7.12.2000 Official Journal of the European Communities L 306/1 (Acts whose publication is obligatory) COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 2666/2000 of 5 December 2000 on assistance for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, repealing Regulation (EC) No 1628/96 and amending Regulations (EEC) No 3906/89 and (EEC) No 1360/90 and Decisions 97/256/EC and 1999/311/EC THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 308 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament ('), Whereas: 1) The Community provides assistance for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Federal Republic of Yugo- slavia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Most of this Community assistance is currently provided under Council Regulation (EC) No 1628/96 of 25 July 1996 relating to aid for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (OBNOVA) (?) and under Council Regulation (EEC) No 3906/89 of 18 December 1989 on economic aid to certain countries of Central and Eastern Europe (PHARE) (). This means that the Community assistance is subject to different sets of procedures, which encumbers management. In the inter- ests of efficiency it is therefore desirable to establish a single legal framework for this assistance, as requested by the European Council at its meeting in Helsinki on 10 and 11 December 1999. It is therefore appropriate to repeal Regulation (EC) No 1628/96 and to amend Regu- lation (EEC) No 3906/89. However, in order to ensure the continuity of the activities of the European Agency for Reconstruction, the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1628/96 which concern the establishment and opera- tion of the Agency should be incorporated into a new Regulation, which should enter into force on the date of that repeal. (*) Opinion delivered on 15 November 2000 (not yet published in the Official Journal). () OJ L 204, 14.8.1996, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regula- tion (EC) No 2454/1999 (O] L 299, 20.11.1999, p.1). (®) OJ L 375, 23.12.1989, p. 11. Regulation as last amended by Regu- lation (EC) No 1266/1999 (O] L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 68). () The European Council, meeting in Lisbon on 23 and 24 March 2000, confirmed that its overall objective remained the fullest possible integration of the countries of the region into the political and economic main- stream of Europe and that the stabilisation and associa- tion process was the centrepiece of its policy in the Balkans. The European Council, meeting in Feira on 19 and 20 June 2000, recognised the countries concerned by the stabilisation and association process to be potential candidates for EU membership. The existing Community assistance should be expanded and redirected to adjust it to the European Union's political objectives for the region and, particularly, to contribute to the stabilisation and association process and increase the responsibility of recipient countries and entities in relation to that process. To that end Community assistance will be focused mainly on building up an institutional, legislative, economic and social framework directed at the values and models subscribed to by the European Union and on promoting a market economy, with due regard for priorities agreed with the partners concerned. A precondition for receiving assistance is that the recipi- ents respect democratic principles, the rule of law, human and minority rights, fundamental freedoms and the principles of international law. The regional dimension of Community assistance should be given special attention, with a view to stepping up regional cooperation and supporting the European Union's role as a driving force within the Stability Pact. In view of the political situation in some areas and the nature of the various entities that have responsibility for implementing assistance there, it is desirable to provide that the assistance can be supplied in some cases directly to recipients other than the State.