Brussels, 28/10/2003 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday the European Commission is expected to postpone around EUR 5 bn of payment appropriations in the 2003 budget. Contributions from Member States for the 2003 budget will be reduced to the same extent. These appropriations should allow the 1994-99 structural fund programmes to be closed and therefore discharge the "significant amount still to be paid" for this period. Not all appropriations will be definitively postponed, certain could be reclaimed for the projects in question next year. On Tuesday, the Commission indicated that around EUR 1.5 bn at least should definitively be postponed as Member States have specifically requested that they are not released.
At the end of March the European Commission set our the final limit for the sending of cases demanding payments from Member State.
To date it has received 2000 cases, indicated the Commission.
Examination of these cases has fallen behind and this is why certain projects that should have been finished this year will not be until next year (EUROPE 25 October p 13 on the subject of the Pitella report on execution of structural funds).