i n v o l v e m e n t w e r e i n -
Eu ro p ean Ag enc y fo r R eco nstr uc tion . creased;
IV. (b) n o p ro j e c t s we re l a u n c h e d w i t h o u t a
On the basis of these obser vations, the mainten an ce plan ;
Court makes recommendations which
could help the Commission to provide ( c ) t h e C o m m i s s i o n m o n i t o r e d m o r e
more efficient and effective assistance. closely the distribution and evaluated
Th e p ro jec t resul t s co ul d b e imp roved if : t h e u s e o f EU - f u n d e d e q u i p m e n t a n d
in frastr uc ture;
( a ) when designing the Justice and Home
A f f a i r s p ro j e c t s, t h e Co m m u n i t y s u p - (d) t h e d e l i v e r y o f t e c h n i c a l a s s i s t a n c e
por t complied with annual programme was adequately complemented by ac -
objectives (for example the future tive encouragement for institutional
joint border crossing points should ch an ge.
b e gi ve n p r i o r i t y a s t h i s wo u l d fo s te r
re gio nal co o p erat io n);
8
INTRODUCTION
1. E n l a r g e m e n t s e r ve s t h e EU ' s s t r a t e g i c i n t e re s t s i n s t a b i l i t y, s e - 2
CARDS is the acronym for
cur it y, and conflic t prevention. The present enlargement agenda ‘Community Assistance for
covers the wester n Balk ans, which have been given the prospec t Reconstruction, Development and
o f b e c o m i n g EU m e m b e r s o n c e t h e y f u l f i l t h e n e c e s s a r y c o n d i - Stabilisation’ and covered the period
t i o ns. 2000–06.
3
This represented around 10 % of
the total CARDS budget. Most of the
2. T h e a u d i t o f t h e J u s t i c e a n d H o m e A f f a i r s ( JHA ) s e c t o r f o r t h e CARDS spending took place during
w e s t e r n B a l k a n s a d d r e s s e d a n a r e a o f h i g h p o l i t i c a l r e l e v a n c e. the first years of the programme,
The JHA sec tor is one of the most prominent areas of cooperation addressing the urgent post-conflict
b e t we e n t h e Eu ro p e a n U n i o n a n d we s te r n B a l k a n co u nt r i e s a n d needs of the western Balkan
can be categorised into four sub areas: asylum and migration, population.
integrated border management, judiciar y and police. The value of
Justice and Home Affairs-related contrac ts under the Commission 4
Concerning the latest
programme for the wester n Balk ans (CARDS 2 ) amounts to around enlargement in 2007, Bulgaria
470 mil l io n euro fro m 2001 to 2 0 0 6 3 . and Romania have still progress
to make in the Justice and Home
Affairs sector. The EU decided to
establish a special cooperation and
3. Pr ior to star ting the audit, the following pr incipal r isks to sound verification mechanism to help the
f i nancial manag ement were identified: newest Member States to address
outstanding shortcomings.
( a ) Justice and Home Affairs projec ts are implemented in a frag-
ile political and economic environment which means that the
Commission assistance might not achieve the intended polic y
o b jec t ives and mig ht b e un sustain able.
( b) T h e r o l e o f t h e r e c i p i e n t c o u n t r y a n d f i n a l b e n e f i c i a r i e s i s
of fundamental impor tance to the success of the projects
because the Commission's powers to strengthen the com-
p e t e n c e, p ro fe s s i o n a l i s m a n d i n d e p e n d e n c e o f J u s t i c e a n d
Ho me Affairs inst it u t io ns are limited.
( c ) T h e C o m m u n i t y i s u n d e r p r e s s u r e t o o b t a i n h i g h c o n t r a c t -
i n g r a t e s a n d t h e r e c i p i e n t s ' a n d b e n e f i c i a r i e s ' b u d g e t a r y,
procedural and political constraints might therefore be disre-
g arded. This mig ht hamp er th e effec tiven ess of th e outputs,
especially when aiming to improve administrative capaci -
t ies.
( d ) B a s e d o n p re v i o u s ex p e r i e n ce, co m p l i a n ce w i t h J u s t i ce a n d
Ho me Affairs cr iter ia is o n e of th e most, if n ot th e most, dif-
ficu l t issues in enl arg eme nt 4 .
9
4. Th e o b jec t ives o f t he Co mmis sion's programmes were to: 5

Technical assistance is a resource
used in many development projects
( a ) reinforce the rule of law, human rights and relationships with and programmes of different
civil so ciet y ; types and can be defined as
‘experts contracted for the transfer
( b) suppor t judicial reform and harmonisation of national legisla- of know-how and skills and the
t io n w it h EU requirement s; creation and strengthening of
institutions’. Reference made to
( c ) refo r m t he p o l ice in g eneral, an d border police more spec ifi- Court's Special Report No 6/2007
cal l y, and ensure p u b l ic order ; on the effectiveness of technical
assistance in the context of capacity
( d ) f i g h t a g a i n s t c o r r u p t i o n , i l l e g a l m i g r a t i o n , o rg a n i s e d c r i m e development (OJ C 312, 21.12.2007,
and ter ro r ism; p. 3).
( e ) facil it ate devel o p ment, t rade relation s an d traffic; 6

Launched in 1998 for accession
assistance, twinning provides the
( f ) s t r e n g t h e n i n s t i t u t i o n a l a n d o p e r a t i o n a l c a p a c i t i e s , e . g. i n framework for administration and
asylum and migration, visa and integrated border manage - semi-public organisations in the
ment mat ters. recipient countries to work with their
counterparts in Member States.
5. T h e C o m m u n i t y J u s t i c e a n d H o m e A f f a i r s a s s i s t a n c e i s i m p l e -
mented by financing investments in infrastructure and equip -
m e n t o r t h r o u g h i n s t i t u t i o n - b u i l d i n g p r o j e c t s . I nv e s t m e n t s a r e
either works or supply contracts. Institution-building via technical
a s s i s t a n ce 5 o r t w i n n i n g 6 e s t a b l i s h e s s t a n d a rd s a n d gro u n d r u l e s
for public ser vice, e.g. laws and strategies with the necessar y
t ra ining.
10
AUDIT SCOPE AND APPROACH
6. T h e E u r o p e a n U n i o n h e l p s t h e w e s t e r n B a l k a n c o u n t r i e s m a i n l y As provided in the CARDS

7
through specific programmes and projec t assistance. The purpose regulation, the annual programme,
of the Cour t's audit was to assess the effectiveness of the European drawn up for each country receiving
C o m m i s s i o n ' s ( EC ' s ) p r o j e c t s i n t h e a r e a s o f J u s t i c e a n d H o m e Community assistance, contains a
Affairs for the wester n Balk ans. The audit wor k included a sample list of projects to be financed and
of 33 Justice and Home Affairs projec ts, i.e. 30 national and three specifies the relevant amounts. The
regional, over the 2001–05 annual programmes 7 . B oth t ypes of as- management committee, composed
s i s t a n c e, i . e. i nve s t m e n t s a n d i n s t i t u t i o n - b u i l d i n g, we re e q u a l l y of representatives of Member States
re p re s e n t e d i n t h e s a m p l e. T h e l i s t o f a u d i t e d p ro j e c t s w i t h t h e and chaired by the Commission,
results and the Cour t's findings is given in A nnex I. D etails of the gives its opinion on the annual
audit methodology and sample are given in A nnex II. appropriations.
The audit assessed the extent to

8
which the Justice and Home Affairs

7. T h e m a i n o b j e c t i v e s o f t h e a u d i t w e r e t o a s s e s s t h e e x t e n t t o projects were justified in the light
wh ich: of the scope and specifications of
the needs and whether alternative
( a ) Just ice and Ho me Affairs n eeds were proper ly identified an d approaches had been considered
t he p ro jec t s were rel evant to th e identified n eeds 8 , an d and properly analysed. Furthermore,
it assessed whether the objectives
( b) t h e i n t e n d e d o u t p u t s h a d b e e n d e l i ve re d a n d t h e e x p e c t e d were in line with priorities defined
resu l t s were achieved and sustain able 9 . in Commission, Council and national
strategy documents.
The audit assessed the extent to

9
8. Th e Co m m i s s i o n u s e d t wo b a s i c m a n a g e m e nt a p p ro a c h e s i n t h e which the beneficiary used given

wester n Balk ans: devolved and indirec t centralised management. EU-funded assistance (for example
In devolved management the Commission's Delegations in Al- equipment, infrastructure and
bania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia are responsible for training) effectively and whether the
p ro jec t p rep arat io n, co nt rac t in g, an d fin an c ial an d tech n ical im- results of the projects were financially
plementation. I n the indirec t centralised management approach, and operationally sustainable.
the European Agenc y for R econstruc tion (EAR) managed the pro -
gra m m e s i n t h e fo r m e r Yu g o s l av R e p u b l i c o f M a ce d o n i a , K o s ovo 10
This additional component
( u nder UNSCR 1244/99), M o nten egro an d S er bia until th e en d of of the audit was included at the
2 0 0 8 . Th e Co u r t e x a m i n e d w h e t h e r t h e re w a s a ny e v i d e n ce t h a t request of the European Parliament.
o n e management approach was more effec tive than the other as Reference was made to the European
re g ards t he Ju st ice and Ho me Affair s proj ec ts 1 0 . Parliament resolution of 22 April 2008
with observations forming an integral
part of the decision on discharge in
respect of the implementation of the
European Union general budget for
the financial year 2006, section III —
Commission.
11
9. the european commission is financially the most significant donor

i n t he wester n bal k ans. m o re th an h alf of th e grants given to th e
re gio n co me fro m t he eu b u dget ( A nnex III) . i n th is contex t, th e
a u d i t ex a m i n e d h ow t h e re c i p i e nt co u nt r y g ove r n m e nt h a d h a r-
ve s ted t he b enefit s fro m do nor coordin ation .
10. th e re p o r t i s s t r u c t u re d a cco rd i n g to t h e fo r m o f a s s i s t a n ce, i n -

vestment and institution-building projects and discusses their
re l at ive st reng t hs and weak nesses. th e h or izontal issues of man -
agement approach and donor coordination are dealt with in a
t h i rd sec tion.
MAP OF THE WESTERN BALKANS
S ource: european commission.
special report no 12/2009 — the effectiveness of the commission's projects in the area of justice and home affairs for the western balkans
12
OBSERVATIONS
E U I N V E S T M E N T S U P P O R T M O S T LY S U C C E S S F U L
B U T S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y AT R I S K
11. Th is sec t io n first deal s w it h t he relevan ce of investment proj ec ts The emergence of six new
11
a n d t he needs assessment s o n wh ich th e proj ec ts were based. I t states from the break-up of the
goes on to present the findings on achievement of results and on former Yugoslavia has created over
t h e n e ce s s a r y a l i gn m e n t o f EU a n d n a t i o n a l p r i o r i t i e s, a n d t h e n 5 000 kilometres of new international
c o n t i n u e s w i t h t h e i s s u e o f s u s t a i n a b i l i t y, d i v i d e d i n t wo p a r t s : borders in the region that have to be
on e o n t he imp o r t ance o f mainten an ce, an d on e on th e n eed for properly controlled.
s u fficient inst it ut io nal cap acities for en sur in g sustain abilit y.
R E A L N E E D F O R I N V E S T M E N T S D U E TO E U S TA N D A R D S
A N D D I L A P I D AT E D I N F R A S T R U C T U R E
12. Because of years of underinvestment and changes in geopolitics , 11
t h e invest ment needs in t he wester n Balk an s to br in g in frastr uc -

t u re up to EU st andards are sign ific ant an d in most cases are be -
yond the means of national budgets. The investment requirements
re s ul t fro m t wo main fac to rs:
B ox 1
E xamples of strategic and non - strategic investments
projects
Case 1: Project following strategic objectives
Albania's prison system is below international standards. Prisons and pre-trial detention centres
are heavily overcrowded. At the time of the audit Albanian prisons were occupied by 3 049 inmates,
although their capacity was 1 510 people. This means an overpopulation of 102 %. Therefore, the
construction of Fushe Kruja prison to accommodate 312 detainees could be considered a key and
relevant priority.
Case 2: Project not following annual programme
In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the approved asylum project documents allocated
a budget of 2 million euro to institution-building activities such as drafting legislation, strategies
and national action plans. This was not done. Instead, a reception centre for asylum seekers was
built.
13
( a ) EU s t a n d a r d s f o r c o m p l e t e l y n e w i n s t i t u t i o n s 1 2 h a v e t o b e For example, in Bosnia and

12
c o m p l i e d w i t h . Fo r e x a m p l e, EU s t a n d a rd s re q u i re a p ro fe s - Herzegovina the border police is the

sional border sur veillance ser vice. This is a challenge because oldest of the state-level institutions
unt il recent l y t he b o rders were main ly controlled by militar y but less than 10 years old in 2009.
co nscr ip t s 1 3 . I n addit io n, th e n ew border s sh ould be open to
l egit imate movement s o f per son s an d goods but at th e same For example, in Serbia the army
13
t ime b e secure and co nt rolled. was controlling the borders until

2007.
( b) Dilapidated Justice and Home Affairs infrastruc ture. The cur-
rent infrastruc ture in the wester n Balk ans is poor and inade - ‘Master plan for judicial
14
quate. For example, when external evaluators 14 visited 38 cour t infrastructure’ — study carried out
b u i l d i n g s i n A l b a n i a i n 2004–0 5 , t h e y c o u l d n o t u s u a l l y d i s - by external consultants between
tinguish judges from defendants or members of the public or January 2004 and April 2005.
prosecutors and cases were handled in cor r idors.
The Court's Special Report
15
No 5/2007 on the Commission's

management of the CARDS
13. The audit identified that in around 70 % of cases Justice and Home programme (OJ C 285, 27.11.2007,
Affairs investment projects stayed within the broadly defined p. 1) concluded that the strategic
b o u n d a r i e s o f s t r a t e g i c o b j e c t i v e s 15, i . e . t o c r e a t e s t a b i l i t y a n d guidance was very general. This was
s e c u r i t y a n d to e n h a n ce a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h t h e EU. Th e re m a i n i n g adequate for the reconstruction
projec ts were not in line, or only par tly in line, with the objec tives phase but not for the more
i n t he annu al p ro gramme (B ox 1) . challenging institution-building
objectives.
14. Th e audit reveal ed t hat t he as sistan ce was tr iggered with out ad-
equate feasibility studies defining the scope and specifications of
t h e p ro j e c t s. Pe r fo r m i n g s t u d i e s i s a d e m a n d i n g t a s k gi ve n t h at
t h e b eneficiar y inst it u t io ns did n ot h ave soun dly for mulated n a-
t i onal st rategies o r ac t io n p l a n s wh ic h would h ave set pr ior ities.
O u t o f t h e 1 7 a u d i t e d i nve s t m e n t p ro j e c t s, t h e re we re o n l y t wo
highly satisfac tor y studies describing beforehand the impor tance
of t he sel ec ted p ro jec t (B ox 2).
B ox 2
E xample of highly satisfactory needs analysis
The construction of the two Courts of Appeal in Korça and Vlora in Albania were the two top
priorities in the ‘Master plan for judicial infrastructure’ study. The study analysed the situation
and prospects of all district and appeal courts in Albania. The master plan was well prepared and
detailed.
14
15. Wea k nesses at t he p l anning stage both by th e recipient countr y The national integrated border
16
and, in some cases, the Commission led to inefficient and ineffec- management strategy was adopted
t i ve dist r ib u t io n and use o f EU-fun ded equipment ( B ox 3) . in Albania in November 2006, in
Bosnia and Herzegovina in July 2005,
in the former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia in October 2005, in
MIXED RESULTS FOR A MA JOR C ATEGORY OF INVESTMENT Montenegro in February 2006 and in
P R O J E C T S : B O R D E R M A N AG E M E N T A N D S E C U R I T Y Serbia in January 2006.
It should be noted that the EU

