Partnerships with the European Union and Related Institutions
The World Bank conducts direct and indirect partnership activities with the European Commission and various bi- and multilateral agencies and institutions in the European Union and EU candidate countries.
Current partners include:
Partnership with the European Commission 
The EU enlargement cooperation with the European Commission (EC) and a number of European International Financial Institutions (IFIs) which supported the EU accession process of ten Central and Eastern European countries takes the form of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concluded with these parties. The MoU includes a so-called "higher level" meeting - at the European Commission's Director General and the IFI's Vice-President level - once a year and more frequent working group meetings - where the Bank is presented by its senior partnership advisor. The parties to the MoU meet regularly in the context of the so-called working and high level groups; the last such meetings took place in Brussels on March 25 and 26, 2004. These high level meetings and working groups have the aim to coordinate respective assistance strategies, both as regards lending as well as analytical reviews and support. The potential future role the World Bank may play in the countries which joined the EU on May 1, 2004 has been spelled out in a paper entitled "Framework for World Bank Group Support to European Union (EU) Accession Candidate Countries of Central and Eastern Europe". The paper was issued on 17 January 2002 and reviewed by the World Bank's Executive Board on December 7, 2004. Back to Top
EU-South Eastern Europe Cooperation
In April 1999, the international community asked the World Bank and the European Commission to coordinate matters related to economic recovery, reform and reconstruction of South Eastern Europe. This mandate includes donor coordination and aid mobilization; the definition of strategies and priorities for economic development, assessment of progress in this area; and the development and implementation of projects. To help implement this mandate, a joint European Commission-World Bank Office in Brussels was opened and a joint EC-World Bank website, providing information on the reconstruction in South East Europe, was launched. Since the end of the Kosovo crisis, the World Bank and the European Commission organized and co-chaired eleven donors meetings for South East Europe, including two conferences for the region as a whole. In addition to its work on a country by country basis, the Bank has also been active in supporting regional development within the framework of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, in partnership with the European Union and other donors. This includes the development in early 2000 of a comprehensive regional strategy for the international community's support to regional economic development in South Eastern Europe ("The Road to Stability and Prosperity in South Eastern Europe", 2000); an initiative for the facilitation of trade and transport (Trade and Transport Facilitation in Southeast Europe Program); and leadership and/or participation in regional initiatives to liberalize trade, fight corruption, support social development, improve the investment climate and ongoing support to regional infrastructure in energy, water and transport. On the latter, the Bank together with the European Commission provides the secretariat and helps guide the South East Europe Infrastructure Steering Group, which brings together international financial institutions and the Stability Pact. The objective of stability, economic growth and prosperity for the region is underpinned by a perspective of closer integration with the EU. The Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP) sets the guiding principles covering the national reform processes in the judicial, social, economic and financial sectors. The stabilization agenda is set by the European Commission, and supported by international financial institutions, bilateral donors and the IMF. The World Bank and the European Commission are strongly committed to continue to foster close donor cooperation so as to enhance the effectiveness of aid as the countries prepare for and implement the Stabilisation and Association Agreements. In this context, the European Commission (EC) and World Bank held a joint seminar in June 2002 to formally introduce and discuss the concept of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers to the EC and inform the World Bank about the state of play with regard to the SAP. A succession of video and audio conferences were held in April and May 2004 to discuss the SAP Reports of the EC for 2004 and the assistance programming for the SEE countries of the World Bank and the Commission for 2005-2006. Regular consultations between the EC and the World Bank on key topical issues provide the basis for continued close cooperation. 
For more information on the partnerships and international assistance to the region, see the joint website of the European Commission and the World Bank on Economic Development and Reconstruction in South East Europe: http://www.seerecon.org/
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Partnership with the Council of Europe Development Bank: Social Development Initiative for South Eastern Europe (SDISEE)
This regional initiative aims to provide the Governments of South East Europe, the donor community involved in the region, and in particular the World Bank with the capacity to carry out social analyses, policies and pilot projects to address inter-ethnic tensions and social cohesion issues in South East Europe, supporting the regional peace building and conflict prevention efforts. The SDISEE program is closely linked with the objectives of the Stability Pact of South East Europe. In particular, the main objective of the SDISEE is to contribute to the design of policies and programs that (i) support social cohesion through the improved integration of ethnic minorities, marginal groups and groups effected by war, and (ii) that reduce social tensions at the country and regional level, by empowering social groups which can bring about positive social change, especially youth and women.
