Brussels, 06/10/2004 (Agence Europe) - On 13 October, the European Commission could adopt a preliminary draft of the Supplementary and Amending Budget for 2004 (No. 10/2004), which essentially focuses on payment appropriations for structural funds. According to initial estimates by Member States, the Commission may request EUR 4.3 bn in additional funding, including 3 bn for European Regional Development Funds (ERDF) to finance programmes for financial perspectives for 2000-06 but also for that of 1994-99.
According to the Commission, this totally new situation (following several years where non-used funding was reimbursed to Member States) show that use of the n+2 rule (funding cancelled two years after being committed) and efforts to simplify regulation accomplished in 2003, have finally borne fruit by contributing to an increasingly more rapid take-up of regional policy funding. The Commission is currently examining numerous cases of aid under ERDF, which should translate into a greater need for payment appropriations over the next few months.
The Commission is expecting additional funding from own resources, which could reduce the total amount of supplementary funding demanded in the preliminary draft budget by around EUR 2 bn.