17
16. Th e EU –wester n Bal k an summit in Th essalon ik i in Jun e 2 0 0 3 em- acquis communautaire, the Schengen
phasised that border insecurity is one of the real obstacles to standards or Community custom
the rule of law and constitutes a major priority for the Union. code do not provide a universal,
The Commission has been heavily involved in the sector of in- ‘one-size-fits-all’ model for border
te grate d b o rd e r m a n a g e m e nt , to w h i c h a m a j o r s h a re o f J u s t i ce management. Nevertheless, the
and Home Affairs funding (37 %) has been committed. The sec tor standards do require the system to
has t wo components — border management and border secur it y. be effective and risk adjusted.
Th e Co u r t a u d i t e d e i g h t i n t e g r a t e d b o rd e r m a n a g e m e n t i nve s t-
ment projec ts, including the construc tion of several border cross-
i n g p o int s. The resul t s o f t hes e investments were gen erally more
s a t i s f a c to r y w h e n co m b i n e d w i t h i n s t i t u t i o n - b u i l d i n g m e a s u re s
such as drafting national strategies for integrated border manage -
m e n t 1 6 . A n e f fe c t i ve b o rd e r m a n a g e m e n t s y s t e m re q u i re s a b a l -
a n ce b et ween o p en, b ut secu re border s 1 7 . This balance has been
a c h ieved in S er b ia, fo r example ( B ox 4) .
BOX 3
E xamples of inefficient and ineffective distribution and
use of E U - funded equipment
In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia some of the EU-financed motorcycles provided in
summer 2005 to the border police were hardly used for the first 18 months because the government
did not provide the police with the necessary protective gear as agreed. Some pieces of equip-
ment were still missing in 2007. The government launched the complementary equipment tender
in September 2008 and the contract should be signed during the first quarter of 2009.
The opening of the asylum centre in the same country was also delayed by one year because the
government failed to provide the necessary equipment.
Computers supplied to the Albanian police were still in cardboard boxes eight months after the
contract signature awaiting the decision of the authorities concerning the allocation of the com-
puters to the final beneficiaries.
15
PHOTO 1
Th e E U - f i n a n ce d B at rovc i b o rder crossing p oint
o n t h e B el g rad e – z ag reb m otor way has led to sig nific ant
re d u c t i o n s i n p a s s e n g e r wa i t i ng times.
S ource: european court of auditors.
BOX 4
EXAMPLE OF HOW THE USE OF MODERN EQUIPMENT
S T R E N G T H E N S B O R D E R CO N T R O L S W H I L E PA S S E N G E R WA I T I N G
TIMES ARE REDUCED
in serbia the new infrastructure and the equipment at the batrovci border crossing point made
a difference compared to the past (Photo 1). thanks to the project, the throughput increased
and waiting times were reduced. the waiting time for lorries has fallen from several hours to
30 minutes. passenger traffic waiting times during peak season have decreased from 12 hours
to around 20 minutes.
the border crossing point was also supplied with modern equipment so that the border guards
could detect forged documents, even well forged ones. the ‘docubox’ was used 100 times a day
on average and since putting it into operation the authorities have discovered almost one forged
document a day.
16
17. Modern border securit y is based on four elements: mobilit y, com-

munication, intelligence and firepower. The Commission's suppor t
h a s covered al l o f t hese except ar ms. I n Sh kodra, in Alban ia, th e
b o rd e r p o l i ce we re o bv i o u s l y b e t te r a b l e to p at ro l t h e n o r t h e r n
land borders with their four-wheel dr ive vehicles than previously
on foot. Also the land border between the former Yugoslav Repub -
lic of M acedonia and Greece and the sea border bet ween Albania
and Italy are now better controlled than before (see Photos 2
a n d 3 ). The nu mb er o f at tempts for illegal border crossin gs from
a n d i n t o t h e fo r m e r Yu g o s l a v R e p u b l i c o f M a c e d o n i a d e c re a s e d
substantially from 2005, when the vehicles were delivered, to
2 0 0 8.
18. A l t h o u g h t h e o ve r a l l p i c t u re re m a i n s r a t h e r p o s i t i ve s o m e we a k-
nesses were identified in this area that relate not only to the lack of
political will and legal means in the recipient countr ies (see para-
graphs 36 to 39) but also to cer tain specific weak nesses in the Com-
mission's management (Box 5).
BOX 5
E xample of a non - implemented border crossing point
project
The Gorica border crossing point (BCP) in Bosnia and Herzegovina is located on the busy interna-
tional road from Mostar (BiH) to Split (Croatia). The Croatian authorities had already constructed
a BCP of their own but the Bosnian side lacked proper infrastructure. The Commission signed a
3 million euro works contract without checking that the land expropriation process was complete.
Because of disputes over the valuation of the land, the project never started and the contract
expired in December 2006 18.
The consequence is that a ‘customs terminal’ on the Bosnian side is being run by a private legal
entity which withholds 70 % of fees for access to the customs terminal (amounting to approximately
20 euro per lorry). There is no plan for the government to take over this infrastructure.
18
As the Commission could not honour the contract, the contractor filed a request for over 550 000 euro for losses and damages and an
amicable settlement procedure was ongoing at the time of the audit.
17
19. t h e b r e a k - u p o f t h e fo r m e r Yu g o s l a v i a c r e a t e d o v e r 5 0 0 0 k i l o -
metres of new international borders in the region. the most
c o s t - e f fe c t i ve w ay t o c o n t ro l t h e s e b o rd e r s wo u l d h ave b e e n to
co n s t r u c t j o i nt b o rd e r c ro s s i n g p o i nt s ( b c p ) . h owe ve r, t h e co m -
m i s sio n co nt in ues to finance th e bcp projec ts usin g n atio n al al-
l o c at i o n s i n s te a d o f t h e re gi o n a l a l l o c at i o n . th i s a p p ro a c h d o e s
n ot su p p o r t t he devel o p ment of region al cooperation .
PHOTO 2
Al l p roj ec t s excep t on e were aud ited o n the sp o t. Here
a n E U - f i n an ced fou r - w h eel d r i ve vehicle is b eing checked
by Cou r t s t af f i n G evg el i j a on the b o rd er o f the fo rmer
Yu g o s l av R e p u b l i c o f M a ce d o nia facing G reece.
PHOTO 3
A res u l t of t h e s t ren g t h en ed sea b o rd er co ntro l in Albania:
a co n f i s c ated s p eed b oat u s ed by o rg anised crime to smug g le
p e o p l e i nto EU.
18
A L I G N M E N T O F E U A N D N AT I O N A L P R I O R I T I E S
A N E C E S S A R Y P R E - CO N D I T I O N F O R S U CC E S S
20. R e fo r m s i n t h e J u s t i ce a n d H o m e Af f a i r s s e c to r, w h e t h e r re l ate d In the former Yugoslav Republic of

19
to investment or institution-building, are a huge and complex Macedonia, the academy for training
u n d e r t a k i n g. H owe ve r, t h e n at i o n a l b u d g e t s d o n o t p rov i d e s u f - judges and public prosecutors is
ficient funding for Justice and Home Affairs priorities, par ticularly partly financed from the state budget
i n t he eco no mical l y l ess developed wester n Balk an countr ies 1 9 . under a specific law. This ensures its
educational independence. But 63 %
of the total funding to the academy
in 2008 came from international
21. E ve n t h o u g h t h e Co m m i s s i o n i s t h e m a j o r d o n o r i n t h e we s t e r n donors. A more balanced financial
B a l k ans, EU funds are no t enough to cover all investment n eeds. framework is needed to ensure the
Th e Co mmissio n t herefo re usually fin an ced pilot proj ec ts, wh ich operational independence of the
s h owe d t h e b e ne f ic i a r y t he ad va nt a ge s of u p - gra d e d i n fra s tr u c- institution.
t u r e . A n e x a m p l e o f t h i s k i n d o f a s s i s t a n c e i s t h e EU - f i n a n c e d
‘state - of-the -ar t ’ Cour t house in Vlora, which improved the trans-
p a renc y o f ju st ice (B ox 6).
22. T h e level of national funding varied considerably between the

countries concerned. The audit identified a case where donor
d e p e n d e n c e w a s n o l o n g e r a r e a l i t y. I n S e r b i a t h e c o s t s o f t h e
EU - f u n d e d co u r t re n ovat i o n p ro j e c t s we re a p p rox i m ate l y 5 % o f
t h e t o t a l S e r b i a n J u s t i c e a n d H o m e Af f a i r s b u d g e t fo r t h e ye a r s
b e t ween 2003 and 2007 (B ox 7) .
BOX 6
E xample of an investment enforcing the rule of law
Construction of the Court of Appeal in Vlora, Albania
The Commission invested 770 000 euro in the construction of the Court of Appeal in Vlora, Albania.
The short-term result of the project was positive. In the new building the average number of
cases judged during the first operational year (2007) more than doubled compared with the cases
judged on the old premises. Also for the first time, the Court of Appeal had proper courtrooms. This
i ncreased the transparency of the proceedings and improved the ‘reality of justice’ in general.
However, at the time of the audit, there was no electricity from the national power grid and the
annual budget for heavy oil for the generators had already been exhausted four months before
the year end. For this reason, computers could not be used. This reduced the throughput of the
cases and diminished the overall effectiveness of the investment.
19
PHOTO 4
Th e n ew an d more s ec u re Cou r t o f App eal build ing in Vlo ra
Al b an i a was f i n an ced by t h e Euro p ean U nio n. The wo rk s were
co mp l eted i n 2 0 0 6 .
S ource: ec delegation in tirana.
BOX 7
E X A M P L E O F A S U F F I C I E N T N AT I O N A L B U D G E T CO M M I T M E N T
Renovation of the biggest court building in Serbia
following the assassination of the serbian prime minister Zoran djindjic in march 2003, the
authorities arrested a high number of suspected criminals. however, the serbian authorities
lacked suitable facilities to enable them to try high-profile cases in a safe and dignified manner.
the renovation work financed from the eu budget provided the belgrade district court with, for
example, a modern courtroom. since the opening of the courtroom in june 2006, it was used
for 35 trials in 2006 and 40 trials during 2007 — most of them related to high-level organised
crime and war crimes. since then the serbian government has allocated considerable resources to
reconstruction of court houses throughout the country.
20
23. W h e n t h e EU a n d n a t i o n a l p r i o r i t i e s a r e n o t a l i g n e d , t h e r e s u l t The western Balkan countries and

20
i s i n e f fe c t i ve a s s i s t a n c e. Fo r e x a m p l e t h ro u g h t h e S t a b i l i s a t i o n the European Union have signed a

a n d A s s o c i a t i o n Ag r e e m e n t s ( SAA ) t h e C o m m i s s i o n o b l i g e s t h e readmission agreement as part of
wester n Balk an countr ies to implement readmission provisions 20 . the SAA. This agreement provides
But the provisions have not been successfully applied because for western Balkan and EU member
t h e recip ient co unt r ies have n ot reser ved sufficient fun ds in th e countries to accept the return of
n a t i o n a l b u d g e t s . Fo r e x a m p l e , i n A l b a n i a a l a c k o f s t a f f i n t h e citizens who have illegally entered
b o rd e r a n d m i g r a t i o n d i re c t o r a t e o f t h e s t a t e p o l i c e p u t a t r i s k or illegally remained on the territory
Albania's ability to fulfil its obligations under the agreement. Even of any of the other countries, as well
when the Commission financed the national strategy on migration as to accept illegal migrants who are
and readmission for Albania and highlighted the agreement's con- citizens of third countries or stateless
ditionalities dur ing the high-level committees meeting, progress individuals who have come to the
wa s sl ow. territory of one of the countries
through the territory of the other
country. The agreement essentially
obliges western Balkan countries to
IMPAC T AND SUSTAINABILIT Y OF INVESTMENT PROJEC TS share responsibility for EU security
AT R I S K with the European Union.
24. S i x o u t o f t h e 1 6 a u d i te d i nve s t m e nt s p ro j e c t s h a d p ro b l e m s a f -
fe c t i n g t h e i r s u s t a i n a b i l i t y. A l t h o u g h t h e c o u n t r i e s v i s i t e d h a d
carried out some maintenance of the infrastructure and equip -
m e nt p u t in p l ace, t he l evel o f mainten an ce was n ot suffic ient to
e n s u re t h e s u s t a i n a b i l i t y o f t h e i nve s t m e n t s. At t h e t i m e o f t h e
audit the beneficiar y did not have to provide evidence of a proper
m a intenance p l an and b u dg et pr ior to receivin g EU fun din g.
BOX 8
E xample of infrastructure project with lack of impact
The Commission invested over 3 million euro to upgrade the border crossing point (BCP) in Kamensko
in Bosnia and Herzegovina to the level of a ‘first category’ BCP, i.e. all types of goods can enter and
leave the country. However, since the completion of this EU project, the government has revised
its decision and down-graded the status of Kamensko BCP. Because of this decision, several types
of goods (e.g. petrol) can no longer be declared there. The traffic levels have decreased although
the road is the most practical road for traffic from Split in Croatia to the centre-west and north of
Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Commission was not aware of this change.
21
25. T h e Delegations were not always aware of the situation on the The Delegation's own four-wheel
21
g ro u n d b e c a u s e t h e u s e o f i n f r a s t r u c t u re a n d e q u i p m e n t i s n o t drive vehicle is not serviced in Tirana

