Moscow, June 30 (RIA Novosti) - The European Commission, the European Union's executive body, will allocate 5 million euros for a program to train judges and court administrators in Russia, the EC country coordinator has told reporters in Moscow.

Marc Franco spoke Thursday at a news conference to mark the completion of the first leg of the program, which aims to raise the efficiency of Russia's judiciary through better training. He said the Commission had already disbursed 4 million euros for the project, which was launched in June 2003, and that another 5 million was forthcoming.

The EC delegation head said the program was highly successful, adding that the European Commission had been able to accomplish the tasks set. He said the EU had contributed to the development of the Russian judiciary by sharing professional expertise.

The EU is now putting together a program to raise awareness about Russia's judicial system, with a budget of 3 million euros, Franco told the reporters. He said the development of the judiciary was of great importance for the advancement of democratic institutions and the market economy, especially in post-communist Russia, where many new laws had been adopted within a short period of time.