Brussels, 30/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 29 October, the European Commission published guidelines to help public officials across the EU make better use of the European Structural and Investment Funds. The guidelines were published in line with the “EU budget focused on results” initiative, which was adopted in September.
“I believe that making fewer mistakes in public procurement will both ensure that EU investments deliver quicker on our jobs and growth objectives, and that the EU Budget is safeguarded”, said European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Cretu. “Transparent tendering of public contracts is essential to ensure the best value for public money”, said European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Elzbieta Bienkowska, for her part.
The guidelines - “Public Procurement Guidance for practitioners on the avoidance of the most common errors in projects funded by the European Structural and Investment Funds” - can be consulted on line and are just under a hundred pages long. They contain examples of good practice, case studies and web links to help those who are involved in the planning, selection and implementation of EU-supported projects. There is also a tool box giving a raft of practical advice for practitioners, which appears as an appendix.
The Commission is on the warpath against fraud and errors made in the use of the European Structural and Investment Funds. Cretu and Bienkowska will hold an initial meeting on 1 December to discuss the measures to be taken to enhance administrative resources and improve public procurement management and monitoring systems. Furthermore, a high level group for simplification was officially launched in July (see EUROPE 11356), and the first meeting of this group took place in October under the patronage of former commissioner for transport, Siim Kallas (see EUROPE 11414). The Commission launched a platform in March for the exchange of good practice between member states. This is named “Peer 2 Peer” and its objective is to ensure better management of European funds.
The European Court of Auditors published an alarming report back in September on the number of irregularities that had been recorded. Nearly 40% of the projects audited over the 2009-2013 period contained errors - most of which were significant (see EUROPE 11389). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)