Brussels, 28/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 28 March, the European Commission adopted the implementing rules for the new Financial Directive on the EU budget. They will mean better use will be made of EU funds in the 2007-2013 financial framework. The revised financial regulation was approved by the European Pparliament and member states on 29 November 2006, and was then adopted unanimously by the EU Council of Ministers on 13 December 2006. The majority of the arrangements in this regulation will apply from 1 May 2007.
Budget and Financial Programming Commissioner Dalia Grybauskaité said that: “Simpler, more practical solutions in the modernised financial rules give the opportunity to better use EU funds. Greater transparency and accountability will increase the effectiveness of spending and protect EU taxpayers' interest”.
Simplification of procedures. Practical improvements in both grants and public contracts will be greatest for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), schools, universities, researchers, development agencies and municipalities: - for grants of up to €25,000, less documentation required, - work done by staff may be used to replace cash in co-financing of grants; - financial guarantees required for grants below €60,000 prior to initial payment may be waived, after assessment of the financial risk; - purchases of up to €60 000 using grant money may be made with the minimum of rules to be respected, only the principle of sound financial management and the absence of conflict of interests will be required; - higher threshold (€60,000 instead of €50,000) for the award of public contracts with simplified purchasing procedures; - higher threshold to allow organisations competing for low-value EU contracts to make a simple declaration on their honour, replacing complex evidence showing no previous malpractice convictions; - simplification in the award of public contracts in the field of external aid, with much higher thresholds (up to €5,000,000 for works).
In addition, the Commission will gain more flexibility in budget management to react to humanitarian situations or end-of-year crises by immediately using unspent funds without asking prior consent of the Council and the Parliament.
Better public control. Full transparency and improved control will help to protect the EU's financial interests; - the names of beneficiaries of Structural Funds and also of external aid programmes (with effect from 2008) and agricultural subsidies (from 2009) will have to be made available to the public in all member states; - the central database of organisations excluded from EU funding will be shared between all EU institutions and national authorities (relevant information on entities found guilty of fraud or corruption in member states or third countries involved in the implementation of EU programmes). (lc)