§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what will be the(a) role, (b) budget and (c) fees for the pre-accession advisers funded under the EU twinning programme with candidate countries in central Europe; who will select them; on what criteria; and if he will make a statement. [83928]
§ Ms QuinThe UK is actively involved in the European Commission's new twinning programme under which experts from Member States are seconded to Central European Candidate Country Ministries to help them prepare for accession to the EU.
The role of Pre-Accession Advisers (PAAs) is to help Central European (CE) Ministries adopt the legislative and administrative changes that are necessary in order to 225W join the EU. PAAs work full-time for at least one year within a CE Ministry to implement a twinning project. This includes the support and co-ordination of any short-term expert missions and training activities within the project.
Funding for PAAs is set as part of the individual budget for each twinning project. The Commission estimates an approximate budget of 200,000 euro per year for each PAA.
The Pre-Accession Adviser continues to be paid his/her normal civil service salary throughout the project. The Commission then reimburses the cost of the salary to the Member State Department concerned. The PAA receives a per diem allowance, as well as housing, removal costs and school fees, where appropriate. The remuneration of PAAs is similar to that of other Commission funded secondees such as Detached National Experts (DNEs).
PAAs are selected by the Member State Ministry or mandated body when preparing a bid to meet the requirements of a specific twinning project. The qualifications of the proposed PAA are an important factor in the final decision of the Central European Candidate Countries when they consider twinning bids from Member States. PAAs must therefore have the relevant skills to carry out the project. For example, the DTI have seconded the Deputy Head of their State Aid Policy Unit to help the Czechs on a State Aids project; and the Home Office are seconding the Head of International Section in Policing Organised Crime Unit to help Poland with an organised crime and border management project.