A4-0160/98

Resolution on the eighth annual report on the Structural Funds for 1996 (COM(97)0526 - C4-0582/97)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission's report (COM(97)0526 - C4-0582/97),

- having regard to Council Regulations (EEC) 2081/93, in particular Article 16 thereof, and 2082/93, in particular Article 31 thereof,

- having regard to the Court of Auditors' annual report for the financial year 1996 ((OJ C 348, 18.11.1997.)),

- having regard to the Commission's first report on economic and social cohesion (COM(96)0542 - C4-0016/97),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Policy and the opinions of the Committee on Budgets, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Committee on Budgetary Control, the Committee on Fisheries and the Committee on Women's Rights (A4-0160/98),

A. whereas the end of 1996 marks the half-way point in the current programming period; whereas the two preceding years recorded unsatisfactory results for the take-up of funds,

B. whereas the delays affecting programme approval, particularly for Community initiatives, meant that 1996 was the first real year of implementation,

C. whereas successful coordination of Structural Fund activities with the other financial instruments available to the EU produces a decisive multiplier effect and is hence essential for the attainment of the goal of economic and social cohesion,

D. whereas it is very important for European regional policy to be compatible with other Community policies and their objectives; whereas the horizontal goal of achieving economic and social cohesion pursuant to Article 130b of the Treaty is the necessary adjunct to a coherent European regional development policy,

E. mindful of the continuing efforts to implement the partnership principle, in particular the involvement of local authorities and social partners, and of the Commission's efforts to secure a further strengthening of the principle in the reform of the Structural Funds,

F. whereas the systematic monitoring and evaluation of structural measures associated with European regional policy still have problems to overcome in terms of practical implementation,

G. mindful of the importance of the principle of additionality as the main guarantee of added value in the Community's structural policy and of the continuing difficulties with the verification of this principle; whereas, according to the Commission proposal for reform of the Structural Funds, this principle is to be accorded a crucial role in the allocation of the proposed reserve,

H. whereas the choice of research and technological development as this year's priority represents one of the key issues in the economic development of backward regions and whereas the Structural Funds make an appreciable contribution to creating and exploiting innovative capacity in these regions,

Budget implementation

1. Expresses its satisfaction at the take-up of appropriations from the Structural Funds in 1996 at a rate of 98% of available commitments and 95% of available payments; notes that this rate of take-up is a clear improvement on the two preceding years of implementation; notes further that these figures say little about actual implementation in the field (ratio of actual expenditure to overall planned expenditure);

2. Calls on the Member States to respect the three-month deadline laid down in Article 21(5) of Regulation (EEC) No 2082/93 for transferring funds to final beneficiaries; asks the Commission to provide data on the transfer of funds to final beneficiaries in future annual reports;

3. Expresses its concern at the rate of take-up for Community initiatives and transitional and innovative measures which together account for over 70% of the total funding not taken up; points out that, on provisional figures, implementation of Community initiatives in 1997 did not register the expected improvement and will necessitate reprogramming and transfers of appropriations; emphasizes here that, in line with the code of conduct of 13 July 1993 on the implementation of structural policies by the Commission ((OJ C 255, 20.9.1993, p. 19. )), Parliament should be informed as early and as fully as possible and its opinions should be taken into account;

4. Confirms its resolutions on the Sixth and Seventh reports on the implementation of the Structural Funds, in particular as regards:

- the criticism of the report's silence concerning the adjustment of the financial perspective to take account of the conditions of implementation and on the 'snowball effect¨ of outstanding commitment appropriations at the end of the programming period;

- the importance of the presentation of a report on the general situation of the Structural Funds, before July 1998 and preferably with the 1999 PDB; this report should contain proposals to the budgetary authority on the possible adjustments and additions to be made to the various plans previously approved;

5. Points out that, in spite of the improvement of the Structural Funds implementation in 1996, large amounts had to be rebudgetized in 1997 and in 1998, increasing the 'snowball effect¨ at the date of April 1998 up to a total of ECU 3 171 m in commitment appropriations for the 1999 budget; fears that this amount might increase on account of possible implementation shortfalls in 1998 and 1999;

6. Notes that a more detailed analysis should be made, within SEM and Agenda 2000, on the compatibility of the management systems at the different decision-making (European Union, national and regional) in order to find solutions minimizing bureaucratic intervention and improving Member States' take-up capacity;

7. Requests the Commission to present an evaluation of the existing management costs at European, national and regional levels, and to investigate whether these costs are in a reasonable proportion to the total expenditure of the Structural Funds (identification of administrative and management costs associated with structural policy);

8. Acknowledges the efforts made by the Commission to improve financial management with the SEM 2000 reform programme; welcomes, in particular, the adoption of guidelines for assessing the eligibility of expenditure and calls on the Commission to adopt as soon as possible the implementing regulation it has announced concerning the stricter requirements with which monitoring at national level will have to comply;