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Open Society Institute: Support for the Roma The Soros Foundation and Open Society Institute (OSI), and its network of local foundations have been a leader in developing and implementing projects targeted to Roma in Central and Eastern Europe since the early 1990s. OSI has an established network of NGOs and counterparts in the region with experience and expertise in working with Roma communities. This network, along with OSI's financial support, provides a strong complement to the Bank's analytical work and policy development. Partnership with OSI in Slovakia supported research on living conditions of Roma and the effectiveness of policy alternatives. The World Bank and OSI collaborated closely in the organization of the regional conference, "Roma in an Expanding Europe: Challenges for the Future" and its outcomes. In the follow-up to the conference, the Bank and OSI have continued to work closely on supporting capacity building of Roma leaders and supporting their work with governments on the launch of the Decade of Roma Inclusion.
For more on the World Bank's involvement in Roma issues, please click here.
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Bertelsmann Foundation: Towards EU Integration 
The "Towards EU Integration" network is based on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concluded in 1997 with Germany's Bertelsmann Foundation and the World Bank. It is intended as a vehicle to listen to and disseminate voices from civil society in EU candidate countries on matters of concern and interest in the context of the EU enlargement debate. Network events take place about twice a year and focus on demand driven topics. The network's proceedings are published; the network also has a web site. In November 2001, it was decided to extend the network and open it to research institutes and think tanks from the countries in the Western Balkans which have been offered an "EU integration perspective" and thus, want to share knowledge and experience with their peers from EU candidate countries.  Starting in early 2003, the network started to also address "Wider Europe" issues. A network meeting took place in Sopot/Gdansk between April 27-27, 2003. The workshop also provided an opportunity for the Center for Applied Policy Research (CAP) of Munich University to present its 2002 paper on a "Multi-layered Europe", outlining a possible approach for the EU towards the Eastern European and Central Asian countries.
More recently, the network started to broaden its audience by including research institutes and think tanks from the Western Balkans, countries which have been offered a EU integration perspective. To this end, a meeting on "Good Governance - Impact on Investment and Growth in South East Europe" took place in Thessaloniki on November 6-8, 2003.
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Bertelsmann Foundation: Cities of Change 
"The Cities of Change" program is based on a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 1998 by Germany's Bertelsmann Foundation and the World Bank. It is intended as a vehicle to build close relations among 10 reform minded secondary cities in Central Europe all of which have been deeply affected by both their countries' economic reform programs and by the prospective accession to the European Union. The purpose of the network is to assist local authorities in building local institutions ready to meet the challenges of a decentralized market economy within a wider regional and global context. The cross country networking ensures that experiences are being shared widely and that learning takes place across national boundaries among both technical staff and political leadership. The whole program of learning is based on a strategic management approach to local government and the encouragement of stakeholder involvement. The present members of the Network comprise Smolyan and Pazerdjik in Bulgaria, Tatabanya in Hungary, Liepaja and Rezekne in Latvia, Poznan and Ostrow- Wielkoploski in Poland and Poprad in Slovakia. The network operates in two cluster groups of 5 cities of 5 different countries each. The cluster themes address key development challenges in environmental management, especially solid waste, and in enhancing local economic development. There is a plenary session for all network members once a year, preceded by 4 cluster meetings, two per cluster theme. The MoU envisages a 5 year program which is expected to be completed by mid-2004.
When the MOU terminates in June 2004, each city will have completed and be implementing either local economic development strategies and or solid waste and environmental strategies. In addition, some cities have developed capital investment plans and broader city development strategies. All cities are involved in some way or another with dissemination strategies to share the knowledge and skills they have learned. The funding partners have also commissioned and are in the processing of publishing a series of knowledge and learning products on strategic planning, local economic development, solid waste management strategies and environmental strategies. These will be disseminated to the many municipalities that have already expressed an interest in these issues through the Bertelsmann Foundation partners. These products will also be found on the Cities of Change web site and relevant World Bank web sites.
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