European integration, development, and transition experience: bringing integration related development in the European neighborhood

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1 Dr. Klaudijus Maniokas, Chairman of the Board, ESTEP European integration, development, and transition experience: bringing integration related development in the European neighborhood

2 ESTEP: leading Lithuanian reference in providing International Technical Assistance ESTEP Europos socialiniai, teisiniai ir ekonominiai projektai is a privately owned independent consulting company located in Vilnius, Lithuania One of our goals is to ensure that Lithuania's experience in the EU integration process is shared with other developing countries seeking accession to the EU From 2004 ESTEP is the leading Lithuanian reference in providing International Technical Assistance to countries seeking EU membership in the areas of legal, economic, public administration and institutional capacity building. 2

3 ESTEP: Areas of Competence Strategic management of European Integration European Integration management and coordination systems Capacity building, public awareness and consultation programmes Advisory on the EU regulatory regime Consultancy to the ministries and other state institutions on the preparation for the Presidency tasks Research studies Training Evaluation of training needs Design of training programme Training for civil servants on EU related issues including preparation for the Presidency. Policy and programme evaluation Policy impact assessment methodologies and systems Ex-ante, mid-term (interim) and ex-post evaluations Evaluations of EU Structural and Investment funds programmes Evaluation of donor funded programmes and projects Administrative capacity building 3

4 Our technical assistance projects in the European neighborhood Long term TA projects in Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Macedonia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Albania Mainly political and legal assistance in implementing ENP AP and Association Agreements Contracted by European Commission and Lithuanian MFA 4

5 List of our technical assistance projects Ukraine: Sharing Lithuanian experience for the successful implementation of the EU - Ukraine Association Agreement/ Lithuanian MFA Georgia and Moldova: Technical assistance and consultations of high level Lithuanian experts to Georgia and Moldova on implementation of the association agreements with the EU / Lithuanian MFA Bosnia and Herzegovina: Support to the BiH Government for the European Integration process and Coordination of Community Assistance - Phase III Extension of Services / EC Macedonia: Technical assistance to the Parliament/ EC Ukraine: Strengthening Ukrainian administrative capacity to coordinate the transposition and implementation of EU law / Lithuanian MFA Bosnia and Herzegovina: Support to the BiH Government for the European Integration process and Coordination of Community Assistance - Phase III / EC Armenia: Armenian-European Policy and Legal Advice Center (AEPLAC) Phase V/ EC Ukraine: Ukrainian-European Policy and Legal Advice Center (UEPLAC) Phase IV/ EC Moldova: Support to PCA and WTO Implementation, and to EU-Moldova European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan (ENP AP)/ EC Georgia: Georgian-European Policy and Legal Advice Center (GEPLAC) Phase VI/ EC Georgia: Georgian-European Policy and Legal Advice Center (GEPLAC) Phase V/ EC 5 Georgia: Long-term technical assistance to Georgia in the field of European Integration - Phases I and II / CIDA, Lithuanian MFA

6 Structure Approach, substance of advice, theory of change and management of assistance to development and European integration. 6

7 What is new approach to development and European integration Approach based less on the acquis and more on issues related to development, state building, fundamentals of market economy and investment promotion. 7

8 Why harmonize? This is usually political and legal obligation for the EU neighbouring countries: It is a clear obligation for EU accession track countries. For Eastern partners obligation to transpose and implement some of the acquis will become legally binding after the signature of the new generation association agreements. However, it is based on presumption that EU acquis is good regulation per se, and therefore it follows that it is not just instrumental in seeking EU membership or closer relations with the EU, but a good thing in itself. Thus the EU accession (Copenhagen) criteria and the EU acquis are presented as blueprints for reforms in pre-accession and neighbourhood countries.

9 Boundaries of legal harmonization A pertinent question to EU neighbours without a membership perspective is where to stop in legal harmonization. A complicated issue of prioritising legal harmonization: what is the possible logic? It very important for Eastern partners, and, as the EU membership perspective (in comparison to previous enlargements) has become protracted in time, also to the countries of Western Balkans Experience of DCFTA negotiations with Eastern neighbourhood countries: the Georgian and Ukrainian cases.

10 Policy questions How to better prioritize legal harmonization? Is an approach less but better appropriate? How to better define and legitimize the quasi-acquis? How to make legal harmonization conducive to the needs of development? How to ensure implementation of the law? What could be the incentives for proper transposition and implementation?

11 11 New theory of change: elites, state capture and development

12 North, Wallis and Weingast approach Assumes that a high level of corruption and the state of state capture is a natural phenomenon found in majority of societies turned into states in the world. Triple transition from natural orders towards the open access: 1) from elite privileges into universal rights 2) from monopoly towards competition 3) from private to public goods Three doorstep conditions: matured state of law, emergence of perpetually lived organizations, political control of the military.

13 New theory of change? Limiting state capture Promoting transition from closed to open regime: Towards universal rights and the rule of law Towards effective competition Towards availability of public goods Through Social mobilization and promotion of public goods oriented association Building of institutions and markets Making public goods more available 13

14 Operationalizing transfer of transition experience and new theory of change Compendium of transition practices is not enough (but it has to be updated and used). Institutional and personal leadership and the agents of change. Identification of agents of change. Key role of the EU Delegations and cooperation with the main development oriented international organizations. Adapting tendering process to companies and experts from transition countries. Staffing EU delegations and training them. 14