monitored. Therefore, the impac t and sustainability of investment but driven to a neighbouring country.
p rojec t s co u l d no t b e assu red by th e Commission ( B ox 8) .
26. Alt h o u g h t he p ro curement rules allow for th e in c lusion of af ter-

s a l e s s e r v i c e s i n t h e p ro c u re m e n t p ro c e s s, t h i s p ro v i s i o n i s n o t
sufficiently applied. In Albania the Delegation procured four-
wh eel dr ive vehicl es fo r t he border police alth ough it k n ew th at
t h e r e w o u l d b e p r o b l e m s i n m a i n t a i n i n g t h e e q u i p m e n t 21. T h e
relevant beneficiar y institutions in charge of maintenance are also
not systematically invited as voting members to tender evaluation
co m m i t te e s n o r we re t h e y s u f f i c i e nt l y i nvo l ve d i n e a r l i e r s t a g e s
i n t he tender ing p ro cedure.
I N V E S T M E N T S N OT M ATC H E D W I T H N E C E S S A R Y
I N S T I T U T I O N A L C A PAC I T I E S
27. I n m a ny c a s e s t h e s i t u at i o n i m p rove d o n t h e gro u n d b e c a u s e o f

the EU assistance with equipment or infrastruc ture. However, the
i nvestments on their own will not achieve the overall objec tives
fo r a t a rg e t i n s t i t u t i o n . Fo r e x a m p l e, i t i s n o t e n o u g h to b u i l d a
modern border crossing point: the work ing practices of the border
p olice have to chang e acco rdin gly.
28. O t h er examp l es o f invest ments th at were n ot matc h ed with n ec -

e s sar y institutional capacities were the audited IT projec ts. Even
when the equipment supplied was relevant to the work of the
p o l i c e o r j u d i c i a r y a n d a d d re s s e d c u r re n t a n d f u t u re n e e d s, t h e
p ro jec t s' p o tent ial effec t ivene ss could n ot yet be adequately ex-
p l o ited b ecau se o f :
(a ) t h e l o w n u m b e r o f b o r d e r p o l i c e s t a t i o n s a n d c o u r t b u i l d -
i n g s t h a t w e r e c o n n e c t e d t o t h e n e t w o r k s . Fo r e x a m p l e , i n
M ontenegro only three out of 26 border crossing points were
interco nnec ted;
22
( b) p ro j e c t s re l a t i n g t o p u b l i c a u t h o r i t i e s ' i n fo r m a t i o n s y s t e m s
re q u i re a s o l i d l e g i s l a t i ve f r a m e wo r k a n d a d e q u a te s e c u r i t y
policies if they are to be sustainable, as confidential data are
exchanged. At the time of the audit, no countr y had a law on
dat a p ro tec t io n w hich wa s fully align ed with th e Commun it y
acquis. In the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a data pro -
tection law had been enacted in 2006 but still needs to be
u p dated to al ign w it h t he Commun it y requirements;
(c) none of the three IT sof tware projec ts audited had written in -
struc tions for access controls. Access control is a key process
that controls and limits access to the resources of a computer
system; it should be designed to protect against unauthorised
ent r y o r use.
SIGNIFICANT INSTITUTION-BUILDING NEEDS

B U T O N LY L I M I T E D C H A N G E R E S U LT I N G F R O M E U
SPENDING
29. T h i s section first deals with reasons for limited achievements

i n i n s t i t u t i o n - b u i l d i n g p ro j e c t s a n d t h e l a c k o f m e a s u re m e n t o f
a c hievements. Fac tors cr itical for sustainabilit y are presented in
t h e n e x t s u b s e c t i o n s : s t a b i l i t y o f k e y s t a f f a n d a n e nv i r o n m e n t
f re e o f c o r r u p t i o n , s p e c i f i c f a c to r s re l a t i n g to t r a i n i n g p ro j e c t s,
a n d ow nership at t he l evel o f th e ben efic iar ies.
CHANGE MANAGEMENT AND INSTITUTION-BUILDING

L I M I T E D A N D P O O R LY M E A S U R E D
30. A Justice and Home Affairs project can be said to be potentially ef-
fec tive if it addresses recognised needs and weak nesses, produces
expec ted benefits, is suppor ted by a commitment to sustainability
by the beneficiar y and is par t of a coordinated strategy to address
i n s t it u t io n-b uil ding.
31. Th e re s u l t s o f t h e Co m m i s s i o n' s p ro j e c t s i m p rove d t h e s i t u at i o n

o f t h e b e n e f i c i a r i e s. Th i s w a s m o s t e v i d e n t i n s u p p l y a n d wo r k s
co nt ra c t s b u t t h e gre ate s t c h a l l e n g e re m a i n e d w i t h t h e s u s t a i n -
a b il it y o f inst it u t io n-b uil ding proj ec ts.
23
32. For cases where institution-building projects did not achieve their The first step in the process of
22
ob j ec t ives, t hree main reaso n s were identified by th e Cour t: decentralised implementation is the
national accreditation of beneficiary
( a ) administ rat ive inst ab il it y in th e region , e.g. sign ificant tur n - authorities on the basis of capacity
over o f st aff af ter el ec t io ns; assessments. The next step is the
conferral of management from the
( b) t raining del iver ing fewer results th an expec ted; Commission to the recipient country.
( c ) l ack o f co u nt r y ow nership of refor m.
33. Th e a u d i t a l s o n o te d t h e o p p o s i te, i . e. w h e n t h e re i s s t a b i l i t y i n

the civil ser vice, when training is well targeted and when the top
management of the beneficiar y is committed to change, progress
i s a c h i e ve d. Fo r e x a m p l e, i n A l b a n i a t h e g ove r n m e nt i s co m m i t -
ted to finalising its de -mining effor ts, in B osnia and Her zegovina
the Constitutional Cour t solved the backlog of pending human
r ights cases and the cour t in Sremsk a M itrovica in S er bia became
a mo del co u r t u sing case management sof t ware.
34. Th e Co mmissio n int ro du ced fe w spec ific ac tivit y-based man age -
ment indicators in this area. In various activity statements the
Co m m i s s i o n n o t e s t h a t p ro g re s s i n t h e j u s t i ce, f re e d o m a n d s e -
c u r it y area in t he wester n Bal k an s h as been made, as j udges an d
prosecutors have received training and police and prosecutors
have improved cooperation. However, it is not clear how the Com-
m i ssio n measu res t he imp ac t of th ese ac tivities.
35. Th e Co mmissio n u sed to measure th e success of its assistan ce by

focusing solely on contracting and disbursement rates. In 2002 the
Commission star ted aiming for sustainable capacit y development
o f i n s t i t u t i o n s, w h i c h i s m o re d i f f i c u l t t o m e a s u r e. T h e we s t e r n
B a l k a n c o u n t r i e s a re p re p a r i n g fo r a d e ce n t r a l i s e d i m p l e m e n t a -
tion system of assistance, which is positive as the conferral of
management indicates a sufficient level of management capacit y.
H owever, t he Co mmissio n has n ot yet fully integrated th e meas-
u re ment o f cap acit y devel o p ment into th e accreditation process
of t he b eneficiar y aut ho r it ies 2 2 .
24
S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y O F I N S T I T U T I O N - B U I L D I N G
CO M P R O M I S E D B E C AU S E O F C H A N G E S I N K E Y S TA F F A N D
CO R R U P T I O N
36. Only two of the 15 institution-building projec ts achieved satisfac -

tor y su st ainab il it y. A co mmo n feature of th e in stitution -buildin g
projec ts audited was the disruptive effec t of changes of benefici-
a r y p e r s o n n e l. Th e p o s i t i ve re s u l t s o f i n s t i t u t i o n - b u i l d i n g t ra i n -
i n g p ro j e c t s we re a l m o s t a l w ays d i l u te d by s t a f f c h a n g e s i n k e y
p osit io ns (B ox 9).
37. T h e audit also noted a few positive examples of increased ca-

pacities. These have resulted in improvements at operational level
(Box 10). Despite the high staff turnover, the strategic objec tives,
i . e. m a i nt a i n i n g s e c u r i t y a n d s t a b i l i t y a n d k e e p i n g p u b l i c o rd e r,
w e r e e n s u r e d . T h i s w a s a c h i e v e d o n l y t h r o u g h c o n t i n u o u s EU
a s s ist ance.
BOX 9
U nstable staffing situation in public administration in
A lbania and the former Y ugoslav R epublic of M acedonia
In Albania, three out of the eight JHA projects audited included training. There were some positive
results but staff changes, for example in the migration area, continued to hinder capacity building
and delayed decision-making. Immediately after the parliamentary elections in 2005 in Albania, all
20 persons in the regional employment offices dealing with migration issues were replaced.
In the police of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 30 key managerial positions were
identified. Twenty-eight of these positions were subject to staff changes within months of the
elections in 2006, i.e. staff turnover of 93 %.
25
38. The audit noted inadequate cooperation between law enforcement It should be recognised that in
23
a gencies affec t ing t he sust ainabilit y of proj ec ts. For example al- Bosnia and Herzegovina 13 different
though the police sur veillance equipment and the fingerprint police forces exist, two at entity and
system were relevant to the Bosnian police and should enable 10 at cantonal level in addition to the
better detec tion rates in crime cases, it was not used to its fullest autonomous police of Brcko District.
p otent ial du e to l ack o f p o l ice cooperation 2 3 .
39. Th e integr it y o f Just ice and Home Affair s in stitution s can be bol-
s t e re d b y f i g h t i n g c o r r u p t i o n . T h e re a re i n d i c a t i o n s t h a t t h i n g s
h ave imp roved so mew hat in th e countr ies audited, alth ough th e
progress is fragile. One possible overall indicator of the effec tive -
ness of EU spending is the cor ruption perception index issued by
Transparenc y I nternational. Annex IV shows how the rating (rank-
i n g and sco re) has imp roved s lightly sin ce th e year 2 0 0 4 .
BOX 10
E xamples of enhanced operational capacity
In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia the ‘Mountain Storm’ operation in November 2007
was planned, executed and concluded by specialised police units. In this operation, a major arms
cache, sufficient to equip 650 solders, was discovered, including anti-aircraft weaponry. It was
found in the possession of what was initially described as an ‘organised crime group’ but was later
labelled a terrorist cell. The operation was carried out without civilian casualties. According to the
international observers interviewed by the Court, an operation of this magnitude would have been
impossible a couple of years ago.
In July 2008, the Mountain Storm trial verdict sentenced 17 people to a total of 192 years' impris-
onment. According to the judgement, the group's goal was to create insecurity among the citizens
and jeopardise the constitutional order of the country.
In Albania the EU has helped the police to strengthen the authorities' law enforcement capacity
since 1997. Assistance to the police will continue until at least 2011.
26
T R A I N I N G — M O R E O U T P U T S T H A N R E S U LT S
40. A k ey el ement o f t he p ro cess of introducin g refor ms an d ch an ge Because of past conflicts, regional

24
is through the provision of training to civil ser vants (Box 11). cooperation has been a challenge in
This has been an impor tant Commission pr ior it y. For example, all the western Balkans. Therefore the
t h re e re gi o n a l p ro j e c t s 2 4 , w i t h a to t a l b u d g e t o f 1 0 m i l l i o n e u ro, Commission's regional programme
involved training. The training outputs (seminars, wor kshops and focused on promoting relations
c o n f e r e n c e s ) w e r e d e l i v e r e d s a t i s f a c t o r i l y, b u t t h e i m p a c t w a s between western Balkan states. The
li mited (B ox 11). EU has made it clear that regional
cooperation is a prerequisite for
progress towards accession. Some
10 % of the CARDS funding was
41. G e t t i n g civil ser vants from different western Balkan countries directed to supporting this objective
a ro u n d t h e s a m e t ra i n i n g t a b l e i s o f co u r s e a wo r t hw h i l e a i m i n and the regional programme has
i t s el f, given t he recent histo r y of th e region . But th e specific ob - always focused on the rule of law and
jec tives of the Commission's projec ts were more ambitious, e.g. to Justice and Home Affairs issues.
develop regional strategies in asylum, migration and visa matters
b a s e d u p o n a s e t o f co m m o n l y a cce p te d EU te c h n i c a l s t a n d a rd s
a n d p r incip l es.
BOX 11
E xamples of J udicial T raining C entres ( J TC s )
The Court audited two training institutes for the judiciary. The overall objective of the JTCs was the
same, i.e. to become a fully fledged training institute in line with best European practices, offering
high-quality and targeted training to judges, prosecutors, court staff and advocates.
In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the EU experts' advice was overlooked when estab-
lishing the institution. The ministry did not invite any of the international experts to participate
in the draft JTC law, which was then heavily criticised by the donors because it was not compliant
with European standards. Furthermore, the curriculum for the initial training of 24 months was cut
to 15 months, with a risk of reducing the impact of the training.
In Serbia, the training institute for judges lacked direction and a clear legal base. Furthermore, the
‘training of trainers’ programme proposed the use of modern teaching methods, i.e. small training
groups with a lot of interaction. In reality only ‘ex cathedra’ training was delivered.
27
42. I t i s i n h e re nt l y d i f f i c u l t to d e ve l o p co m m o n t a rg e t s fo r re gi o n a l The Commission has contracted

