Priority Areas

(Archive)

Under NEI, the U.S. has identified six priority areas in which regional and cross-border cooperation is particularly useful. Since NEI's launch, projects in each area have been developed and implemented, and U.S. missions in the region, working with their contacts in local governments, the business community, and the NGO community, continue to develop additional programs. NEI projects have two things in common: they address concrete practical needs, and they do so in a way that promotes cooperative cross-border and regional linkages. They range from large-scale multi-million dollar nuclear waste management projects to small, targeted NGO-run development programs. Few of these projects are financed solely by the U.S. Government; most are co-financed by other governments in the region and/or private NGOs. U.S. Government financial contributions come primarily from funds appropriated under the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act and the Freedom Support Act (which governs assistance to Russia).