Support for the Implementation of the PCA between EU and Uzbekistan (Uzbekistan Policy Advice Centre)

Location

Uzbekistan

Duration

2003 - 2005

Donor

European Commission - Tacis

Budget

1.940.000 EURO

Description and Deliverables

The wider objective is to promote the economic, political and social development of Uzbekistan in line with the priorities set out in the EU-Uzbekistan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement.

The specific objectives of the project are as follows:

Institutional strengthening of the PCA Secretariat in addition to the relevant ministries, parliamentary committees, and the State Department of Statistics
Improve the policy making capacity of the Uzbek government and the Uzbek government and the Uzbek parliament in key areas of the PCA
Assist Uzbekistan in meeting its obligations under the PCA (in particular with regard to legislative approximation) and other international agreements, notably the WTO.
Secure long-term support for the policy and legal reforms that the PCA is designed to promote by raising awareness outside the government about the PCA and WTO Accession, and the consequences of its implementation

The results of the project are as follows:

Progressive and proactive implementation of the PCA in the fields of legal approximation, trade and investment, and business environment, through the identification and elaboration of a minimum of two pilot draft laws a year.
Significant progress towards Uzbek accession to the WTO. Organization of a minimum of one roundtable per quarter, with the participation of WTO European experts and Uzbek specialists, from related ministries and institutional bodies.
Streamlined and improved inter-ministerial coordination mechanisms are in place to implement the PCA strategy.
An Uzbek-managed Information Centre (UZPLAC) is established and inserted into the structure of the existing PCA Secretariat acting as its public information facility. The PCA Information Centre seeks to raise awareness outside government about the PCA, WTO Accession and the consequences of its implementation, in order to secure long term support for the policy and legal reforms that the PCA has been designed to promote. EUtechnical assistance delivered support to the strengthening of the capacity' of the Uzbek personnel of the Centre to develop a sound PCA information facility covering policy advocacy, legal and economic advice.

Services

Strengthen the PCA Secretariat -its structure, its working methods, its management procedures, its relations with its professional environment, its logistics.
Strengthen the capacity within ministries and intra-ministerial liaison via seminars, training, and working groups with emphasis on methodology, formulation, decision making process, implementation, control and evaluation of public policies
Provide policy advice with recommendations taking into account Uzbekistan's international obligations and prevailing conditions, to recommend practical policy orientations that serve the economic and social development of the country.
Review the established and emerging legal and regulatory framework in Uzbekistan and assist its adequacy to the provisions of the PCA.
Continued provision of WTO-related technical assistance
Legal approximation (Copyright, Business law, Customs law, WTO accession negotiations on agriculture, WTO accession negotiations on services, Consumer Protection, Registration of legal entities, Public Procurement)
Set up of the model for benchmarking the implementation of the PCA and established long-term benchmarks and milestones
Support to the PCA executive bodies that drive the implementation procedure.
Set up of an Information Centre (UZPLAC) facility that will convey information on the PCA through a variety of appropriate channels; written reports, conferences and workshops, study visits and production of regular (bi-monthly and quarterly) reviews of the Uzbek economy, as well as of the legal and regulatory framework.