JASPERS − Joint Assistance to Support Projects in European Regions is an organization that includes the provision of technical assistance, a consortium composed of three partners: the European Commission, the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The main purpose of JASPERS is to provide independent advice to beneficiary countries in order to assist them in the preparation of high quality significant projects that would be co-financed by the European Structural and Investment Fund (the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund). JASPERS provides support to 16 EU Member States and four countries that are in the process of accession to the European Union, including Serbia. Since the beginning of this Programme in 2006, JASPERS has carried out 1,142 different tasks. In the period up to 2017, the European Commission approved a total of 536 proposals for financing of projects supported by JASPERS in the total value of EUR 84.5 billion, of which EUR 60.7 billion are EU grants.
Similarly, JASPERS also helps with the absorption of funds available through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA).
JASPERS provides technical expertise for any stage of the project cycle, from the earliest stage up to the submission of an application for EU funding. Assistance may encompass:
• Project overview and recommendations;
• Horizontal tasks;
• Strategic support;
• Capacity building;
• Support to project implementation; and
• Independent Quality Review.
JASPERS organization is focused on infrastructure projects that are defined as "main" projects, with total costs exceeding EUR 50 million in the field of environmental protection and EUR 75 million in the field of transport and other sectors. In the case of small countries, as well as those countries without many projects of this size, the criteria are somewhat more flexible and JASPERS supports their most important existing projects.
Areas involving the provision of technical assistance by JASPERS are, in most cases, roads, railways, waters and waterway transport, waste management and energy.
For more information, visit the following website: http://jaspers.eib.org/