24/02/2003 (Agence Europe) - The MEP for the Democratici di sinistra Gianni Pittella, rapporteur on the structural funds, presented the EP Budgets Committee with a report on four Community initiatives (Equal, Urban, Leader + and Interreg III), while regretting their very low level of implementation. Thus, on 31 December 2002, he notes that at the end of December 2002 only 6.7% of the payments had been made for Interreg III, 7.2% for Equal, 7.3% for Leader + and 8.7% for Urban. Mr Pittella insisted for a simplification of the procedures as well as for more realistic forecasts by the member states. Moreover, he suggested in the future granting greater autonomy to Community initiatives and eventually 'uncoupling' them from the Structural Funds, by creating more agile and flexible instruments with a larger financial provision and, in the long-term, accessible to the regions that will leave Objective 1 after 2007.