The CoR Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and the EU Budget (COTER) today adopted by overwhelming majority the draft opinion on the Simplification of the European Structural and Investment Fund (ESIF) from the perspective of Local and Regional Authorities by Petr Osvald, Councillor of the City of Plzeň (Czech Republic).
"Cohesion policy is one of the few EU instruments that has a direct, concrete and visible impact on citizens and thus has considerable potential to positively influence their overall perception of the EU", the rapporteur told CoR members. "Therefore, against the tendency of cohesion policy, which is currently gradually moving away from regional policy and increasingly dealing with issues at national level, we must work on improving its effectiveness and added value", he pointed out, calling for a simplification of the overall implementation system and for increased flexibility.
Aiming at contributing to the work of the High Level Group set up by the European Commissioner in charge of Region Policy, Corina Creţu, on the Simplification of Structural Funds, the draft opinion highlights that the aim of simplification is not to increase or facilitate spending of European Structural and Investment Funds' (ESIF) resources, but to improve the effectiveness and creativity of projects, while at the same time making them easier to develop and implement and less risky for beneficiaries. "The insights and suggestions of local and regional authorities should be prioritised as part of the simplification process", Osvald stressed.
The rapporteur puts forward a set of concrete simplification recommendations in areas such as public procurement rules (in view of facilitating the access of small and medium enterprises to funds), state aid exemptions, monitoring and audit, regulatory burdens (so-called gold-plating), more flexible thematic concentration and programming.
He also suggests, for the purposes of simplification, that a file of projects showcasing the complexity of the delivery system be opened and constantly updated, and recommends pursuing the principle of partnership with local and regional authorities more readily in the design and throughout the implementation of ESIF.
"This would enable the European Commission to obtain feedback that would contribute in a decisive way to simplifying and increasing the effectiveness of the implementation process", he concluded.