Coordination with other financial instruments

9. Expresses its satisfaction at the fact that the percentage of financing by the European Investment Bank (EIB) in aid of regional development is again on the increase; notes however that there has not yet been a return to the level of 1993 and hopes that the following years will record further improvements;

10. Points to the significance of the activities of the EIB and the European Investment Fund (EIF) and their substantial multiplier effect for Structural Fund intervention; notes however that these types of financing should be used only to supplement the Structural Funds and not to replace them;

11. Considers verification of the EIF by the Court of Auditors to be essential in this connection and urges those concerned to bring the on-going negotiations on this subject to a conclusion;

Compatibility with other Community policies

12. Emphasizes the importance of the compatibility of structural policy with other Community policies and the results to be noted in this respect; also points out however that this compatibility has its necessary adjunct in the horizontal requirement pursuant to Article 130b whereby the other Community policies support the objective of achieving economic and social cohesion;

Partnership principle

13. Regrets the continuing problems with implementation of the partnership principle according to the principles of the 1988 Structural Fund reform, particularly as regards the involvement of local authorities and social partners;

14. Emphasizes the importance of a solid partnership with regional and local protagonists and with management and labour; welcomes, in this respect, the extension of the partnership principle through employment pacts at regional and local level;

15. Welcomes the fact that the Commission wishes to strengthen and formalize this principle in connection with the Structural Fund reform; considers the decentralization of the management of structural intervention coupled with a strengthening of the monitoring committees to be essential but also calls for appropriate powers of supervision and sanction for the Commission in order to ensure implementation in line with the regulations governing the Structural Funds;

Monitoring, evaluation and checks

16. Emphasizes the importance of monitoring and evaluation for the successful attainment of economic and social cohesion; notes that there are continuing shortcomings with monitoring and evaluation that are attributable to the immense complexity of the criteria and procedures in an increasingly sophisticated system of evaluation; therefore advocates appropriate simplification of the evaluation system in the imminent Structural Fund reform;

17. Welcomes the Commission's initiative to prepare its own staff, through training in environmental issues, to be able to evaluate compliance with the Community's policy of preventive environmental protection and thereby take a preventive approach to serious infringements; calls on the Commission and the Member States to offer more such training opportunities for members of the monitoring committees in order to enhance knowledge and awareness of possible environmental repercussions where changes are made to planning;

18. Criticizes the method and manner in which the Commission has approached the evaluation of large-scale projects, commissioning expensive studies with such different analyses that it was not possible to evaluate the results because they were not comparable; calls, therefore, on the Commission to step up work on devising an effective and simplified evaluation system, while ensuring comparability with analyses carried out in previous years;

19. Is generally concerned at the increase in irregularities with financial implications; attributes this, on the one hand, to more efficient systems of control and improved cooperation between the Commission and the Member States and, on the other hand, however, to an increase in fraudulent activity; considers it unacceptable that, according to information from the Member States, ECU 64 million were misappropriated in 1996 and urges the Commission and the Member States to make further efforts effectively to prevent irregularities on that scale;

Additionality

20. Emphasizes that additionality is a principle that should also be given priority in the next programming period; regrets the fact that verification of the observance of this principle is not being carried out satisfactorily, since the details necessary for such verification are often provided in incomplete form or not at all by the Member States;

21. Calls, with a view to more effective combating of fraud, for a careful selection of projects and appropriate cofinancing by the Member States contributing

- at least 25% in Objective 1 regions and

- at least 50% in Objective 2 regions;

22. Welcomes the Commission's practice of including conditionality clauses in programming documents; asks the Commission also to look into the possibility of simplifying the verification of the observance of the additionality principle;

Research, technological development (RTD) and cohesion policy

23. Is aware of the importance of the contribution which RTD and the information society can make to the economic development of less-favoured regions; welcomes therefore the fact that the Commission deals in detail in this annual report with the projects financed by the Structural Funds in the areas of RTD, telecommunications and information technology;

24. Stresses that - in the interests of complementarity between RTD policy and structural policy and in accordance with the horizontality of cohesion policy under Article 130b - the fifth framework research programme which is currently at the decision-making stage and the ensuing implementing regulations must take into account economic and social cohesion;

Equal opportunities

25. Calls on the Commission to raise awareness among the monitoring committees of the importance of equal opportunities and to ensure a balanced participation of men and women on such committees;

26. Expects that far greater prominence will be given to the equal opportunities priority in the 9th annual report in order to comply with the Council Resolution of 2 December 1996 on mainstreaming equal opportunities for men and women into the European Structural Funds ((OJ C 386, 20.12.1996, p. 1.)) and to assess the impact of the guidelines for new Objective 2 programming issued in 1996;

Fisheries

27. Calls on the Commission, in particular its Directorate-General for Fisheries, to publish an annual report on structural policy to assist fisheries and aquaculture;

28. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.

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