• human resource development, improvement of living standards and the delivery of social services;
• sustainable economic growth through further development of foreign trade, innovation and investment activities;
• energy efficiency;
• environmental protection, rehabilitation and sustainable development of areas affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

The European Union is one of the main donors of international technical assistance to Belarus. The European Union is the major donor of technical assistance in the world and it developes many assistance programmes worldwide with a total budget of more than 10 billion euro a year.

The National Coordinating Unit of the EU Tacis Programme manages the EU programms and projects in Belarus. It was created by a Decision of the Council of Ministers (№ 1050, dated 12 August 1997) and a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the European Commission.

The estimated volume of EU technical assistance to Belarus from 1991 to 2006 totals 216 million euro or more than 40 % of all the technical assistance provided to Belarus. This makes the EU the single largest donor of assistance to this country.

Leonid Orlov, the Executive Director of the Tacis Coordinating Unit: “The EU has been providing technical assistance to Belarus for nearly two decades. The Coordinating Unit is pleased to observe the results of the cooperation and we hope that this assistance will lead to improving relationships between the parties.