Brussels, 26/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - At a meeting in Vilnius on Tuesday 26 November, EU28 cohesion ministers discussed the practical implementation of the EU cohesion policy, barely a week after the European Parliament endorsed reform of the policy and the €325 billion budget it will have from 2014-2020. The delegations expressed problems with the indicators they will have to set.
Under the chairmanship of the Lithuanian finance minister, Rimantas Sadzius, for the Presidency of the Council of the EU, ministers discussed how the reform would be implemented in practice and preparations for the new programming period, which national authorities are already busy with. The ministers were asked to present steps taken in order to increase the results-orientation and performance of the 2014-2020 programmes and the debate revealed problems with the performance indicators. “The discussions showed that, in all member states, the indicators raised a certain problem - we have to have ambitious and realistic indicators, but it is hard to tell what these are. What is the exact level we should aim for?” wondered Sadzius. EU Regional Development Commissioner Johannes Hahn said the reforms “require the selection of clear and quantifiable indicators to help one constantly measure whether public investment is having the desired impact”.
The debate reflected on possible tensions between thematic concentration requirements and national development agendas. The thematic areas are renewable energy, R&D, information and communication technology and small business. The commissioner commented on reading the draft partnership agreements already submitted by the member states: “Our first impression of the submitted draft partnership agreements is that more work is necessary to ensure sufficient concentration of funding. We expect you to make clear choices”. The ministers also discussed improved coordination and problems with respecting the ex-ante conditions. Hahn warned: “This time around no money will be spent if the right conditions are not there so there is no getting away from ex ante conditionalities”. (MD/transl.fl)