Brussels, 10/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 10 July, the European Commission officially adopted the decision setting up the high-level group of independent experts on monitoring simplification for beneficiaries of the European structural and investment funds for the period from 2014 to 2020.
The group, the creation of which was announced in Riga on 9 June, will comprise a maximum of twelve members, each appointed for a three-year term of office which may be renewed, and will be chaired by former Commission vice-president Siim Kallas. Its task will be to reduce the administrative burden which deters many SMEs from applying for European funding (see EUROPE 11331). The group will meet twice a year and will draft fully independent opinions, the Commission says.
The call for applications for membership was opened on the same occasion and will run until 10 August. The group will hold its first meeting on 20 October. “It should deliver its first recommendations as early as the end of this year” and will submit a plan for the management of the funds “in the perspective of the post-2020 framework”, said Regional Policy Commissioner Corina Cretu. (Pascal Hansens)