Brussels, 14/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - The new structural fund programming period for the 2014-2020 cycle has just begun and MEPs are examining member states' preparations for implementing cohesion policy reform. The upstream work already begun is essential for ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of European subsidies, said the European Parliament (EP).
On Tuesday 14 January, MEPs adopted the report by Derek Vaughan (S&D, United Kingdom) on this subject. They highlighted significant differences in the levels of preparedness, with some member states have already presented informal partnership agreement projects that they plan to sign this summer, whilst others are more behind. The EP highlights that new EU member states (EU-12) are well ahead in their preparations compared with the core of older member states (EU-15). Countries that have made the most progress had already begun their preparations in 2010 and the partnership agreement projects and operational programmes had already been informally submitted to the European Commission in June and July 2013.
It is a state of affairs that Karima Delli MEP (Greens) deplores the situation and believes is harming the democratic process. She explained that “the timetable for drawing up national and regional strategies overlapped with the negotiations behind closed doors between the European institutions on the rules and there was not really any genuine exchange of information”. MEPs also admit that progress in preparations largely depends on the authorities' ability to invest both time and money into this preparatory work and allocate staff to the task in hand. Changes in government can also put a brake on preparations in the operational programmes that follow. MEPs are therefore calling on member states to elaborate systems that can guarantee the continuation of the work already begun.
The EP has also taken note of the lessons learnt during the previous structural fund programming period and points out that priorities that are too broad-based have created problems common to all member states. MEPs are highlighting the need to simplify the strategies and to focus on targets. (MD/transl.fl)