19.12.98 Official Journal of the European Communities L 345/49 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2760/98 of 18 December 1998 concerning the implementation of a programme for cross-border cooperation in the framework of the PHARE programme THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3906/89 of 18 December 1989 on economic aid to certain coun- tries of central and eastern Europe (), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 753/96 (%), and in particular Article 8 thereof, Whereas the European Council, meeting in Luxembourg in December 1997, set out the enhanced pre-accession strategy which is intended to enable all applicant coun- tries of central and eastern Europe eventually to become members of the European Union and, to that end, to align themselves as far as possible on the Union acquis prior to accession; Whereas the accession partnerships, the key feature of enhanced pre-accession strategy, have defined priorities for further work towards accession and must be taken into account in the context of cross-border cooperation; Whereas the first years of implementation of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1628/94 (°), establishing the PHARE cross-border programme in conjunction with Interreg, have already produced a number of positive results, notably through establishing a dialogue and cooperation between European Union border regions and adjacent regions in countries in central and eastern Europe, contributing to economic development in the border regions of these countries and to greater convergence with the level of development on the European Union side, and offering the opportunity to these regions to fa- miliarise themselves with Interreg practices and proced- ures, including the design of regional development strat- egies for border regions; Whereas further improvements should be aimed at, in particular through increasing the number of projects of a real cross-border nature, and through improving their pace of implementation; () OJ L 375, 23. 12. 1989, p. 11. @) OJ L 103, 26. 4. 1996, p. 5. () O] L 171, 6. 7. 1994, p. 14. Whereas Romania, as only applicant country without a common border with the Union, should also become eligible for the PHARE cross-border cooperation programme; Whereas the PHARE  cross-border  cooperation programme will gradually become part of a wider regional development policy in the context of the pre-accession strategy which would correct present imbalances between budgetary resources allocated for cross-border cooperation and the other pre-accession priorities and between different regions inside the applicant States; Whereas the Council has repeatedly stressed the need to reinforce cooperation and stimulate integration of the countries of central and eastern Europe and the European Community, as well as the need to support stability and security in the region; Whereas, in view of the future participation of accession states in the structural policy of the Union, further align- ment of the PHARE cross-border cooperation programme with Interreg is required, notably through setting up common cross-border programmes and common programming structures; Whereas, for applicant countries of central and eastern Europe, the present geographic definition of the PHARE cross-border cooperation programme needs to be gradu- ally extended in order to comprise, in addition to regions adjacent to the European Union, borders with other applicant countries which are PHARE beneficiaries; whereas, in a later stage, borders with other neighbouring countries benefiting from PHARE or other Community assistance programmes may also become eligible; Whereas eligible actions should be similar to Interreg within the overall framework of the accession partner- ships; Whereas it is necessary to strengthen the involvement of local and regional actors in cross-border cooperation, to enhance the botton-up approach, to bolster their capacit- ies for programming, implementation and monitoring, and to allow local authorities in border regions to take decisions on small projects of a real cross-border nature through setting up small project funds;