Brussels, 22/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 22 January, Commissioner Johannes Hahn presented the EP's regional development committee with the architecture of the five delegated acts that will have to be adopted without delay by the European institutions. He wants the process to be concluded by the end of the mandate, in an effort to maintain the pace of implementation of the reformed cohesion policy for 2014-2020.
The commissioner is therefore counting on five delegated acts. The one on the code of conduct for the partnership agreements was adopted by the College of Commissioners at the beginning of January and has already received a favourable recommendation from the REGI committee (see other article). Another delegated act has also been adopted by the Commission and submitted to the Council and the Parliament for approval on authorisations for public-private partnerships and irregularities. A further delegated act is expected to be presented by the end of the month on innovative development measures. Another act, on programming, the performance reserve and the tasks of management, audit and accounting authorities, is expected in mid-February. The commissioner stressed the importance of concluding all these acts before the election campaign, so as to avoid any delays that could have repercussions on the programmes.
He also informed MEPs that France, Italy and Estonia had already presented their official proposal s for partnership agreements to be signed with the European Commission to formalise the use of structural and investment funds. The commissioner believes that it is crucial that the 25 other draft agreements follow. He also intends to conclude this subject during this current mandate, “so as to avoid the risk of a too lengthy transition period that could lead to delays”. Nonetheless, he stressed that emphasis had to be on the quality of the agreements and not on the pace with which they are concluded. (MD/transl.fl)