25
training projec ts because of the differ ing stages of advancement external monitors to assess the
wi t hin t he individu al co u nt r ie s. Th e situation in Croatia was usu- implementation of the projects.
a l l y more advanced than in the other countr ies. The Commission
r ightly considered that the regional dimension had to be used to
put the k nowledge of the most developed national system at the
ser vice of the other recipient countries. However, the Commission
rarely measured how the training changed policies or working
p rac t ices, desp ite t his b eing a good prac tical approach to align -
m e nt w it h EU st andards.
43. Th e Co m m i s s i o n d i d n o t e s t a b l i s h a ny s ys te m fo r m e a s u r i n g t h e
regional judicial cooperation projec t's per for mance, not even af-
te r it was cr it icised by it s ow n mon itor s 2 5 . Th e in dic ator s did n ot
allow the measurement of the impac t as they were ac tivit y- driven
a n d fo r m a l i s t i c r a t h e r t h a n e v a l u a t i ve, e. g. n u m b e r o f m e e t i n g s
or co nferences. The o b jec t ives were also vague an d un c lear, e.g.
to enhance regional dialogue or to facilitate operational coopera-
t i o n . At t a i n m e n t o f o b j e c t i ve s co u l d t h e re fo re n o t b e m e a s u re d
b e cau se t hey were no t direc t ly lin ked to th e ac tivities.
44. At the nat io nal l evel to o, t he Commission's train in g proj ec ts did
not fully meet their objec tives, because they were run without the
commitment of the top management. Two special training courses
within the Albanian police projec t (PAMECA II) can be mentioned.
‘ S t r a t e g i c C o m m a n d C o u r s e s’ w e r e g i v e n t o 6 0 m i d d l e - r a n k i n g
to senio r-rank ing o fficers. Wh en th e train ed police man ager s re -
t u r n ed to imp l ement t he t heor y th ey faced resistan ce from th eir
s u p er io rs. To t r y and remedy th e potential lac k of impac t, a ‘S en -
ior Executive Programme’ had therefore to be launched involving
3 4 o f t h e m o s t s e n i o r p o l i c e o f f i c e r s. A l t h o u g h t h e Co m m i s s i o n
c a n b e c o m p l i m e n t e d fo r t a k i n g t h i s co r re c t i ve a c t i o n , i t wo u l d
h ave b een p referab l e to ensu re th e commitment of th e top man -
a g ement b efo re p resent ing t h e cour se to middle man agement.
28
45. Le a r n i n g - b y - d o i n g and on-the -spot training are effective ways

of developing a modern and efficient administration. Handing
ove r a d m i n i s t rat i ve re s p o n s i b i l i t i e s c a n b e d o n e a s l o n g a s s t a f f
turnover is not excessive (Box 12). Twinning projects with Member
S t a t e s a n d g r a n t c o n t r a c t s w i t h i n t e r n a t i o n a l o r g a n i s a t i o n s a re
u s e d m o re s i n ce t h e CARDS p ro gra m m e wa s re o r i e nt ate d f ro m a
re co nst ruc t io n- dr iven to a refor m- dr iven programme.
BOX 12
E xamples of ‘ learning - by - doing’ projects in B osnia and
H er z egovina
Case 1: Complete hand-over of responsibilities to the beneficiary — Human Rights Commission
In 2004 the Commission signed a grant contract with the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and
Herzegovina (BiHCC) to establish a special judicial body within BiHCC, the Human Rights
Commission (HRC), in order to address a back-log of almost 9 000 human rights cases 26 . During
the first year the Human Rights Commission (HRC) resolved more than 3 000 cases. The HRC started
operating with international staff, but since 2005 the HRC was composed of national staff only.
During the project the national staff applied the European Convention of Human Rights and other
international instruments on a daily basis. The project succeeded because 9 out of the 10 key staff
stayed with the Constitutional Court. In June 2007 all back-log cases had been resolved. According
to the beneficiary, the project made a significant contribution to the awareness of human rights
standards in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Case 2: Incomplete hand-over of responsibilities to the beneficiary — War Crimes Chamber
The War Crimes Chamber (WCC) in BiH is the first permanent and specialised state-level organ de-
signed to deal with grave breaches of international humanitarian law and part of the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia's completion strategy 27 . The number of war crimes
suspects in Bosnia and Herzegovina is estimated at several thousand. At the time of the audit the
handover from international experts to national experts was delayed. The actual number of active
trials exceeded the number forecast, which is positive, but the Court's workload well exceeded its
capacity. This situation was aggravated by the turnover of international judges.
26
There are four main types of human rights violation cases in Bosnia and Herzegovina: equality before the law, property rights, right to
work and receive education and missing persons (‘Srebrenica cases’).
27
Reference made to UN Security Council Resolution 1503.
29
LO C A L O W N E R S H I P A K E Y S U CC E S S FAC TO R I N
I M P R O V I N G T H E R U L E O F L AW
46. O n e of the most common strategic objectives of the audited

p ro j e c t s wa s to re i n fo rce t h e r u l e o f l aw i n t h e we s te r n B a l k a n s.
The western European concept of rule of law is in essence the
p r i n c i p l e t h a t n o o n e i s a b o v e t h e l a w. C e m e n t i n g t h e r u l e o f
l aw i n t h e we s te r n B a l k a n s i s e s s e nt i a l fo r s t a b i l i t y a n d s e c u r i t y
i n Euro p e. D esp ite so me p ro gress, th e r ule of law in th e wester n
B a lk ans is st il l weak (B ox 13).
47. I n m a ny o f i t s p r o g r e s s r e p o r t s , t h e C o m m i s s i o n h a s e x p r e s s e d
dissatisfac tion at the slow speed of reforms. The projec t approach
adopted by the Commission has its limitations. I t is not a ‘cure all
r e m e d y ’. S u c c e s s i n t h e C o m m i s s i o n ' s J u s t i c e a n d H o m e A f f a i r s
projec ts requires a change in attitudes of national authorities and
continuity of government struc tures. These fac tors lay beyond the
Commission's direc t powers and their negative impac t, in par ticu-
l a r o n inst it ut io n-b uil ding, sh ould n ot be un derestimated.
BOX 13
R ule of law concept in western B alkans weak
The ‘rule of law’ is weak in the region and confidence in the government and institutions is low. The
citizens distrust the legal system and they feel it benefits only certain status groups. When asked
whether ‘some people are above the law in this country’, the percentage of positive responses in
certain countries of the region was the following 28:
Montenegro: 69 %;
Serbia: 81 %;
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: 85 %.
It should be noted that those who feel most strongly that society is unfair and that people lack
equality before the law are the most educated and the best politically informed.
See the research paper by Alina Mungui-Pippidi: ‘Deconstructing Balkan particularism — The ambiguous social capital of south eastern
28
Europe’, 2005..
30
48. However, the Commission has lear nt the lesson of previous expe - Reference made to Delevic, Milica
29
riences. Compared with the Commission's earlier pre -accession ‘Regional cooperation in the western
p ro g r a m m e ( P h a re ) , i m p o r t a n t s t r u c t u r a l re fo r m s i n J u s t i c e a n d Balkans,’ EU-ISS Chaillot Paper
Home Affairs are now tack led ear lier in the enlargement process. No 104, July 2007.
49. U n t i l n o w m o s t re fo r m i n i t i a t i ve s d i d n o t c o m e f ro m w i t h i n t h e
region but from the European Commission and other external
a g e n t s 2 9 . T h e re s u l t i n g l a c k o f o w n e r s h i p we a k e n s t h e p ro j e c t s '
l on g -ter m resul t s. The first ser ious in itiative with in th e region is
t h e R egio nal Co o p erat io n Co un c il, wh ic h was laun ch ed in Febr u-
a r y 2008, as t he successo r o f th e Stabilit y Pac t for S outh Easter n
Europe. The work of the Cooperation Council will focus on six
p r i o r i t y a r e a s. O n e o f t h e m i s J u s t i c e a n d H o m e A f f a i r s . A l m o s t
t wo decades af ter t he co l l ap s e of th e for mer sec ur it y an d stabil-
it y struc ture in S outh-Easter n Europe, this new institution, based
in S arajevo, aspires to become the first regional forum of its k ind
through a regionally owned and led framework that also suppor ts
Eu ro p ean integrat io n.
M A N AG E M E N T A P P R O AC H E S A N D D O N O R
CO O R D I N AT I O N
50. T h i s s e c t i o n p re s e n t s t h e re s u l t s o f t h e a u d i t o n t wo h o r i zo n t a l
i s s ues, cover ing both t ypes of projec ts: the compar ison bet ween
the two management approaches used by the Commission and
d on o r co o rdinat io n.
NO SIGNIFIC ANT DIFFERENCE BET WEEN MANAGEMENT

A P P R O AC H E S
51. I n t h e we s te r n B a l k a n s t h e Co m m i s s i o n u s e d t wo b a s i c m a n a g e -
ment approaches (see Annex V), through the European Agency
for Reconstruc tion (EAR) or through Commission Delegations. The
Cou r t anal ysed t he audit results obtain ed on proj ec ts in order to
d e ter mine if there was evidence that one management approach
wa s mo re effec t ive t han t he oth er.
31
52. O u t of the 30 Justice and Home Affairs projects audited in the

recipient countries, 18 were managed by the Delegation, and
12 by the EAR (see A nnex I). While the overall per for mance of the
p ro j e c t s a u d i t e d w a s m i xe d, t h e re w a s n o s i gn i f i c a n t d i f fe re n ce
in the degree of success achieved in projects managed by the
D e l e g a t i o n s c o m p a r e d w i t h t h o s e m a n a g e d b y t h e EAR . O n e o f
t h e st reng t hs o f a devo l ved D elegation is th e close lin k bet ween
policy dialogue and the annual programming process. On the
o t h e r h a n d, t h e EAR ' s h e a d q u a r te r s co nt r i b u te d to t h e d i a l o g u e
wi t h addit io nal exp er t ise fo r th e region as a wh ole.
B E N E F I C I A R Y - L E D D O N O R CO O R D I N AT I O N N OT
ENHANCED
53. Th e Co mmissio n has co mmit ted itself to play in g an ac tive role in
fo s t e r i n g d o n o r c o o rd i n a t i o n i n t h e we s te r n B a l k a n s. D o n o r co -
o rd i n at i o n i s o n e o f t h e p r i n c i p l e s o f t h e 2 0 0 5 Pa r i s D e c l a rat i o n
o n Ai d E f fe c t i ve n e s s a n d t h e EU Co d e o f Co n d u c t o n D i v i s i o n o f
Labour. The Commission subscribes to these principles. The Cour t
found t hat it was difficu l t fo r th e Commission to put don or coor-
d i n at io n into p rac t ice o n t he groun d.
54. J u st ice and Ho me Affairs co ns titute a sec tor wh ere th ere is com-
m o n do no r interest. The Co mmission , th e inter n ation al fin an cial
i n s t i t u t i o n s , t h e M e m b e r S t a t e s a n d t h e n o n - EU d o n o r s a r e a l l
a c t i ve i n t h e we s t e r n B a l k a n s ( A n n e x V I ) . Th e p r i n c i p l e t h a t t h e
recipient countr y should lead the donor coordination process
c o u l d n o t b e a p p l i e d, b e c a u s e t h e re c i p i e n t c o u n t r i e s ' c a p a c i t y
to o p erate was st il l weak . M o reover, th e ben eficiar ies did n ot re -
ce i ve s u f f i c i e nt s u p p o r t to e n h a n ce t h e i r c a p a c i t y to l e a d d o n o r
coordination. Even when the beneficiar y had a clear vision of how
to i m p l e m e nt t h e i r p re fe r re d s o l u t i o n , t h e y we re f a ce d w i t h u n -
coordinated do no r ac t ivit ies ( B ox 14) .
32
55. T h e lack of donor coordination was not limited to investment

p r o j e c t s o n l y. I n i n s t i t u t i o n - b u i l d i n g c a s e s t h e b e n e f i c i a r y w a s
confused by recommendations given by different EU operators. An
over load of advice with mixed messages was most obvious in the
for mer Yugoslav R epublic of M acedonia. I n 2004–05 five separate
EU e n t i t i e s ( t h e EC D e l e g a t i o n , EAR , EU s p e c i a l r e p r e s e n t a t i v e ,
EUPOL-Proxima and EU monitoring mission) were active in the area
of police development. Additionally, the Organization for Security
a n d Co - o p erat io n in Eu ro p e, I nter n ation al Cr imin al I nvestigative
Tr a i n i n g A s s i s t a n c e Pro g r a m m e ( a p o l i c e p ro j e c t f u n d e d b y t h e
USA) and a number of EU Member State bilateral programmes were
op e rat ing simul t aneo u sl y. The problem was especially damagin g
wh ere advice was o f a co nt radic tor y n ature.
BOX 14
E xample of uncoordinated multi - donor investment activity
One aid harmonisation principle deals with aid alignment and untied aid. However, because of
uncoordinated multi-donor activities, where each donor gave cars, lorries and vans originating
from their country, the police of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia uses over 40 types
of vehicle. This makes it impossible to run the fleet cost-effectively. The police aims to use only
12 types of vehicle in the future.
33
CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
56. Th e i n c e n t i ve o f EU m e m b e r s h i p h a s co n t r i b u te d to m a k i n g t h e
EU t h e b i g g e s t a n d m o s t i n f l u e n t i a l s t a k e h o l d e r i n t h e we s t e r n
Balk ans. Unlike the previous accession programmes, the Commis-
sion has prioritised the Justice and Home Affairs sector and at-
t e m p t e d t o t a c k l e t h e s e i m p o r t a n t s t r u c t u r a l r e fo r m s e a r l i e r i n
t h e e n l a rg e m e nt p ro ce s s. Th e J u s t i ce a n d H o m e Af f a i r s p ro j e c t s
managed by the Commission take place in a difficult political
and organisational environment. Against this background the
Co m m i s s i o n' s m a n a g e m e nt h a s b e e n l a rg e l y e f fe c t i ve. H owe ve r,
the Cour t's audit identified some shor tcomings in Commission
m a nagement which, if addressed, could have resulted in an even
higher rate of projec t success, par ticularly in terms of the sustain-
a b i l it y o f t heir resu l t s.
57. T h e Co u r t c o n c l u d e s t h a t n e e d s a n a l y s e s we re s o m e t i m e s i n a d -
equate and that there was a lack of donor coordination. Although
not all investment projec ts achieved fully satisfac tor y results, and
t h e s u s t a i n a b i l i t y i s a t r i s k , t h e i nve s t m e n t a s s i s t a n c e f i n a n c e d
by t h e Co m m i s s i o n h a s m a d e a re l e va nt a n d u s e f u l co nt r i b u t i o n
to the national infrastruc ture and institutions. On the other hand
t h e Co u r t fo u n d t h at t h e re s u l t s o f i n s t i t u t i o n - b u i l d i n g p ro j e c t s
were only par tially satisfactor y and unlikely to be sustainable. This
was due to continued political weak ness and lack of commitment
(ownership) by the beneficiaries, as most reform initiatives do not
com e fro m w it hin t he regio n but from th e European Commission
or o t her ex ter nal st akeho l ders.
TA B L E 1
M ain conclusions on investment and institution - building
projects
Audit question Needs Project outputs Results

Type of assistance Relevance Assessment Achieved Sustainability
Investment S PS S S / PS S / PS
Institution-building S S S PS US
Rating: S = Satisfactory, PS = Partly Satisfactory and US = Unsatisfactory;
S / PS means that the rating falls between Satisfactory and Partly Satisfactory.
34
58. While the overall per formance of the projec ts audited was mixed,
with regard to the management approaches, there was no sig-
n i f icant difference in the degree of success achieved in projec ts
m a n a g e d b y t h e D e l e g a t i o n s c o m p a re d w i t h t h o s e m a n a g e d b y
t h e Eu ro p ean Ag enc y fo r R econ str uc tion .
R ecommendation 1
The Commission's rationale for working in the Justice and Home

