LIFE II, financial instrument for environment: participation of Romania

OBJECTIVE: in the context of the pre-accession strategy, opening up the Community financial instrument in the field of environment (LIFE) to Romania for the years 1998 to 1999. SUBSTANCE: This proposal for a decision by the EC-Romania Association Council establishes the terms and conditions for that country's participation in the financial instrument of the environment LIFE. In particular, Romania: - will participate in all LIFE actions in conformity with its objectives, criteria and procedures; - will apply the same terms and conditions for the submission, assessment and selection of applications as those applicable to the Member States; - will include a minimum number of partners from the Member States in all proposed transnational projects and activities; - will provide the appropriate structures and mechanisms at national level to ensure national coordination and organization of its participation in LIFE; - will pay a financial contribution to the Community budget to cover the cost of its participation in LIFE. This contribution will cover financial assistance granted to Romanian participants and supplementary administrative costs related to the management of LIFE by the Commission stemming from Romania's participation. The contribution will be ECU 2 200 000 per year in 1988 and 1999. The Community will partly cover the cost of these contributions by taking the necessary sums from the annual financial allocation to the PHARE/Romania programme (PHARE is to contribute ECU 1 257 143 in 1988 and 838 096 in 1999, the remainder, including the administrative costs related to the management of the LIFE programme, being paid from the Romanian national budget. Romania will be involved in monitoring its participation in the LIFE programme as a way of preparing itself for the Community decision-making process in the context of the pre-accession strategy (in particular, by taking part in coordination meetings prior to the meetings of the LIFE committee and being informed of that committee's results). Romania will participate for the duration of the programme (until 31 December 1999). �