57. Commends the government on the progress in the area of regional development and in preparing the transfer of management of funds under the IPA; notes with satisfaction the accreditation of national authorities for the IPA components on transition assistance and institution-building, regional development, human resources development and rural development; calls on the government and the Commission to speed up the necessary work with a view to transferring management of the remaining IPA component on cross-border cooperation; reiterates the importance of the IPA as a key tool designed to assist the country in preparing for EU member ...[+++]ship, and encourages the government to further enhance inter-ministerial coordination so that the country can fully benefit from available resources;

2. For beneficiary countries listed in Annex II to the IPA Regulation, assistance under this component may also be provided through measures and actions of a similar nature as those foreseen under the regional development, human resources development and rural development components, including investment type operations.

a strategic coordinator for the regional development component and the human resources development component,

coordinate assistance granted under the regional development component and the human resources development component;

Potential candidate countries and candidate countries that have not been accredited to manage funds in a decentralised manner should however be eligible, under the Transition Assistance and Institution Building Component, for measures and actions of a similar nature to those which will be available under the Regional Development Component, the Human Resources Development Component and the Rural Development Component.

Whereas the European Council of 24 and 25 March 1999 invited the Commission to submit, before 1 January 2006, a report reviewing the operation of the own resources system and, in particular, the effects of enlargement on the financing of the budget; whereas the report should also review the correction of the budgetary imbalances granted to the United Kingdom as well as the granting to Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden of the reduction in the financing of the budgetary imbalances in favour of the United Kingdom; whereas the report should also address the feasibility of creating new autonomous own resources as well as arrangem ...[+++]ents for the possible introduction of a fixed uniform rate applicable to the VAT assessment bases; whereas the Commission will submit that report before 1 January 2004; whereas, on the basis of that report, the Commission will submit, before 1 January 2005, a proposal for a Council decision which will replace this Decision on 1 January 2007; whereas that decision is to include provisions concerning the replacement of the VAT resource by new, autonomous own resources; whereas those new resources should be directly connected with ordinary citizens and not increase the tax burden they bear; whereas, furthermore, provisions should be included for the gradual phasing-out of the compensatory mechanism established in favour of the United Kingdom; whereas, it should enter into force simultaneously with the beginning of the new financial perspective from 2007 with a view to improving consistency between the revenue and expenditure sides of budgetary policy;