Af fairs sec tor in the western Balk ans is clear but projec t result s
wo ul d b e eve n b e t te r i f :
(a ) when designing Justice and Home Affairs projec ts, the Com-
m i s s i o n g ave a p p ro p r i ate we i g ht to p ro j e c t o b j e c t i ve s a n d
ensured that project activity-based impact indicators are
set ;
( b) i nve s t m e nt p ro j e c t s we re m atc h e d m o re c l o s e l y w i t h i n s t i -
t u t io n-b uil ding p ro jec t s;
( c ) a l l d o n o r s a c t i ve i n t h e a re a , i n c l u d i n g t h e Co m m i s s i o n a s
t he main do no r, co o rdinated better with eac h oth er, for ex-
amp l e o ne do no r co u l d fun d or co -fun d a proj ec t design ed
by ano t her do no r ;
( d) the procurement process for equipment was reconsidered by

t he do no r co mmu nit y. Wh erever possible, j oint investment
pools managed by the recipient countries should be consid -
ered, although tight monitoring of the procurement process
by t he b eneficiar y o rg anisation s will still be n ecessar y.
35
R ecommendation 2
T h e sus t ainab ili t y o f p roj e c t s wo ul d imp rove i f :
( a ) b e n e f i c i a r y i nvo l ve m e n t we re i n c re a s e d, e. g. i n t h e p u b l i c
p ro cu rement p ro cess;
( b) no p ro jec t s were l aunche d with out a mainten an ce plan ;
(c ) the Commission monitored more closely the distribution and

e va l u ate d t h e u s e o f EU - f u n d e d e q u i p m e nt a n d i n f ra s t r u c-
t u re and to o k co r rec t ive a c tion wh en n ecessar y ;
( d ) t he Co mmissio n u sed impac t in dicator s to measure results;
( e ) the deliver y of technical assistance was adequately comple -

mented by ac t ive enco ura gement for in stitution al c h an ge.
R ecommendation 3
The regional aspect would be enhanced if infrastructure

i nte r ve nti o ns in th e inte gr ate d b o rd e r mana g e m e nt area we re
d esign e d an d imp l e m e nte d in a w ay that wo ul d fos te r re gi o nal
cooperation. For example, joint border crossing points, f inanced
f ro m th e re gi o nal all o c ati o n , sh o ul d b e gi ve n p r i o r i t y.
Th is rep o r t was ado p ted by t he Cour t of Auditor s in Luxembourg

at it s meet ing o f 15 and 16 July 2 0 0 9 .
Fo r th e Co u r t o f Au d ito r s
Ví to r M anu e l da Sil v a C al d e ir a
Presi d e nt
36
ANNEX I
C A R D S J U S T I C E A N D H O M E A F FA I R S P R O J E C T S AU D I T E D A N D
AN ASSESSMENT OF THEIR EFFECTIVENESS
CARDS AMOUNT
PROJECT DESCRIPTION Annual IN EURO
programme (contracts)
Investment
Albania Office equipment for police stations 2001 419 093
Albania Construction of Fushe Kruja prison 2001 2 874 708
Albania Appeal courts in Korça and Vlora 2003 1 636 375
Albania Border control and green border management 2003 2 127 106
Bosnia and Herzegovina Supervision and construction of Kamensko BCP 2001 3 349 597
Bosnia and Herzegovina Construction of Gorica BCP 2002 2 971 834
Bosnia and Herzegovina Supervision and rehabilitation of premises for the BiH Judiciary 2002 2 310 367
Bosnia and Herzegovina Equipment for police forces 2003 1 576 604
Bosnia and Herzegovina Supervision and construction of the border police HQ of BiH 2003 2 589 621
Bosnia and Herzegovina Provision of IT telecommunication system 2003 2 597 772
The former Yugoslav Republic of
Provision of vehicles for border police 2003 2 799 813
Macedonia
Construction of reception centre for asylum seekers 2002 1 419 580
Macedonia
Montenegro Construction of border crossing points D. Brijeg and S. Polje 2001 3 685 662
Montenegro IT and special equipment for the border police 2003 1 683 038
Serbia Construction and supervision of border crossing Batrovci 2002–03 5 134 209
Serbia Renovation and maintenance of the main courtroom in Belgrade 2003 1 196 963
Serbia Supplies to border police 2003 2 782 209
Subtotal 41 154 551
37
NEED OUTPUT RESULTS

RELEVANCE ASSESSMENT COMPLETED ACHIEVED SUSTAINABILITY
Satisfactory (S), Satisfactory/
PROJECT COMPLETION MANAGED BY Partly satisfactory (PS), Yes/Partial/No S, PS, US, N/A Unsatisfactory/
Unsatisfactory (US) N/A
September 2005 Delegation US US Yes US Unsatisfactory

March 2007 Delegation S US Partial PS Unsatisfactory
May 2006 Delegation S S Yes S Unsatisfactory
February 2006 Delegation S US Yes PS Unsatisfactory
October 2005 Delegation S S Yes PS Unsatisfactory
Never started Delegation S S No N/A N/A
December 2004 Delegation S PS Yes S Satisfactory
July 2005 Delegation S S Yes S Satisfactory
July 2008 Delegation PS PS Yes PS Satisfactory
December 2006 Delegation S S Yes S Satisfactory
June 2005 EAR S PS Yes PS Unsatisfactory
November 2006 EAR PS S Yes S Satisfactory
July 2005 EAR PS S Partial PS Satisfactory

March 2005 EAR S S Yes S Satisfactory
August 2006 EAR S S Partial PS Satisfactory
May 2005 EAR PS S Yes S Satisfactory
May 2005 EAR S US Yes S Satisfactory
38
CARDS AMOUNT
PROJECT DESCRIPTION Annual IN EURO
programme (contracts)
Institution building
Albania National strategy of migration 2001 1 000 000
Albania Albanian mine action programme 2002 2 000 000
Albania Pre-screening of asylum seekers and migrants 2003 2 000 000
Albania Pameca II – police mission 2004–05 6 314 404
Bosnia and Herzegovina Support to the prosecutor's office in BiH 2002 916 668
Bosnia and Herzegovina Support to Human Rights Commission 2003 645 705
Bosnia and Herzegovina Support of the high judicial and prosecutorial council 2004 3 120 986
Bosnia and Herzegovina Support to the war crimes registry in BiH 2004 3 500 000
Training institute for judiciary 2001 1 188 405
Macedonia
Support to the national police reform strategy 2001 1 457 533
Macedonia
Serbia Judicial training centre 2004 2 499 175
Serbia Capacity building of Ministry of Justice 2004 1 491 029
Establishment of EU-compatible framework in asylum, migration and visa
Regional 2002 2 922 700
matters
Regional Support to and coordination of IBM strategies in the western Balkans 2002–03 1 999 984
Establishment of an independent, reliable and functioning judiciary
Regional 2003 5 499 579
and enhancing the judicial cooperation
Subtotal 36 556 168
Investment and Institution building
Serbia IT support to the court administration, case management 2004 3 232 093
TOTAL 80 942 812
Audit criteria for relevance: The project objectives were in line with JHA priotities for the country.
Audit criteria for needs assessment: The projects were justified and alternative approaches had been considered.
Audit criteria for outputs: The completed activities had delivered the outputs as planned.
Audit criteria for results achieved: The EU-funded assistance was used effectively.
Audit criteria for sustainability: The results of the projects were financially and operationalily sustainable.
N/A: Not applicable.
39
NEED OUTPUT RESULTS

RELEVANCE ASSESSMENT COMPLETED ACHIEVED SUSTAINABILITY
Satisfactory (S), Satisfactory/
PROJECT COMPLETION MANAGED BY Partly satisfactory (PS), Yes/Partial/No S, PS, US, N/A Unsatisfactory/
Unsatisfactory (US) N/A
January 2005 Delegation S S Yes US Unsatisfactory

May 2006 Delegation S S Yes S Satisfactory
February 2006 Delegation S S Yes PS Unsatisfactory
December 2007 Delegation S PS Yes PS Unsatisfactory
May 2005 Delegation S PS Yes PS Unsatisfactory
March 2005 Delegation S S Yes S Satisfactory
January 2006 Delegation S S Yes S Unsatisfactory
January 2008 Delegation S S Yes S Unsatisfactory
October 2005 EAR S S Yes S Unsatisfactory
September 2005 EAR S PS Yes PS Unsatisfactory
October 2007 EAR S PS Partial US Unsatisfactory

September 2007 EAR S S Partial PS Unsatisfactory
December 2005 DG ELARG HQ S S Yes PS Unsatisfactory
March 2007 DG ELARG HQ S S Yes PS Unsatisfactory
April 2007 DG ELARG HQ S US Yes PS Unsatisfactory
November 2005 EAR S S Yes PS Satisfactory
40
ANNEX II
AU D I T M E T H O D O LO G Y A N D S A M P L E
1. Th e au dit wo r k incl u ded a review of strategy an d plan n in g doc u- 1

The EAR closed down at the end
m e nt s, e. g. co u nt r y s t rate g y p a p e r s, m u l t i a n n u a l i n d i c at i ve p ro - of 2008. It had operational centres
grammes and Eu ro p ean p ar t ner sh ip doc uments, as well as mon i- in the former Yugoslav Republic of
t o r i n g a n d e v a l u a t i o n re p o r t s. A s a m p l e o f 3 0 p ro j e c t s ove r t h e Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.
2001–05 annu al p ro grammes was audited in th e followin g coun - The EC Delegations are implementing
tries of the western Balk ans: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the programmes in Albania and Bosnia
for mer Yu g o sl av R ep u b l ic o f M acedon ia, M onten egro an d S er bia. and Herzegovina. The EAR also had
The projects were managed either by the European Agenc y for an operational centre in Kosovo and
R e c o n s t r u c t i o n o r b y t h e E u r o p e a n C o m m i s s i o n ' s D e l e g a t i o n s 1. there is a Delegation in Croatia but
Three additional regional-level projec ts were audited which were these were not audited.
m a n ag ed by DG Enl arg ement ( DG ELAR G) in Br ussels.
2. Al together contrac ts of around 81 million euro, cover ing 17 % of

the CARDS 2001–06 JHA commitments, were audited. The projec ts
w e r e s e l e c t e d i n t h e l i g h t o f t h e fo l l o w i n g c r i t e r i a : ( i ) f i n a n c i a l
impor tance, (ii) coverage of all sub -sec tors of JHA and (iii) cover-
age of all t ypes of contrac ts, i.e. grant, ser vice, supply and works.
I n order to allow meaningful obser vations on outputs, results and
the sustainabilit y of the projec ts, 29 of 30 national projec ts were
vi s ited o n t he sp o t.
Table 1: E ligible number of projects per country in A pril 2007
Country Number of projects Amount in million euro

Albania 21 38
Bosnia and Herzegovina 30 48
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 12 15
Regional programme 6 15
Serbia and Montenegro 14 21
Total 83 137
Audited 33 81
Coverage 40 % 59 %
41
3. Th e au dit fo cused o n p ro jec t s th at were mature but n ot too old,

t h u s l i m i t i n g t h e a u d i t to t h o s e p ro j e c t s t h at s t a r te d n o t e a r l i e r
t h a n 48 mo nt hs ag o and no t later th an 1 8 month s ago wh en th e
a u d i t s t a r t e d . Wi t h t h e s e c r i t e r i a t h e c o n t r a c t e d a m o u n t i n t h e
a u d i t e d c o u n t r i e s w a s 1 3 7 m i l l i o n e u ro, a n d t h e a u d i t c ove r a g e
w a s 5 9 % o f t h e c o n t r a c t e d a m o u n t . E xc e p t i n o n e c a s e (G o r i c a
border crossing point projec t in Bosnia and Herzegovina) that was
never star ted, other projects were completed ones. There was thus
sufficient mater ial to identify and analyse the main effec tiveness
p ro b l ems.
42
ANNEX III
TOTA L G R A N T A S S I S TA N C E D U R I N G 2006 – 08,
4 2 4 0 M I L L I O N E U R O BY S O U R C E
Others
24 %
European
Commission
56 %
EU Member States
20 %
S o u rc e: European Commission/World Bank Joint Office for South Eastern Europe.
ANNEX IV
L E V E L O F P E R C E I V E D CO R R U P T I O N — T H E W E S T E R N B A L K A N S
2008 2007 2006 2005 2004

Ranking CPI Ranking CPI Ranking CPI Ranking CPI Ranking CPI
score score score score score
Albania 85 3,4 105 2,9 111 2,6 126 2,4 108 2,5
Bosnia and
92 3,2 84 3,3 93 2,9 88 2,9 82 3,1
Herzegovina
The former
Yugoslav
72 3,6 84 3,3 105 2,7 103 2,7 97 2,7
Republic of
Macedonia
Montenegro 85 3,4 84 3,3 N/A 97 2,8 97 2,7
Serbia 85 3,4 79 3,4 90 3,0
The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) is calculated for 180 countries, with the ranking of 1 for the country that is perceived as the least corrupt
and 180 for the country that is perceived as the most corrupt country.
The CPI score ranges from 0 to 10 and expresses the level of perceived corruption, i.e. the lower the score the higher the level of perceived
corruption.
S o urce: Transparency International (http://www.transparency.org).
43
ANNEX V
T H E CO M M I S S I O N ' S M A N AG E M E N T S T R U C T U R E
IN THE WESTERN BALKANS
CARDS is mainl y imp l emented th rough t wo out of a total of four 1

The devolution process started
d i f ferent manag ement st ruc t ures ( see D ia gra m 1): in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1998.
This was done in order to improve
( a ) T h e EC D e l e g a t i o n s i n A l b a n i a , B o s n i a a n d H e r z e g o v i n a a n d the speed of EC external aid, while
Croatia manage the projects, from identification and formulation ensuring robust financial procedures.
to tender ing, contrac ting, implementation and evaluation 1 .
2
The EAR was established in
(b) The European Agenc y for Reconstruc tion (EAR) 2 , an independ- February 2000; its predecessor, the
ent ag enc y o f t he EU, manages th e programme in S er bia an d Task Force for Kosovo, had already
M o n t e n e g ro, i n c l u d i n g K o s ovo, a n d t h e fo r m e r Yu g o s l av R e - started operation in 1999. In 2001,
public of M acedonia. I t was created as a response to the need the agency's mandate was extended
to act quickly and efficiently when addressing the urgent to Serbia and Montenegro and in
p o st- co nfl ic t needs o f t he population in Kosovo in th e imme - 2002 to the former Yugoslav Republic
diate af ter mat h o f t he 199 9 cr isis. of Macedonia.
( c ) DG Enlargement (and earlier EuropeAid) manages the Regional

