Brussels, 02/02/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 2 February, the high-level group on simplification, which is chaired by former Commissioner Siim Kallas, took its first-ever look at the question of the use of financial instruments in the framework of the cohesion policy, to facilitate the work of the final beneficiaries. The access of SMEs to financial support was also discussed.
This dossier was presented by Pawel Chorazy, Polish under-secretary of state at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and member of the high-level group, who presented three main issues regarding the use of these instruments: legal uncertainty, practical questions related to the rules for the award of public procurement contracts and the control mechanisms, which are in some cases overly cumbersome for the beneficiaries.
Regarding the first point, Chorazy, who will be the group's rapporteur on financial instruments, explained that the beneficiaries are faced with too many guidelines from the Commission, which makes their jobs much harder and deters them from making use of certain new options under the cohesion policy, such as combining subsidies with loans. He argues that the Commission should revise the existing guidelines, getting rid of any redundant ones and focusing more on the exchange of best practice.
On the second issue, Chorazy referred to practical issues related to the use of public procurement rules when selecting bodies to execute the financial instruments. He feels that it could be interesting to look at other options, for instance to define minimum requirements adapted on a case-by-case basis as part of the selection process put out to competition, in order to build in greater flexibility.
As regards the third point, the Polish representative stressed the considerable control requirements placed on the beneficiaries of the funds. In this framework, Chorazy suggested that the national authorities tackle the question of 'gold-plating', which refers to the over-regulation of national and regional authorities on top of the European ones, which makes the work of the financial beneficiaries considerably more complicated. The Polish official said that the recommendations of the Commission auditors also, in many cases, lead to a disproportionate reinforcement of the control requirements.
Finally, Chorazy stressed the need to set up a more open group on simplification, to include the management authorities, the European Investment Bank, the European Investment Fund, the regional banks and entrepreneurs to have a more effective assessment of the current legislative framework. “The Commission wants to move forward as quickly as possible”, a European source told us, “and may even amend the current regulation by the summer if necessary”.
Access for SMEs to European funds was also discussed by the group, following the presentation by Massimo Sabatini, director of Regional Policy and Territorial Cohesion at Confindustria, who will be rapporteur on this issue. He highlighted the fact that there are several obstacles: the complexity of the aid regimes and, more generally, of the fund management system, specifically the complexity of the rules and procedures and delays in the implementation of the executive acts, the phenomenon of 'gold-plating' and, finally, the lack of cooperation between players, but also their general lack of engagement. Sabatini also emphasised the need to harmonise the national laws on State aid and cut red tape in the administrative procedures.
The group members also discussed the question of e-governance in the implementation of the structural and investment funds, and the summary report on the simplified cost options.
The fourth and next meeting of the high-level group will be held in June of this year and will tackle 'gold-plating', amongst other issues. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)