Brussels, 02/08/2001 (Agence Europe) - On the basis of a very critical report by the Court of Auditors on the Community Urban I initiative (1994-1999), the Council adopted rather positive conclusions on 23 July. "The Council considers that (this) initiative had positive effects in European urban areas that benefited from it, enabling them to improve their economic and social situation. It also enabled local authorities to accede to Community funding in the context of a strong partnership. Despite these positive results, the Council takes note of the fact that the Court of Auditors noted certain inadequacies in implementing the initiative and notes that the latest regulatory provisions concerning the Structural Funds comprise measures that should allow for improvement to the management of the new Urban II initiative for the planning period 2000-2006. The Council also notes that other Community policies provide a contribution in the field of urban development and recalls that, the treaty not providing for a special legal basis for implementing Community policies in urban matters, the Community action in this field is based on the principle of subsidiarity".
In its opinion (EUROPE 27 March, p.11), the Court of Auditors considered that although Urban had "helped to implement numerous projects aimed at urban development" and "facilitated access for local authorities to Community co-funding", "these projects could also have been carried out in the framework of already existing Community interventions, avoiding the creation of new procedures and costly management structures". The Court also stressed that "the new regulatory provisions and the start-up of the 2000-2006 planning period represent a new opportunity" to simplify and improve the programme.