Pro grammes direc t l y fro m th e h eadquar ter s.
(d) I m p l e m e nt i n g Ag e n c i e s o f t h e b e n e f i c i a r y co u nt r i e s m a n a g e
the Local Community Development Programmes in Albania
a n d a p a r t o f t h e CARDS 2 0 0 2 p ro gra m m e i n C ro at i a i n a d e -
cent ral ised way.
44
D I AG R A M 1 : C A R D S M A N AG E M E N T S T R U C T U R E
CARDS Management Committee
European Agency for Reconstruction Commission HQ
Governing Board
Delegations
HQ (Thessaloniki)
Albania BiH Croatia
Decentralised Implementation
The former
Yugoslav Serbia Montenegro Kosovo
Republic of Albanian Central Finance
Macedonia Development and Contracting
Fund Unit
45
ANNEX VI
TOTA L G R A N T S A N D LO A N S D U R I N G 2006 – 08,
10 4 8 8 M I L L I O N E U R O BY S O U R C E
USA
8%
World Bank
14 % Others
14 %
European
Commission
EBRD 22 %
20 %
EIB
22 %
S o u rce: European Commission/World Bank Joint Office for South Eastern Europe.
46
REPLY OF THE
COMMISSION
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
I.
T h e J u s t i c e a n d H o m e A f f a i r s ( JHA ) a r e a
has continued to be a priority area in
the programming of the Instrument for
P r e - a c c e s s i o n A s s i s t a n c e ( IPA ) . T h e t o -
tal amount allocated to projects in this
area was 58.6 million euro in 2007 and
7 5 .5 million euro in 2 0 0 8 .
III.
(a) The Commission has always given high
pr ior it y to providing suppor t to coun-
tries for meeting the requirements
u n d e r t h e Po l i t i c a l Cr i te r i a , i n c l u d i n g
Justice and Home Affairs, as witnessed
in th e ear lier Ph are an d Tran sition Fa-
c i l i t y a n d C a r d s p r o g r a m m e s . JHA
co n t i n u e s to b e a p r i o r i t y a re a u n d e r
IPA.
(b) Sustainability of projec ts is essentially

dependent on the commitments of the
beneficiar y countries and resources al-
l o c a te d to a p ro j e c t a f te r i t s co m p l e -
tion. The Commission is addressing
t h i s i s s u e t h ro u g h p ro j e c t c o n d i t i o n -
alities and co -financing by the benefi-
ciar ies.
( c ) Needs were generally identified in the

framework of the Progress Repor ts,
which include an assessment of the
state of play in the area of JHA in can-
d i d ate co u nt r i e s a n d p o te nt i a l c a n d i -
date countr ies.
(e) Th e Co m m i s s i o n co n c u r s t h at i n s t i t u -
tion-building is most effective when
s u p p o r te d by s t ro n g p o l i t i c a l w i l l fo r
refor m.
( f ) Th e European Agen c y for R econ str uc -

tion h as been an efficient tool for th e
area it was designed for, thanks to its
speed in deliver y which was essential
in th e recon str uc tion ph ase.
47
REPLY OF THE
COMMISSION
IV.
( b) T h e C o m m i s s i o n g e n e r a l l y c o m b i n e s ( b) I n order to enhance sustainabilit y and
e q u i p m e n t a n d i n f r a s t r u c t u re i nve s t- own er sh ip of proj ec ts un der IPA 2 0 0 7
ment with institution- and capacity- a n d 2 0 0 8 p ro gra m m e s, p ro j e c t f i c h e s
b u i l d i n g. Th e p rov i s i o n o f e q u i p m e nt include specific conditionality on in-
and infrastructure is combined with frastr uc ture mainten an ce.
suppor t for training and organisation-
a l refo r ms. (c) T h e C o m m i s s i o n e m b a r k e d o n a r e -
g i o n a l f i n a n c i a l a s s i s t a n c e p ro j e c t t o
( c ) U n d e r IPA , t h e C o m m i s s i o n h a s p u t improve monitoring in the JHA area of
greater emphasis on aid effec tiveness, per for mance of author ities and finan-
and is committed to ensuring efficient c ial assistan ce in M arc h 2 0 0 9 .
donor coordination on the ground.
Th is has resu l ted in var io u s d on or co - ( d) Financial assistance is complementar y
o r d i n a t i o n c o n fe r e n c e s o r g a n i s e d b y to the political process of stabilisation
the Commission since 2007, as well as and association. Progress repor ts and
con crete init iat ives o n t he groun d for the European Par tnerships include
coordination at sec tor level, including specific recommendations as to the
t h e p rep arat io n o f jo int p ro je c ts with re q u i re d i n s t i t u t i o n a l c h a n g e s. S o m e
ot her do no rs. projec ts also direc tly suppor t refor ms
in the area of JHA. For example, in the
( d) As the Financial Regulation allows the programming of IPA 2009, discussions
Commission to implement ex ternal ac- a re b e i n g h e l d w i t h t h e b e n e f i c i a r i e s
t i o n s to g e t h e r w i t h o t h e r a c to r s, t h i s in order to deliver better programmes
type of action will be considered when re s p o n d i n g to b e n e f i c i a r i e s ' n e e d s i n
d e emed ap p l icab l e. the area of JHA, from a regional EU in-
tegration perspective and linked to the
V. s t r a t e g y p a p e r, c o u n t r y r e p o r t s , a n d
( a ) B e n e f i c i a r i e s a re n ow i nvo l ve d i n t h e Accession /European Par tn er sh ips.
procurement process from project
p re p a ra t i o n to t h e e v a l u a t i o n o f b i d s
(where a representative of the ben-
e f i c i a r y i s a l w a y s p re s e n t a s a vo t i n g
m e m b e r ) . M o re g e n e ra l l y, to e n h a n ce
ownership by beneficiaries, regional
c o o rd i n a t i o n m e e t i n g s a re o rg a n i s e d
r e g u l a r l y w i t h EC H e a d q u a r t e r s , EC
Delegations and beneficiaries, and
from an early stage beneficiaries are
consulted on the Multiannual Planning
Document and the outline project
f i ches.
48
REPLY OF THE
COMMISSION
INTRODUCTION OBSERVATIONS
2. 13.
Af te r CARDS , the JHA area has continued In implementing annual projects the Com-
to b e a p r i o r i t y a re a i n t h e p ro gra m m i n g mission had to take into account chang-
of IPA . ing circumstances while remaining within
the boundaries of the broader strategic
The guidelines for the annual action obj ec tives.
programmes indicate that the amounts
t o b e e a r m a r k e d u n d e r t h e Po l i t i c a l C r i -
t e r i a , i n c l u d i n g JHA p r o j e c t s w i t h i n t h e Box 1 — Examples of strategic and
IPA c o m p o n e n t f o r t e c h n i c a l a s s i s t a n c e non-strategic investments projects
and institution-building, should reach Case 2: Project not following annual
b e t we e n 3 0 % a n d 3 5 % o f t h e to t a l. Th e programme
to t a l amount allocated to projec ts in this The need for building capacities in the
area was 58.6 million euro in 2007 and field of asylum has been identified at a
75. 5 m il l io n euro in 2008. polic y level. The Commission's regular re -
port of 2002 called upon the country to
3. ‘i m p r o v e c a p a c i t y t o p r o c e s s a s y l u m a p -
(a) The Commission's risk assessment con- p l i c a t i o n s’, w h e r e a s t h e f i r s t a s s e s s m e n t
f i r m s t h e C o u r t ' s f i n d i n g s . H o w e v e r, m i s s i o n i n t h e JHA a r e a , c a r r i e d o u t i n
risks related to sustainability and own- J u n e 2 0 0 2 , re co m m e n d e d t h a t ‘a d e q u a te
e r ship of projec ts under IPA 2007 and reception facilities for asylum seekers
2008 programmes are now mitigated sh ould be establish ed ’.
by conditionalities and measures in-
cluded in the projec ts, such as projec t 14.
co -financing. When projects are funded, the strategic
framewor k is always tak en into account.
( c ) Th e Co m m i s s i o n a p p l i e s p r i n c i p l e s o f
sound and efficient financial manage - The Commission has consistently encour -
ment, and assesses the level of risks aged the M inistries of Justice and I nterior
associated with individual projects. to develop th eir selec tion procedure.
Contracts will not be signed, or may
be suspended, if there is no reason-
able assurance that the conditions for Box 3 — Examples of inefficient and
p rojec t imp l ement at io n w il l be met. ineffective distribution and use of
EU-funded equipment
M o t o r b i k e s p r o v i d e d b y CARDS w e r e a l -
located to the border police stations to
p a t r o l t h e g r e e n b o r d e r. T h e M i n i s t r y o f
I nter ior under took to provide the protec -
t i ve g e a r. A t e n d e r w a s l a u n c h e d a n d a n
offer ch osen in ear ly 2 0 0 9 .
49
REPLY OF THE
COMMISSION
Th e e q u ip ment p u rchase was initially th e Th e B i H I n d i re c t Ta x at i o n Ad m i n i s t rat i o n
responsibility of the Ministr y of Labour ( ITA ) i s p l a n n i n g t o c o n s t r u c t a n i n l a n d
a n d S o c i a l P o l i c y. T h e C o m m i s s i o n a n d customs terminal in Mostar (within the
UNHCR j o i n t l y r a i s e d t h i s i s s u e w i t h t h e ITA R e g i o n a l C e n t r e M o s t a r ) t h a t w o u l d
g ove r nment. S ome of the equipment was be owned by the ITA . The ITA would then
i n s t a l led in the centre by Apr il 2008, and be in a position to collec t 100 % revenues
t h e re s t at t he end o f su mmer 20 0 8 . re l ate d to u s a g e o f t h e c u s to m s te r m i n a l
f a c i l i t y. C o n s t r u c t i o n o f i n l a n d c u s t o m s
The Commission has since enhanced its ter min als is also stipulated in th e BiH I n -
overall super vision through site visits op- tegrated Border Management Strategy (re -
erated by EC Delegation staff and periodic v i s e d ve r s i o n a d o p t e d i n J u l y 2 0 0 8 ) . T h e
repor ting on the utilisation of assets, and ITA envisages construc tion of four inland
by interacting closely with the Albanian c u s to m s te r m i n a l s i n B i H , w i t h i n fo u r ITA
s t ate p o l ice. R e g i o n a l C e n t r e s , n a m e l y M o s t a r, S a r a -
j evo, Ban j a Luk a an d Tuz la.
Box 5 — Example of a 19.

non-implemented border Th e d e c i s i o n fo r o r a g a i n s t a j o i nt BCP i s
crossing point project subject to a number of factors, cost be -
B a s e d o n f i r m c o m m i t m e n t by t h e Co u n - ing only one of them. In addition, there
cil of M inisters of Bosnia and Herzegovina a re s o m e ex a m p l e s o f j o i nt b o rd e r c ro s s -
a n d G r u d e M u n i c i p a l i t y t h at t h e l a n d ex - ings between western Balk an countries (or
p ro p r i at i o n p ro ce s s wo u l d b e co m p l e te d them and their neighbours) suppor ted by
by t h e e n d o f S e p te m b e r 2 0 0 4 , t h e Co m - EU funds. A joint border crossing can cer-
mission signed the 2.9 million euro works t a i n l y e n h a n ce co o p e ra t i o n b e t we e n t h e
contract for construction of the Gorica two countries concerned, but there are
border crossing point in October 2004. also other ways of bilateral cooperation
Such a situation was not uncommon given at th e border.
the legal uncer tainties due to the transfer
of competencies related to customs and The Commission is currently examining
border matters from the Entities to the whether the Schengen acquis on joint
S t a t e o f B i H . I n a d d i t i o n , t h e G o r i c a BCP BCPs b e t w e e n w e s t e r n B a l k a n c o u n t r i e s
was nominated for construction as the pri- and their neighbours will apply in the
or i t y b o rder cro ssing by t he Federal M in - case of an asylum request being lodged
istr y of Transpor t of BiH. I n this par ticular by an asylum seeker on the territory of
case, the Commission faced unexpected the third countr y (but physically at the
r e s i s t a n c e w h i c h c o u l d n o t b e o ve r r u l e d joint BCP). The EU perspec tive on western
by the state against the expropriation Balk an countries requires that such EU in-
f rom the l o cal aut ho r it ies b ecause of th e t e r n a l re f l e c t i o n s a re t a k e n i n t o a c c o u n t
va lu at io n o f t he l and. when mak ing polic y recommendations in
relation to th ose countr ies.
For sustainability and ownership of
projec ts under the IPA 2007 and 2008 pro-
grammes, projec t fiches include measures
to avoid difficulties with construction per-
m i t s a nd l and ow nership.
50
REPLY OF THE
COMMISSION
Box 6 — Example of an investment 24.
enforcing the rule of law In the meantime, the situation has im-
Construction of the Court of Appeal in p rove d : Fo r s u s t a i n a b i l i t y a n d ow n e r s h i p
Vl ora, A lb a nia of proj ec ts un der IPA 2 0 0 7 an d 2 0 0 8 pro -
Since the time of the audit, the supply g r a m m e s, p ro j e c t f i c h e s i n c l u d e s p e c i f i c
of energy throughout the country has conditionality on infrastructure mainte -
gre a t l y i m p rove d a n d, c o n s e q u e n t l y, t h e n an ce.
frequenc y of elec tricity cuts on the power
network has been dramatically reduced. 25.
I n p a ra l l e l to t h i s, a s o f t h e b e gi n n i n g o f The Commission is aware that better mon-
2009, the Ministr y of Justice has increased itoring of the assets could have a positive
t h e operat io nal and maintenance budget effec t on the impac t and sustainabilit y of
for t h e ent ire just ice infrast ruc t ure. the investment projec ts.
I n this respec t, it is wor th noting that the

