Brussels, 01/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - The European Court of Auditors (ECA) said on Monday 29 February that it was sure that much better use could be made of the financial resources available for investment in rural infrastructure.
The ECA said in a report that rural infrastructure investment projects funded through rural development programmes generally produced the intended physical results, such as new or upgraded roads, water supply and water collection systems and modernised schools. However, it found that the member states and the Commission, acting through shared management, “had achieved only limited value for money, as aid was not systematically directed towards the most cost- effective projects addressing the objectives set in the rural development programmes”. Similarly, reliable information on what had actually been achieved was often unavailable. One of the reasons for this is that member states did not always clearly justify the use of EU rural development funds. Long delays in the administrative processes, especially with regard to the approval of grant applications, also impacted the measures' efficiency and effectiveness.
Among the projects which produced the intended results are a Polish project modernising and extending a pumping station. The ECA also gives examples where there is little evidence of positive results, such projects in Italy (Sicily), Spain (Extremadura) and Romania. The audit was conducted in five countries: Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania and Spain.
€19 billion in seven years. Over the 2007-2013 programming period, the member states allocated €13 billion of EU funding to investments in rural infrastructure through four measures in their rural development programmes. The EU funding was supplemented by national spending, bringing the total budget for these measures to almost €19 billion. The funding was provided to private and public beneficiaries, in order to boost economic growth, enhance the attractiveness of rural areas and improve their links with major infrastructure.
The ECA acknowledges that, since 2012, the Commission has adopted a more proactive and coordinated approach. “If implemented properly, this should lead to better financial management in the 2014-2020 period. However, weaknesses in the coordination of funds and in performance information are likely to persist”, the report says. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)