JASPERS

Brendan SmythDG REGIO co-ordination

A A new context after 2006new context after 2006

– EU Enlargement has greatly added to the requirement to prepare projects for EU grant financing

– 1 January 2007: 13 Cohesion Fund beneficiary countries + Romania, Bulgaria

- One third of EU budget for Cohesion and Structural Funds in new Member States

– Greatly enlarged resources for new Member States from 2007 onwards

– Problems with quality of projects remain

What is JASPERSWhat is JASPERS ? ?– ‘Joint Assistance to Support Projects in European Regions’

– A technical assistance partnership to prepare major projects between DG REGIO, EIB and EBRD

– For administrative reasons, JASPERS will be a unit within the EIB but separated from its lending activities

– Objective: increasing the capacity of the beneficiary countries to make the best use of EU funding

– ‘J’ is for ‘joint’: three new ‘J’ new instruments (together with JEREMIE and Urban Development JESSICA) Joint effort between the Commission and IFIs.

- value added: drawing on past experience and expertise of

the EIB and the EBRD in a more structured and coordinated

way than in the past.

• concentration on priority countries: the 10 ‘new’ member states plus Romania and Bulgaria• JASPERS concentrates on major projects :

Transport €50 M >Environment and other sectors €25 M >

• JASPERS priorities are :

- large projects supported by the Cohesion Fund and the ERDF (to be interpreted flexibly in the smaller

countries)

- other Cohesion Fund projects

- other ERDF projects

horizontal issues covering more than one country/sector

JASPERS ActivitiesJASPERS Activities

How will JASPERS operateHow will JASPERS operate?? • Assistance can be provided as required from the

early stages of a project through to the decision to grant assistance (by the Commission or the Member State depending on the size of project)

• Preparatory work required to deliver a mature project e.g.– advice on conceptual development and project

structuring– advice on project preparation e.g. cost-benefit analysis,

financial analysis, environmental issues, procurement planning.

– review of documentation: feasibility studies, technical design, tender documents.

– advice on compliance with EU law (environmental, competition and others) and conformity with EU policies

JASPERS: free and voluntaryJASPERS: free and voluntary

JASPERS assistance will be provided free of charge to the beneficiary

There is no obligation on the Member States to use JASPERS

There is no obligation on a Member State which benefits from JASPERS to borrow from the EIB or the EBRD

There is no obligation on the EIB or the EBRD to lend to projects prepared using JASPERS

There is no exclusion of EIB or EBRD lending to projects benefiting from JASPERS

LEGAL RESPONSIBILITIESLEGAL RESPONSIBILITIES

JASPERS does not change existing legal responsibilities

JASPERS is an input to the preparation of applications for EU funding

Member States are the 'owners' of the project, not JASPERS; they submit the standard applications as required by the Regulations

preparation of a project by JASPERS does not guarantee approval of the project by the Commission

the ultimate legal responsibility to grant assistance will remain with the Commission

JASPERS54 professional STAFF

30 professionals + 10 support

16professionals

5 to 8 professionals

LUXEMBOURG

WARSAW VIENNA BUCHAREST

ORGANISATION & RECRUITMENTORGANISATION & RECRUITMENT

• Regional hubs for JASPERS:– North (Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania): Warsaw– Central (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia):

Vienna– South (Romania, Bulgaria): Bucharest– Malta and Cyprus covered from existing EIB offices in

Rome and Athens

• Internally: EIB and EBRD core teams in place

• External recruitment: candidates already interviewed for Luxembourg, Warsaw, Bucharest

• New offices and staff will be fully operational in late 2006/early 2007

Framework consultancy contractsFramework consultancy contracts

• Two large framework contracts to support JASPERS in Luxembourg and in the regional offices

• Transport and environment/other sectors

• Teams of expert for assignments ‘on call’

• Preparation of large infrastructure projects and analysis of horizontal issues (e.g. state aid, grant blending etc.)

• Tenders published in May; framework contracts will be operational shortly 10

ACTION PLANSACTION PLANS

Priorities and objectives of JASPERS will be set out each year in an Action Plan agreed between JASPERS and the beneficiary country

close coordination of JASPERS operations with DG REGIO country desks

horizontal issues may also be included in the Action Plan

Action Plans for the twelve priority countries (the 10 plus Romania and Bulgaria) now agreed

2006 2006 ACTION PLANSACTION PLANS

• JASPERS has already provided assistance to some projects e.g. Sofia solid waste

• 112 project actions identified and support requested in wide range of relevant horizontal issues

• Demand in some unexpected sectors (e.g. large energy, broadband telecom, tourism) 12

Environment sectorEnvironment sector 56 actions56 actions

Water and waste water 20 actions

Solid Waste 16 actions

Energy efficiency and renewables

12 actions

Other sectors (Tourism, telecoms – broadband, health, education) 8 actions

Transport sectorTransport sector 46 actions46 actions

Roads and motorways 15 actions

Railways 16 actions

Urban transport 7 actions

Other sub-sectors (river, airports)

8 actions13

Main Main HorizontalHorizontal IssuesIssues

• PPP+EU grant blending approaches

• Support with state aid in new sectors

• Structuring projects in new sectors (e.g. power, energy efficiency, renewables, urban transport, flood protection, rolling stock)

• Grouping small projects (e.g. energy efficiency, water)

• PPP best practice / model approaches

• Guidance on new Regulations (e.g. eligibility, revenue generating projects, grant rate calculation)

14

Management of JASPERSManagement of JASPERS

• Managing Authority acts as central co-ordinator for each country

• The Managing Authority in the Member State can request assistance directly from JASPERS in Luxembourg or from the regional offices of JASPERS

• JASPERS will be actively managed by a Steering Committee with members from DG REGIO, EIB and EBRD.

JASPERS Contact PointJASPERS Contact Point

Patrick WalshHead of JASPERSJASPERS FACILITYDa Vinci II BuildingFindel-LUXEMBOURG

+352 4379 7798

P.Walsh@eib.org