budget administration and management Box 8 — Example of infrastructure
i n j u d icial inst it u t io ns is steadil y becom- project with lack of impact
ing more transparent and more standard- Operations at the BCP are at present regu-
i s e d. lated by the instruc tion issued by the ITA
director. According to the relevant BiH au-
23. t h o r i t i e s t h i s i n s t r u c t i o n d o e s n o t re p re -
Albania has concluded a Community re - sent a valid document for offic ial recate -
admission agreement, which entered gorisation (downgrading) of the border
i nto force on 1 M ay 2006, and B osnia and crossin g point sin ce, in order to be valid,
Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and such a decision must be adopted by the
t h e for mer Yu g o sl av R ep u b l ic o f M acedo - relevant BiH institutions and published
n i a h ave a l l co n c l u d e d s u c h a gre e m e n t s, in th e offic ial gazette, wh ic h was n ot th e
which entered into force on 1 Januar y case in this instance. I n their opinion, this
2008. Each of these agreements stipulates instruction letter issued by the director
that the implementation of the agreement of th e ITA could n ot be seen as an offic ial
i s to be monitored by a joint readmission decision for recategorisation, although
committee with representatives from both the regime at the border crossing point is
the Commission and the national authori- gover n ed by th at par tic ular in str uc tion .
ties. The joint committees have regular
meetings in which also representatives of 26.
the Member States par ticipate. The cor- Beneficiaries are now involved in the pro -
rec t implementation of these agreements curement process from project prepara-
i s a condit io n fo r l if t ing t he EU v isa obli- tion to the evaluation of bids (where a
gation. The assessments made in this con- representative of the beneficiar y is always
tex t h ave confir med that the agreements present as a votin g member ) .
are implemented correc tly and in a timely
m a n n er.
51
REPLY OF THE
COMMISSION
After-sales ser vices are not quantifiable ( b) I n the other western Balk an countries,
at the time of tendering, and generally new laws on data protection have been
e xc e e d t h e p e r i o d o f i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f adopted in th e meantime 1 . I n some of
t h e Co m m i s s i o n p ro g r a m m e s. U s u a l l y, the countries fur ther legislative and
the provision of after-sales ser vices is a administrative measures are still re-
r e q u i r e m e n t u n d e r EC s u p p l i e s t e n d e r s , quired to establish sufficient personal
but the contract for such ser vices must data protec tion .
be negotiated by the beneficiary and is
n ot f i n anced by t he EC. (c) Written instructions on access controls
a re t h e re s p o n s i b i l i t y o f n a t i o n a l a u -
Investments not matched with necessa r y thorities. The Commission also sup-
i n s t i t u tio nal ca pac ities ports the implementation of access
control procedures, through technical
27. assistan ce or t win n in g.
The Commission generally combines
equipment and infrastruc ture investment 34.
with institution- and capacity-building. Th e re fo r m s t rate gi e s o n JHA to p i c s co n -
When it comes to border management the tain per for mance indicators. Polic y notes
provision of equipment and infrastruc ture have been developed, which ser ve to give
is combined with support for training guidan ce on programmin g an d on th e re -
of the border police and organisational sults to be ach ieved with fin an cial assist-
reforms. The overall objectives for each ance. Peer reviews by exper ts from the
countr y are based on an integrated border Member States assess the overall situa-
m a n a g ement st rateg y. tion an d offer recommen dation s on wh at
should be achieved with future assistance.
28. I n addition , an n ual progress repor ts con -
The project is a step in a more long- tain an assessment of the degree to which
t e r m s t r a t e g y. IT s u p p l i e s h a v e r e s u l t e d values of freedom, security and justice
i n a s i g n i f i c a n t i m p ro ve m e n t o f wo r k i n g ( e. g. r u l e o f l a w, re s p e c t o f f u n d a m e n t a l
m e t h o d s a n d i m m e d i a t e t r a n s fe r o f d a t a r ights) are respec ted in each wester n Bal-
between the linked police stations and k an countr y.
t h e ce nt ra l IT u n i t o f t h e m i n i s t r y, a l l ow -
i n g f u r t h e r p ro ce s s i n g to re l e va nt p o l i ce 1
New laws on data protection have been adopted in 2007
d e p a r t m e n t s. T h i s w a s t h e i n t e n d e d a n d (Croatia) and in 2008 (Albania, Serbia, Montenegro and the
i m m e d i a t e o b j e c t i v e o f t h e p r o j e c t . Fu r - former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia).
t h e r ex tension of the net wor k is planned
i n s e ve ral p hases.
( a ) Cu r re n t l y i n M o n t e n e g ro, s e ve n BCPs
( cover ing 85 % o f t he t raffic) are n ow
connec ted to the central database and
t h e I n t e r p o l d a t a b a s e. O n e a d d i t i o n -
a l BCP w a s t o b e c o n n e c t e d b y J u n e
2 0 09. M ontenegro has in the ongoing
visa liberalisation dialogue declared
t h at al l b o rder cro ssing p o ints will be
con nec ted to t he cent ral dat abase by
the end of 2009 and that this will be
f i n anced w it h nat io nal funds.
52
REPLY OF THE
COMMISSION
Box 9 — Unstable staffing situation 38.
in public administration in Albania Although the Commission encourages the
and the former Yugoslav Republic of d i f fe r e n t s e r v i c e s t o c o o p e r a t e , i n t e r n a l
Macedonia te n s i o n s a n d f ra gm e nte d, u n co o rd i n ate d
Understaffing and turnover of staff follow- p o l i c y m a k i n g b e t we e n t h e S t ate a n d t h e
i n g e l e c t i o n s i s a s o u rc e o f c o n c e r n . T h e Entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina consti-
Commission has made a point of stressing t u te t h e m a i n o b s t a c l e to s m o o t h o p e ra -
regularly to the national and local author- tion of institutions and to creating bet-
i t i e s t h e i m p o r t a n ce o f m a i nt a i n i n g s t a f f ter functioning and more efficient state
as a guarantee of increasing effec tiveness structures. The lack of political consen-
of t h e p u b l ic administ rat io n. s u s o n t h e m a i n d i re c t i o n o f t h e co u n t r y
inevitably also affects the results of the
Some improvements since the audit can fin an cial assistan ce.
b e re p o r t e d i n t h e m i g r a t i o n a re a w h e re
t h e D i r e c t o r a t e fo r M i g r a t i o n Po l i c i e s a t
t h e Al banian M inistr y of Labour has been Box 11 — Examples of judicial
strengthened and additional staff have training centres (JTCs)
b e e n hired. Initially, the M inistr y of Justice did not in-
vite any of th e proj ec t's inter n ation al ex-
Changes were made by the Ministr y ac- p e r t s to p a r t i c i p ate i n t h e d ra f t i n g p ro c -
cording to the legislation in force and ess for the law governing the Academy for
b a s e d mainl y o n so - cal l ed unsat isfac tor y t h e Tr a i n i n g o f J u d g e s a n d P r o s e c u t o r s .
per formance. This created a temporar y As a result of pressure from the donor
s l owd ow n o f t h e re fo r m p ro ce s s a n d wa s c o m m u n i t y, t h e e x p e r t s w e r e e v e n t u a l l y
b ro u g h t u p by t h e Co m m i s s i o n . Th e n e w consulted and some of their recommen-
staff deployed took some time to settle dations have been included in the final
in but per formance indicators for the legal text. Never theless the current law
holders of all the positions in question still has shortcomings which need to be
a re co m p a ra t i ve l y b e t te r n ow t h a n t h re e addressed. Th e M in istr y of Justice h as in -
ye a r s ag o. cluded the preparation of amendments on
th e 2 0 0 9 legislative agen da.
Box 10 — Examples of enhanced Cu r re nt l y t h e a c a d e my i s f u l l y f u n c t i o n a l

operational capacity fo r b o t h i n i t i a l a n d c o n t i n u o u s t r a i n i n g.
The Communit y assistance may have con- A s r e g a r d s i n i t i a l t r a i n i n g, t h e f i r s t g e n -
t r i b u t e d t o p ro v i d i n g t h e i n f r a s t r u c t u r a l eration of students graduated from the
and organisational capacity and sk ills nec - academy in Februar y 2009 and the second
essar y to plan and execute an operation of generation is now undergoing training. As
t h i s i mpor tance, but was neither a direc t for th e contin uous train in g, th e ac ademy
n or a n indirec t fac to r in it s execution . has constantly widened the scope of its
activities and the categories of special
train in g provided.
53
REPLY OF THE
COMMISSION
The decision to abandon a previously Box 12 — Examples of ‘learning-
a g r e e d Tr a i n i n g o f Tr a i n e r s s t r a t e g y t o by-doing’ projects in Bosnia and
improve teaching techniques was taken Herzegovina
by t h e l o cal aut ho r it ies. Case 2: Incomplete hand-over of
responsibilities to the beneficiary —
During the project implementation, the War Crimes Chamber
Commission was faced with changing pr i- In terms of staff hand- over, the war crimes
orities due to different ministers of jus- p ro j e c t e n t a i l e d a f i ve - ye a r i m p l e m e n t a -
tice, presidents of the Supreme Cour t and tion period, i.e. from 2005 to 2009 in-
direc tors of the judicial training c entre — clusive. Since the audit, the prospect of
h av i n g d i f fe r i n g v i e ws o n t h e ro l e o f t h e e n d i n g t h e m a n d ate s o f a l l i nte r n at i o n a l
JTC . judges and prosecutors has been recon-
sidered, espec ially in light of th e remain -
41. ing backlog and 15% budgetar y reduc-
A s t h e p ro j e c t s l a u n c h e d u n d e r t h e p r o - tions for the Cour t for 2009. Hence, for
g r a m m e w e r e t h e f i r s t CARDS r e g i o n a l political, technical and budgetar y reasons
p ro j e c t s i n t h e a re a o f JHA , e x p e r t s f ro m t h e Co u r t ( a n d t h e p ro s e c u to r ' s o f f i ce ) i s
t h e EU M emb er St ates p er fo r med JHA as- in favour of their continuation beyond the
sessment missions in the region in May- or igin al D ecember 2 0 0 9 c ut- off point.
June 2002 and identified several impor-
tant common needs that the projects 46.
l a u n c hed t hereaf ter aimed to cover. Th e Commission n ow tak es th e degree to
which values of freedom, security and jus-
43. t i c e, s u c h a s t h e r u l e o f l a w a n d r e s p e c t
Concise summaries of progress towards fo r f u n d a m e n t a l r i g h t s , a r e r e s p e c t e d i n
a c h i e v i n g t h e s p e c i f i c o b j e c t i ve s w i l l b e key third countries (including the coun-
prepared for future projects. The Com- tr ies that have been subjec t to this audit)
mission wishes to underline that all the a s a n i m p o r t a nt i m p a c t i n d i c ato r re l ate d
o u t p u t s a s s e t i n t h e p ro j e c t d e s c r i p t i o n to one of the general objectives of the
we re d el ivered. j ustice, freedom an d sec ur it y area.
44. 47.
The Commission has learned from these Th e h i s to r y o f i m p l e m e nt at i o n o f s e ve ra l
p a s t exper iences and now ac ts according institution-building projects shows that
t o a fo r m a l i s e d a p p ro a c h w h i c h s e e s t h e the Commission has repeatedly and stead-
beneficiary in the driving seat of the as- ily attempted to exer t a positive influence
sistance process, tak ing full responsibility in order to foster the sustainabilit y of the
for the anticipated objectives, methodolo - proj ec ts.
gi e s a n d resul t s.
Fu r t h e r e n h a n ce m e nt o f t h e p ro j e c t s '
own e rship by t he b eneficiar ies is a pr ior-
i t y u n der IPA.
54
REPLY OF THE
COMMISSION
48. 53.
In order to enhance ownership by ben- D onor coordination is already considered
eficiaries, regional coordination meetings a priority within CARDS as a donor coordi-
are organised regularly with EC Headquar- nation meeting was held in Brussels at the
t e r s , EC D e l e g a t i o n s a n d b e n e f i c i a r i e s . e n d o f 2 0 0 5 w h e re b e s t p ra c t i ce s c a r r i e d
M ore over, fro m an ear l y st ag e b en eficiar- out in Alban ia were presented an d differ-
ies are consulted on the Multiannual Plan- ent coordin ation aspec ts disc ussed.
ning Document and the outline project
f i c h e s. Under IPA, the will to ensure efficient do -
nor coordination on the ground has devel-
A s r e g a r d s JHA r e g i o n a l p r o g r a m m i n g oped into a top priority : fur ther confer-
under IPA 2009, discussions are held with ences on aid effec tiveness in the wester n
the beneficiaries in order to deliver better B a l k a n s a n d Tu r k e y w e r e o r g a n i s e d i n
p ro grammes responding to beneficiar ies' Brussels in October 2008 and in Tirana
needs, from a regional EU integration per- in April 2009. A follow-up conference is
spec tive and linked to the strategy paper, sc h eduled for O c tober 2 0 0 9 .
co u nt r y repor ts, and Accession/European
Pa r t n ership s. 54.
The Commission strives continuously to
49. i m p rove d o n o r co o rd i n a t i o n . A n i n te r n a l
The Regional Cooperation Council took n e t wo r k w a s re e s t a b l i s h e d i n e a r l y 2 0 0 8
over in the first half of 2008 the role of for improving polic y and programming co-
t h e fo r m e r S t a b i l i t y Pa c t a s f a c i l i t a to r o f ordination in the JHA area. R egular meet-
r e g i o n a l d o n o r c o o p e r a t i o n i n t h e JHA ings involving also the EC Delegations are
area and is organising conferences to this held within this net wor k . Thematic notes
e n d. have been developed in this contex t with
policy and programming recommenda-
Within that context, donor cooperation tions on judiciar y reform and the fight
m e e t i n g s a re a l s o o rg a n i s e d by t h e i n d i - again st cor r uption an d organ ised c r ime.
vidual initiatives such as the Migration,
Asylum, Refugees Regional Initiative
(MARRI) and the Regional Anti- Corruption
I n i t i at ive (RAI).
52.
Th e Eu ro p e a n Ag e n c y fo r R e co n s t r u c t i o n
has successfully fulfilled its mandate of
post-crisis reconstruction and stabilisa-
t i o n . T h e Co m m i s s i o n c o n s i d e r s t h a t t h e
a g e n c y h a s b e e n a n e f f i c i e nt to o l fo r t h e
a r e a i t w a s d e s i g n e d f o r, t h a n k s t o i t s
s p e e d i n d e l i ve r y w h i c h w a s e s s e n t i a l i n
t h e re co nst ruc t io n p hase.
55
REPLY OF THE
COMMISSION
Box 14 — Example of uncoordinated CONCLUSIONS AND
multi-donor investment activity RECOMMENDATIONS
Since 2002 all donors have both provided
local authorities with vehicles and left 56.
them as a donation at the end of their T h e JHA a r e a h a s c o n t i n u e d t o b e a p r i -
p ro j e c t s. Th e u n co o rd i n ate d a p p ro a c h i n o r i t y a re a i n t h e p ro g r a m m i n g o f t h e I n -
t e r m s o f l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s ' l a c k o f s t r a te - struments for Pre -Accession Assistance
gi c p l a n n i n g fo r b u d g e t a n d i nte r n at i o n - and measures have meanwhile been in-
al organisations' response to the lack of troduced to ensure the sustainability of
vehicles created, in a couple of years, a proj ec t results.
non-homogeneous fleet with rising main-
t e n a n c e c o s t s. T h e p r o b l e m w a s s p o t t e d 57.
b y t h e M i n i s t r y o f t h e I n t e r i o r. L a s t y e a r In endeavouring to coordinate donors,
the M inistr y of the I nterior star ted a coor- the Commission maintains regular con-
d i n ate d re v i s i o n o f i t s f l e e t by te n d e r i n g tacts for polic y and financial assistance
fo r a n d then buying some 50 vehicles. All co o rd i n at i o n w i t h t h e Co u n c i l o f Eu ro p e,
the vehicles come from a single leading the Venice Commission, UN H igh Commis-
EU c a r m a k e r a n d i t i s e x p e c t e d t h a t t h i s s i o n e r fo r R e f u g e e s, I n t e r n a t i o n a l O f f i c e
will impac t positively on the maintenance of M igration, International Criminal Tribu-
ex p e n dit u re. nal for the former Yugoslavia and bilateral
donors. Meetings are held regularly be -
55. tween the EC Delegations and the Member
The problem of conflicting advice, con- States' embassies for coordinating their
fined to cer tain issues and restricted to bilateral fin an cial assistan ce with th at of
a s p e c i f i c p e r i o d , w a s m e a nw h i l e s o l v e d t h e C o m m u n i t y. T h e C o m m i s s i o n o r g a n -
a s t h e o t her p l ayers l ef t t he fiel d, an d n o ised conferences in autumn 2008 and in
longer persists as the Commission has April 2009 with the main donors, aimed
p rom o ted t he p ro gressive har mon isation at improving donor coordination method-
of a d v ice. o l o g i e s. T h e n e x t c o n fe r e n c e, w h i c h w i l l
m a i n l y fo c u s o n t h e p r a c t i c a l a s p e c t s o f
coordination on the ground, is scheduled
for O c tober 2009.
The Regional Cooperation Council took

