Thematic Report on Justice and Home Affairs : Mulit-country ; Phare: Assessment of the European Union Phare Programmes

This report has been requested by the European Commission from the OMAS Consortium (OMAS). It is based on a detailed analysis of (Monitoring and Assessment) documentation produced by OMAS from 1996 to 2001, in particular, summaries from the Country Assessment Reviews (CARs) in relation to the ten CCs, in the field of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA). Specific account is also taken of the annual assessment report of the (only) Multi-Beneficiary Programme on JHA. The scope of JHA acquis has been radically altered over time, by constitutional amendments to the various Treaties. Topics that previously fell within the ambit of JHA under the Treaty on European Union (prior to the amendments made by the Treaty of Amsterdam), nevertheless continue to be treated as being within the scope of Phare funding for JHA. They are reflected accordingly in the priorities of the Accession Partnership (AP) and the National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis (NPAA) in the CCs, and can broadly be grouped as (i) border related issues, such as the free movement of persons, visa policy, asylum, immigration; (ii) cross border crime, including drugs smuggling, terrorism, fraud, corruption, organised crime, police and customs co-operation; and (iii) judicial co-operation on both civil and criminal matters.