Brussels, 20/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - 96% of the operational programmes that will be financed by European structural and investment funds have been submitted to the European Commission, which still has a large number to approve. The task is colossal but time is passing and the member states are becoming impatient.
Firstly, almost a dozen partnership agreements linking the Commission and member states (Slovenia, Sweden, Malta, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Ireland, Belgium and Luxembourg) are still being negotiated and have to be approved. The Commission is aiming for signature before the end of the year but it is possible that Regional Development Commissioner Johannes Hahn might be able to initial them before the end of his term of office, a European source has said.
The situation is not as encouraging with regard to operational programmes, which are the concrete translation of the investment strategy set out in the partnership agreements. Only the Danish and Lithuanian operational programmes have so far been adopted. All the other member states have submitted theirs, at least in part (Romania, Sweden, Malta, Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg), and over 250 programmes are now being assessed by the Commission. At their informal meeting in Milan on 10 October, regional development ministers urged the Commission to move things along more quickly in approving them. The Commission points out that it favours quality and not speed in the approval procedure. (MD)