'TAIEX' MALTA WEEK INAUGURATED

As from 2001, Malta will benefit from around 700,000 Euros in assistance, under the European Commission's TAIEX programme, Ms Bridget Czarnota, Head of the TAIEX office, said today. Ms Czarnota was speaking at the opening session of TAIEX Malta Week, at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, this morning.

TAIEX is the acronym for the Technical Assistance Information Exchange Office, which was originally set up in 1996 as part of the PHARE programme, which assists EU-related change in central and eastern European countries. TAIEX support is now being made available also to Malta and Cyprus. The TAIEX Office forms part of the EU's Enlargement Directorate. Its mandate is to provide technical assistance in the implementation of the Acquis Communautaire, including legislative change, to governments, local councils, associations of business and industry, and legislative bodies.

TAIEX operates as a ‘one-stop-shop' for short-term technical assistance, brokering the transfer of know-how from experts in EU member states to their counterparts in candidate countries. Support is offered by means of expert missions, seminars, workshops, and study visits. TAIEX Malta Week serves to introduce interested parties, in Malta, to this service, which is now being made available to them.

This morning, Ms Czarnota addressed a session specifically organised for the social partners. Throughout the week, there will be another 12 specialised seminars for special interest groups. Further information on TAIEX in general, and on these seminars, is available from Ms Marlene Bonnici at the EU Directorate, on 0945-3037.