At the end of September 2019, spending on the budget envelopes dedicated to the Structural and Investment Funds increased to 33% of the overall envelope, a level that remains “low”, according to the report on the implementation of the 2019 Structural and Investment Funds, published by the European Commission on Tuesday 17 September.
Indeed, the Commission notes in its report that Member States had indicated in early autumn that projects with a total cost of €497 billion had been selected, or about 77% of the total planned (i.e., €643 billion with national co-financing), of which €212 billion had been spent, or 33% of the total. By way of comparison, according to the annexes, the financial execution as at 31 December 2018 was approximately €180 billion, or 28%.
If the explanation is multi-causal, the institution seems to put forward one reason in particular in its report: the switch to the ‘N+3’ rule, which sets a maximum time limit of 3 years for spending EU funding and which replaced the ‘N+2’ rule in force in previous budget cycles.
“Coupled with the annual account and rolling closure processes, which have proven to create overcautiousness towards net financial correction risks, the ‘N+3’ rule contributed significantly to the low level of payments from the EU budget to Member States”, the Commission analyses in its report, justifying its proposal to return to the ‘N+2’ rule for the coming period – although criticised on all sides (see EUROPE 12087/8, 12282/1).
This report echoes the severe criticism voiced by the Director General of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO), who had already expressed concern about the delay in the implementation of the Structural and Investment Funds in early September (see EUROPE 12321/8).
To consult the report: http://bit.ly/2Q431Q6 (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)