Bulgaria: Improvement of the efficiency of the SAPARD Task Force (Greece, lead partner) The project achieved the following results;

- preparation and approval of the National Agricultural and Rural Development Plan (NARDP)

- establishment of the legal and administrative organisation of the SAPARD paying agency

- reinforcement of the capacity and the skills of the Bulgarian officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and the State Fund Agriculture.

Cyprus : Twinning project in the area of Justice and Home Affairs (Spain/Greece). This project has as its objectives the establishment of a National Drugs Monitoring Centre (Reitox Focal Point) and the strengtheing of the administrative capacity of the Anti-Drugs Council of Cyprus to review and implement a national drugs strategy, including a drugs demand reduction strategy.

Czech Republic: Restructuring of the Ministry of Agriculture and Establishment of Market Intervention Agency (Germany, lead partner)

This twinning project focuses on:

- analysis of the general organisation, functions and activities of the Czech Ministry of Agriculture (at both central and regional level) and proposals for restructuring,

- establishment of a State Agricultural Intervention Fund for the implementation, financing and control of CAP measures, including a Paying Agency,

- adaptation of the Czech Market Organisations to the CAP rules,

- implementation of an agricultural market information system to deliver agricultural data in real time for the use of operators and administrators at national and EU level.

Estonia: Sound Financial Management and Control Systems for the strengthening of good governance and accountability in the public sector (Ireland, lead partner)

Significant efforts are required for Estonia to meet EU standards in respect to financial control systems in order to be able to handle the increased responsibility of managing pre-accession instruments and EU funds upon accession. The Irish partners provide support for the analysis and development of financial control systems, drafting of legislation, capacity building of financial control departments and training of trainers and auditors.

Hungary: Training for Investigation of Organised Crime (United Kingdom, lead partner, in co-operation with the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, France).

The project aims to establish a training programme for Hungarian law enforcement agencies, in order to strengthen their capacity to efficiently and effectively combat organised crime. The training is targeted at trainers enabling them to develop their own training strategy and design and implement programmes to meet future demands. The training is of a highly specialised nature and includes several modules devoted to criminal terrorism, witness protection, cross border criminality, criminal intelligence analysis, corruption, financial and computer related crime, and undercover operations.

Latvia: Improvement of the State Revenue Service (Sweden/Belgium). This project seeks on the one hand to create and implement a human resources development plan for the Latvian tax administration, and on the other to establish a pre-arrival control system for the transit and import of prohibited, sensitive and highly taxed goods.

Lithuania: Three Twinning projects (Denmark, lead partner) are taking place in the Lithuanian energy sector. The aim of the Twinning project located in the Ministry of Economy is to ensure that policy and a legal basis for the regulation of the energy sector is put in place. At the two energy utilities, Lithuanian Energy and Lithuanian Gas, Twinning projects assist with restructuring, introducing western management techniques and information systems, and supporting the unbundling process.

Malta: Strengthening Malta's operational and administrative capacity to implement the EU acquis in respect of border management and asylum (United Kingdom/Spain).

The project aims on the one hand to train all staff involved in border management and asylum and on the other hand to improve the technical infrastructure with the aim of strengthening the controls necessary for the management of the future EU external border. The project also aims to develop a national strategy for the integration of Malta's national information technology systems with the Schengen Information System.

Poland: Reinforcement of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Justice in the fight against organised crime (France, lead partner), through the training of specialised prosecutors and scientific police. The project focuses also on white collar crime and operational training for forensic police in the treatment of finger prints, criminal analysis, and information technology.

Romania: Establishment of a National Anti-Corruption Structure (Spain, lead partner). Within the General Prosecutor’s Office a special unit will be established dedicated to investigating and combating corruption and related organised crime, involving national officials in relation to both “active corruption” and “passive corruption”. This highly topical project will strengthen the role of the newly created unit and expose staff to modern investigation techniques.

Slovakia: Water Management and Protection (Netherlands, lead partner). This Twinning project focuses on the harmonisation of sectoral policy and institutional strengthening in the field of water management.

A strategy defining the legal and organisational implications of the EU Water Framework Directive and recommendations for a time schedule for its phased implementation are being elaborated.

In parallel, the monitoring performance for water quality is being assessed and Slovak policy makers and managers are being trained.

Slovenia: Employment project (Sweden, lead partner) focusing on helping Slovenia to implement the acquis on free movement of workers and improve the social security schemes. Emphasis on strengthening the capacity of the Slovene institutions will enable them to participate in the co-ordination of social security at EU level.