over dur in g th e fir st h alf of 2 0 0 8 th e role
o f t h e fo r m e r S t a b i l i t y Pa c t a s f a c i l i t a to r
of regional donor cooperation in the JHA
area and is organising conferences to this
end. Donor cooperation meetings are also
organ ised th rough region al in itiatives.
56
REPLY OF THE
COMMISSION
Recommendation 1 Recommendation 2
(a ) The Commission now sets impac t indi- (a) B e n e f i c i a r i e s a re n ow i nvo l ve d i n t h e
c a t o r s w h i c h a re p a r t o f t h e a c t i v i t y - procurement process from project
based management cycle. They include p re p a ra t i o n to t h e e v a l u a t i o n o f b i d s
t h e degree to w hich val u es re lated to (where a representative of the ben-
f reedom, secur it y and justice are now e f i c i a r y i s a l w a y s p re s e n t a s a vo t i n g
respected in key third countries, in- m e m b e r ) . M o re g e n e ra l l y, to e n h a n ce
cluding the countries in which the ownership by beneficiaries, regional
a u dit has been conduc ted; the values c o o rd i n a t i o n m e e t i n g s a re o rg a n i s e d
include the rule of law and respec t for r e g u l a r l y w i t h EC H e a d q u a r t e r s , EC
f u ndament al r ig ht s. Delegations and beneficiaries, and
from an early stage beneficiaries are
( b) T h e C o m m i s s i o n g e n e r a l l y c o m b i n e s consulted on the Multiannual Planning
e q u i p m e n t a n d i n f r a s t r u c t u re i nve s t- Document and the outline project
ment with institution- and capacity- fic h es.
b u i l d i n g. Th e p rov i s i o n o f e q u i p m e nt
and infrastructure is combined with (b) Fo r s u s t a i n a b i l i t y a n d o w n e r s h i p o f
suppor t for training and organisation- projec ts under IPA 2007 and 2008 pro -
a l refo r ms. g r a m m e s, p ro j e c t f i c h e s i n c l u d e s p e -
cific conditionality on infrastructure
( c ) Practical aspects of donor coordination mainten an ce.
a re n o w b e i n g e x a m i n e d ; c o n c e r n i n g
t h i s p a r t i c u l a r p o s s i b i l i t y, i n i t i a t i v e s (c) T h e Co m m i s s i o n i s a w a re o f t h e s i t u -
have been taken by the Commission ation and in M arch 2009 embar ked on
i n t h e c o n t e x t o f a ‘p r o j e c t s f a i r ’ o r - a regional financial assistance projec t
g a nised in t he sp r ing o f 2009. to improve monitoring in the JHA area
o f p e r fo r m a n c e o f a u t h o r i t i e s a n d f i -
( d) As the Financial Regulation allows the n an c ial assistan ce.
Commission to implement ex ternal ac-
t i o n s to g e t h e r w i t h o t h e r a c to r s, t h i s ( d ) The Commission now sets impac t indi-
type of action will be considered when c a t o r s w h i c h a re p a r t o f t h e a c t i v i t y -
d e emed ap p l icab l e. based management cycle. They include
th e degree to wh ic h values related to
freedom, secur it y and justice are now
respected in key third countries, in-
cluding the countries in which the
audit has been conduc ted; the values
include the rule of law and respec t for
fun damental r ights.
57
REPLY OF THE
COMMISSION
( e ) Financial assistance is complementar y Recommendation 3
to the political process of stabilisation
a n d association. Progress repor ts and The Commission agrees that a joint bor-
the European Par tnerships include d e r c ro s s i n g p o i nt c a n ce r t a i n l y e n h a n ce
specific recommendations as to the cooperation between the two countries
re q u i re d i n s t i t u t i o n a l c h a n g e s. S o m e concer ned, but there are also other ways
projec ts also direc tly suppor t refor ms of bilateral cooperation at th e border.
in the area of JHA. For example, in the
programming of IPA 2009, discussions Prac tical issues linked to the applicabilit y
a re b e i n g h e l d w i t h t h e b e n e f i c i a r i e s o f t h e S c h e n g e n a c q u i s o n j o i n t BCPs i n
in order to deliver better programmes case of asylum requests are to be taken
re s p o n d i n g to b e n e f i c i a r i e s ' n e e d s i n i nto a cco u nt w h e n m a k i n g p o l i c y re co m -
the area of JHA, from a regional EU in- mendations in relation to those coun-
tegration perspective and linked to the tr ies.
s t r a t e g y p a p e r, c o u n t r y r e p o r t s , a n d
Accessio n/Euro p ean Par t ners h ips.
European Court of Auditors
Special Report No 12/2009

The effectiveness of the Commission's projects in the area of Justice and Home
Affairs for the western Balkans
Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union
2009 — 57 pp. — 21 × 29.7 cm
ISBN 978-92-9207-454-8
doi:10.2865/80334
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QJ-AB-09-012-EN-C
ISSN 1831-0834
IN THIS REPORT, THE EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS ANALYSES THE EUROPEAN
EFFECTIVENESS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION’S PROJECTS IN THE
AREA OF JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS FOR THE WESTERN BALKANS.
COURT OF AUDITORS
THE REPORT COVERS BOTH INVESTMENT AND INSTITUTION-BUILDING
PROJEC TS IN THE FOUR JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS SUB AREAS:
ASYLUM AND MIGRATION, INTEGRATED BORDER MANAGEMENT,
2009
JUDICIARY AND POLICE.
AG A I N S T T H E B AC KG R O U N D O F A D I F F I C U LT P O L I T I C A L A N D
ORGANISATIONAL ENVIRONMENT, THE COMMISSION’S MANAGEMENT
OF JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS PR OJEC TS HAS BEEN LAR GELY
Special Report No 12
EFFEC TIVE. HOWE VER, THE COUR T IDENTIFIED SHOR TCOMINGS,
PARTICULARLY IN TERMS OF OWNERSHIP AND SUSTAINABILIT Y OF
RESULTS. THE REPORT CONTAINS RECOMMENDATIONS WHICH COULD
HELP THE COMMISSION TO PROVIDE MORE EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE
ASSISTANCE.
EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE
COMMISSION’S PROJECTS IN THE
AREA OF JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS
FOR THE WESTERN BALKANS
EN

European Court of Auditors - The Effectiveness of The Commission's Projects in The Area of Justice and Home Affairs For The Western Balkans

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European Court of Auditors - The Effectiveness of The Commission's Projects in The Area of Justice and Home Affairs For The Western Balkans

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QJ-AB-09-012-EN-C

(pursuant to Article 248(4), second subparagraph, EC)

european court of auditors

Tel. +352 4398-45410

Special Report No 12 2009

Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication.

© European Communities, 2009

I–V EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

6–10 AUDIT SCOPE AND APPROACH

11–28 EU INVESTMENT SUPPORT MOSTLY SUCCESSFUL BUT SUSTAINABILITY AT RISK

29–49 SIGNIFICANT INSTITUTION-BUILDING NEEDS BUT ONLY LIMITED CHANGE

50–55 MANAGEMENT APPROACHES AND DONOR COORDINATION

56–58 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

A NNEX I — CARDS JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS PROJECTS AUDITED

REPLY OF THE COMMISSION

BiH: Bosnia and Herzegovina

BiHCC: Constitutional Court of BiH

BCP: Border crossing point

CARDS: Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation

DG ELARG: Directorate-General for Enlargement

EAR: European Agency for Reconstruction

EBRD: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

EC: European Commission

EIB: European Investment Bank

EU: European Union

EUPOL-Proxima: European Union Police Mission in the former Yugoslav Republic

HRC: Human Rights Commission

IBM: Integrated border management

JHA: Justice and Home Affairs

PAMECA: Police Assistance Mission of the European Community to Albania

SAp: Stabilisation and Association process

SR: Special Report of the European Court of Auditors

UNSCR: United Nations Security Council Resolution

WCC: War Crimes Chamber

( b) t h e intended o ut p ut s had b een deliv-

4. Th e o b jec t ives o f t he Co mmis sion's programmes were to: 5

( e ) facil it ate devel o p ment, t rade relation s an d traffic; 6

AUDIT SCOPE AND APPROACH

6. T h e E u r o p e a n U n i o n h e l p s t h e w e s t e r n B a l k a n c o u n t r i e s m a i n l y As provided in the CARDS

The audit assessed the extent to

which the Justice and Home Affairs

The audit assessed the extent to

8. Th e Co m m i s s i o n u s e d t wo b a s i c m a n a g e m e nt a p p ro a c h e s i n t h e which the beneficiary used given

9. the european commission is financially the most significant donor

10. th e re p o r t i s s t r u c t u re d a cco rd i n g to t h e fo r m o f a s s i s t a n ce, i n -

MAP OF THE WESTERN BALKANS

S ource: european commission.

12. Because of years of underinvestment and changes in geopolitics , 11

t h e invest ment needs in t he wester n Balk an s to br in g in frastr uc -

Case 2: Project not following annual programme

( a ) EU s t a n d a r d s f o r c o m p l e t e l y n e w i n s t i t u t i o n s 1 2 h a v e t o b e For example, in Bosnia and

c o m p l i e d w i t h . Fo r e x a m p l e, EU s t a n d a rd s re q u i re a p ro fe s - Herzegovina the border police is the

t ime b e secure and co nt rolled. was controlling the borders until

No 5/2007 on the Commission's

It should be noted that the EU

S ource: european court of auditors.

17. Modern border securit y is based on four elements: mobilit y, com-

S ource: european court of auditors.

S ource: european court of auditors.

20. R e fo r m s i n t h e J u s t i ce a n d H o m e Af f a i r s s e c to r, w h e t h e r re l ate d In the former Yugoslav Republic of

22. T h e level of national funding varied considerably between the

S ource: ec delegation in tirana.

29–49 SIGNIFICANT INSTITUTION-BUILDING NEEDS BUT ONLY LIMITED CHANGE

A NNEX I — CARDS JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS PROJECTS AUDITED

6. T h e E u r o p e a n U n i o n h e l p s t h e w e s t e r n B a l k a n c o u n t r i e s m a i n l y As provided in the CARDS

8. Th e Co m m i s s i o n u s e d t wo b a s i c m a n a g e m e nt a p p ro a c h e s i n t h e which the beneficiary used given

12. Because of years of underinvestment and changes in geopolitics , 11

17. Modern border securit y is based on four elements: mobilit y, com-

20. R e fo r m s i n t h e J u s t i ce a n d H o m e Af f a i r s s e c to r, w h e t h e r re l ate d In the former Yugoslav Republic of

22. T h e level of national funding varied considerably between the

23. W h e n t h e EU a n d n a t i o n a l p r i o r i t i e s a r e n o t a l i g n e d , t h e r e s u l t The western Balkan countries and

26. Alt h o u g h t he p ro curement rules allow for th e in c lusion of af ter-

27. I n m a ny c a s e s t h e s i t u at i o n i m p rove d o n t h e gro u n d b e c a u s e o f

28. O t h er examp l es o f invest ments th at were n ot matc h ed with n ec -

29. T h i s section first deals with reasons for limited achievements

31. Th e re s u l t s o f t h e Co m m i s s i o n' s p ro j e c t s i m p rove d t h e s i t u at i o n

33. Th e a u d i t a l s o n o te d t h e o p p o s i te, i . e. w h e n t h e re i s s t a b i l i t y i n

35. Th e Co mmissio n u sed to measure th e success of its assistan ce by

36. Only two of the 15 institution-building projec ts achieved satisfac -

37. T h e audit also noted a few positive examples of increased ca-

40. A k ey el ement o f t he p ro cess of introducin g refor ms an d ch an ge Because of past conflicts, regional

42. I t i s i n h e re nt l y d i f f i c u l t to d e ve l o p co m m o n t a rg e t s fo r re gi o n a l The Commission has contracted

45. Le a r n i n g - b y - d o i n g and on-the -spot training are effective ways

46. O n e of the most common strategic objectives of the audited

52. O u t of the 30 Justice and Home Affairs projects audited in the

55. T h e lack of donor coordination was not limited to investment

1. Th e au dit wo r k incl u ded a review of strategy an d plan n in g doc u- 1

2. Al together contrac ts of around 81 million euro, cover ing 17 % of

3. Th e au dit fo cused o n p ro jec t s th at were mature but n ot too old,