Brussels, 18/12/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament invited the European Commission to present a revised version of its draft Communication on innovative action by the ERDF for 2000-2006. Consulted on this issue, the Parliament adopted, during its last session, the report by Helmut Markov (GUE/NGL, German). It "regrets" that the Commission has decided to move from a project based system of aid to a programme based system. A programme regrouping several projects, and involving the regional administrative authorities, means for the EP, "the abandonment" of the possibility to establish direct links between the local and regional project leaders and the European Union" is "an abandonment of the European added value, a loss with regards to visibility and proximity with citizens".
On the other hand, the Parliament "approved the priority themes" adopted by the Commission, concerning the 2000-2006 period, the three following themes: "regional economy based upon technological innovation; the e-Europe initiative; regional identity and sustainable development. Finally, the EP hopes that the innovative actions, which are provided with a global budget of around EUR 400 million for the whole period, are not "treated as only backend programme, and which benefit from the attention that their innovative and original character should bring out".
During the debate, Commissioner Barnier first welcomed the Parliament's support for the "poorest regions not to be left behind by technological progress", before "regretting" the criticisms of the programme based aid systems.