Report from the Commission - 18th Annual Report on Implementation of the Structural Funds (2006) {SEC(2007) 1456}
Date: 2007-11-06
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Community budget, Structural Funds, activity report, implementation of the budget, structural expenditure

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 6.11.2007 
COM(2007) 676 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

18th Annual Report on Implementation of the Structural Funds (2006) 

{SEC(2007) 1456} 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3 

Analysis of Implementation ......................................................................................... 4 

Consistency and Coordination ..................................................................................... 8 

Evaluations................................................................................................................. 10 

Controls ...................................................................................................................... 10 

Committees Assisting the Commission ..................................................................... 12 

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

18th Annual Report on Implementation of the Structural Funds (2006) 

This report is presented in accordance with Article 45(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 
laying  down  general  provisions  on  the  Structural  Funds.  It  covers  the  activities  of  the 
Structural Funds during 2006. 

More  detailed  information  is  available  in  the  Commission  staff  working  paper  (annexed  to 
this report). 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

A  major  step  was  taken  in  2006  with  the  adoption of the  legislative framework  for 
the  2007–2013  programming  period,  some  two  years  after  the  Commission's  initial 
proposals  of  July  2004.  The  framework  comprises  the  general  regulation1,  four 
regulations laying down specific rules on the European Regional Development Fund 
(ERDF)2,  the  European  Social  Fund  (ESF)3,  the  Cohesion  Fund  (CF)4  and  the 
European  Grouping  of  Territorial  Cooperation  (EGTC)5  plus  the  Commission 
implementing regulation6 adopted on 8 December 2006.  

Reflecting  the  fact  that  future  programmes  will  be  implemented  within  the 
framework  of  Community  priorities,  Community  Strategic  Guidelines  (CSG)  were 
adopted  on  6  October  2006  making  the  Lisbon  strategy  for  growth  and  jobs  the 
central focus of the new cohesion policy programmes. 

A series of reforms relating to management of the operational programmes have been 
introduced  for  2007-2013.  In  terms  of  the  delivery  system,  legislation  has  been 
streamlined and rules simplified for managing cohesion policy. In particular there is: 

–  One set of management rules with a single Commission implementing regulation 
for the 2007-2013 programming period, which replaces 10 existing regulations for 
the 2000-2006 programming period; 

–  One  set  of  eligibility  rules  for  expenditure  with  Member  States  using  national 
eligibility  rules,  rather  than  European  eligibility  rules  in  addition  to  national 
eligibility rules; 

–  Simplification of financial management giving a wider autonomy to the national 

authorities in charge of the management of operational programmes; 

1 Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006, OJ L 210, 31.7.2006, p. 25. 
2 Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006, OJ L 210, 31.7.2006, p. 1. 
3 Regulation (EC) No 1081/2006, OJ L 210, 31.7.2006, p. 12. 
4 Regulation (EC) No 1084/2006, OJ L 210, 31.7.2006, p. 79. 
5 Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006, OJ L 210, 31.7.2006, p. 19. 
6 Commission Regulation (EC) No 1828/2006, OJ L 45, 15.2.2007, p. 3. 

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–  Increased  proportionality  and  simplification  for  control  systems,  and  for  smaller 
programmes  (total  eligible  public  expenditure  under  750 million EUR  and 
Community  co-financing  under  40 %  of  total  public  expenditure),  certain 
requirements on control arrangements can be carried out by national bodies; 

–  The organisation of the Rural Development policy (financed by the EAFRD7) and 
the  fisheries  policies  (financed  by  the  EFF8)  henceforth  independent  of  the 
Structural  Funds  on  the  basis  of  the  European  Agricultural  Fund  for  Rural 
Development (aligning the rules of management and control with those of the first 
pillar of the Common Agricultural Policy) and the European Fisheries Fund. This 
requires an effective complementarity between the co-financed actions by all the 
financial  instruments  concerned  (Cohesion,  Rural  Development  and  Fisheries 
policies); 

–  Improved 

information  and  communication  with  citizens  and  potential 

beneficiaries having the same access to information on funding opportunities; 

–  Greater reliance on electronic government in practice with data exchange between 

the Member States and the Commission being done only electronically. 

