Brussels, 20/02/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 19 February, the European Commission adopted an action plan for structural funds to address the Court of Auditors' recommendations, in its 2006 annual budget report, on improving its supervision of management and control systems put in place by member states for structural actions. The action plan focuses on improving primary control at management level in member states, since it is this level that is most crucial in reducing potential risk. At the same time, the Commission took stock of the obligation on member states to provide the Commission, by 15 February at the latest, with their 2007 annual summaries on payments and audits in structural fund programmes for the 2000-2006 period and for the start of the 2007-2013 period.
“The Commission has asked member states for information on payments and audits for the two financing periods: 2000-2006 and 2007-2013. This is a new requirement (resulting from financial regulation arrangements) which allows the Commission to share responsibility for the management of these funds with member states,” said Eva Kaluzynska, spokeswoman for Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner, in the press room.
The spokeswoman announced that 25 EU member states had sent the information to the Commission. Germany and Austria, however, have yet to send any information, “because they challenge the very nature of the information”. Six countries (the Czech Republic, Ireland, Luxemburg, Greece, Belgium and Spain) have provided partial information, in that they omitted to provide information for 2000-2006, Kaluzynska said.
Letters of reminder were, therefore, sent to those member states which had not met the requirement. If, after one month, the Commission has not received a reply, it will “not hesitate” to bring infringement proceedings against defaulters.
The spokeswoman said, with regard to the refusal of Germany and Austria to supply the expenditure and audit information, that the Commission wanted information on all expenditure and audit actions in 2007. Germany and Austria seemed, she said, to think that, at this point, they were not required to provide information on payment for the 2007-2013 period, just begun. On the question of why responsibility was shared in the management of funding for structural actions, the spokeswoman said that responsibility lay firstly with member states, but it was the Commission's role to monitor and supervise, and to ensure that there was a framework in place to remedy any failings.
EP budgetary control committee hearing on 25 February
Danuta Hübner and Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner Vladimir Spidla will take part in a European Parliament budgetary control committee hearing on Monday 25 February. The aim is to elucidate the issues raised by the Court of Auditors (12% of structural funds which should not have been paid in 2006) and assess the scope of the Commission's new action plan on the management of structural funds. Discharge rapporteur Dan Jørgensen (PES, Denmark) could recommend delaying the granting of the discharge to the Commission. The Commission action plan could calm some of the MEPs' criticisms. (G.B./L.C.)