Brussels, 20/03/2009 (Agence Europe) - “There was no monitoring of the projects under delegated management at Commission level. Monitoring by the EIB had been inadequate in the past and had been recently upgraded in order to reach a satisfactory level”: these were the mixed conclusions of the Court of Auditors report on banking measures in the Mediterranean area in the context of the MEDA programme and the previous protocols, published on Wednesday 18 March.
Cooperation between the EU and non-member Mediterranean countries began some 30 years ago and has gradually developed over the years. The framework for financial and technical measures (MEDA), to support the reform of economic and social structures in the partner countries as part of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, covered the period 1996-2006. Three types of banking measures were financed under the MEDA regulations of the previous protocols and implemented by the European Investment Bank (EIB): - technical assistance through the FEMIP (Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership) Support Fund; - interest rate subsidies for certain EIB loans; - risk capital operations.
With regard to the monitoring by the Commission and the EIB, the Court found that: - the Commission relied entirely on the work performed by the EIB and did not carry out any monitoring of its own; - until 2005, the level of monitoring by the EIB was not adequate; - there was a lack of coordination between the EIB's activities and the Commission's, especially at local level; - not enough emphasis was put on environmental monitoring. With regard to the achievement of objectives, the Court found that technical assistance projects had broadly achieved their objectives. For interest rate subsidies and risk capital operations projects, the situation was less clear-cut, as they only partially achieved their objectives. With the end of the MEDA programme and the start of the new European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI), that was launched in 2007, the Commission should, the Court says: - set up a tailor-made evaluation and monitoring programme for banking measures; - ensure the effective coordination of the assistance work undertaken by the Community, the EIB and other international/local partners in order to increase the level of consistency and complementarity of their action; - negotiate adequate management conventions that ensure appropriate monitoring, cover the environmental aspects and safeguard the Community's financial interests; - ensure that monitoring by the EIB guarantees that all projects are adequately executed and that the financial and reporting obligations of the intermediaries/promoters are met; - for risk capital operations, define an overall strategy at Commission level and choose the best implementation process, involving either direct management or management by international/local partners.
The MEDA programme was allocated €3.4 billion for the period 1996-1999 and €5.3 billion for 2000-2006. (L.C./transl.rt)