The Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) is a tool by which the EU supports reforms in the 'enlargement countries' (candidate countries) with financial and technical help. The IPA funds build up the capacities of the countries during the accession process, concluding with positive developments in the region. For the period 2007-2013 IPA had a budget of some € 11.5 billion; its successor, IPA II, will build on the results already achieved by dedicating € 11.7 billion for the period 2014-2020.
Current beneficiaries are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey.
Its purpose is to help the beneficiaries make political and economic reforms, preparing them for the rights and obligations that come with EU membership. Those reforms should provide their citizens with better opportunities and allow them to develop the standards equal to the ones we enjoy as citizens of the EU.
Pre-accession assistance: an investment in
Public administration reform
Rule of law
Sustainable economy
People
Agriculture and rural development