EUROPEAN COMMISSION: ROMANO PRODI PLANNING TO WORK ON OUTLINES FOR POST-2007 BUDGET.

Regarding the central priority of the Annual Policy Strategy, namely "accession", the additional financial resources are intended to finance the extension of existing programs to the enlarged Union, and to finance specific transitory measures under the internal policies decided at the Copenhagen European Council: the Schengen evaluation mechanism, support for nuclear safety in the new Member States, and continued support to reinforce their administrative and institutional capacity. It will also mean increasing funding for Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria over the period 2004-2006.

The Annual Policy Strategy identifies the need for 1,500 posts within the Commission to support enlargement. 780 posts are requested from the Budgetary Authority for 2004. Five hundred auxiliary posts were granted through front-loading by the Budgetary Authority to support preparations in 2003. In addition, the Commission has re-allocated internally nearly 250 posts to support accession preparations. The services most in need of reinforcement in 2004 include regional policy, transport and energy, justice and home affairs and the linguistic services.

The "stability" priority has an internal and an external aspect. The Commission proposes an additional allocation of Euro 175 million. Within the EU it will place an emphasis on improved border control and establish an integrated IT system on visa information and will develop a policy of security of communication networks. It also includes activities such as fight against bio-terrorism. Stability outside the Union will be supported with an increase in the support to the Western Balkans and Mediterranean region, while at the same time enhancing the European initiative for democracy and human rights and providing more assistance through humanitarian aid to the regions in the world where stability is endangered by humanitarian crises.

As far as the "sustainable growth" priority is concerned, an additional Euro 45.7 million is intended to enhance the capacity to respond to oil pollution disasters in the Union. This increase also covers implementation of the EU action plan on communicable diseases and financing of contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis at the level discussed with Council and the European Parliament. A number of other actions are reinforced notably in the areas of environment, such as the protection of tropical forests in the developing countries, the new chemicals strategy...

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