In  addition,  for  the  implementation  phase,  and  in  order  to  bring  in  new  sources  of 
support  and  expertise,  the  Commission  and  the  international  financial  institutions 
have prepared three joint initiatives: Jaspers (Joint Assistance to Support Projects in 
European  Regions)  to  assist  the  twelve  beneficiary  countries  with  preparing  major 
projects,  Jeremie  (Joint  European  Resources  for  Micro  to  Medium  Enterprises)  to 
improve  access  to  finance  for  SMEs  and  develop  micro-credit  and  Jessica  (Joint 
European  Support  for  Sustainable  Investment  in  City  Areas)  to  support  sustainable 
and recyclable urban investment and development in cities.  

A  significant  level  of  support  in  the  new  programming  period  will  be  directed 
towards strengthening public administrations and public services. It will support the 
modernisation and the development of the public administrations and public services 
to better meet the expectations of citizens and business and also to strengthen its role 
as an important factor of social and economic development.  

2. 

ANALYSIS OF IMPLEMENTATION 

2.1. 

Budget Implementation 

2.1.1.  ERDF 

The implementation of the budget in 2006 was very satisfactory and for Objectives 1 
and  2  and  the  Community  initiatives,  100 %  of  the  resources  available  were 
committed. 

Concerning  payment  appropriations,  99.92 %  of  the  resources  available  were  used 
(99.65 %  in  2005).  The  projected  level  of  payment  appropriations  for  2006  ERDF 

7 Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005, OJ L277, 21.10.2005, p. 1. 
8 Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006, OJ L223, 15.8.2006, p. 1. 

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was reduced by 2.8 billion EUR in the course of the year in order to take account of 
the  temporary  suspension  of  payment  claims  by  Spain  and  the  United  Kingdom 
(amounting  to  2.3 billion  EUR)  pending  the  implementation  of  action  plans  to 
improve  aspects  of  management  and  control  systems,  and  due  to  forecasting  errors 
made by EU-10.  

Commitments from previous years on which payments were still to be made9 totalled 
EUR 45.8 billion at the end of 2006 (compared with EUR 39.1 billion in 2005).  

Concerning the application of the n+2 rule, at the end of 2006 and in relation to the 
2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 commitments, EUR 1 billion had not been paid at 
the beginning of 2007. However, in view of the exceptions that can be granted to the 
n+2 rule (for cases involving state aid decisions, major projects, etc.), the estimate of 
resources at risk of decommitment, because they have not given rise to payments, is 
much smaller at EUR162 million (only 0.0018 % of total commitments). 

2.1.2.  ESF 

Implementation  of  the  budget  in  2006  was  also  very  satisfactory:  99.97 %  of 
commitment  appropriations  were  implemented  in  2006  (against  99.93 %  in  2005). 
Concerning  payments,  99.87 %  of  the  appropriations  were  executed  (99.86 %  in 
2005). The total outstanding payments on commitments at the end of 2006 stood at 
EUR 22.96 billion  (outstanding  payments  compared  with  EUR 20.74 billion  in 
2005), out of which EUR 22.76 billion were for the current ESF programming period 
(EUR 20.44 billion 
in  2005).  The  outstanding  payments  from  earlier  ESF 
programming periods decreased significantly from EUR 304.7 million at the end of 
2005 to EUR 204.6 million at the end of 2006 (-32.8 %). 

Concerning application of the n+2 rule, at the end of 2006 to the 2000, 2001, 2002, 
2003  and  2004  commitments,  19  programmes  were  involved  for  which  a  total  of 
EUR 129.31 million  was  proposed  from  the  ESF  (0.19 %  of  total  ESF).  For  those 
programmes  the  Commission  opened  negotiations  ('the  contradictory  procedure') 
with  the  Member  States.  Only  at  the  end  of  this  procedure  can  the  amounts  to  be 
decommitted be known. 

2.1.3.  EAGGF 

The  2006  budget  was  fully  used  in  terms  of  both  the  commitment  and  payment 
appropriations (respectively 99.3 % and 108.5 % of the budget initially voted). The 
figure  for  payments  was  achieved  due  to  the  fact  that  the  payment  appropriations 
budget was topped-up by EUR 360 million in December 2006.  

Compared  with  2005,  an  extra  EUR 207 million  was  committed  and  an  extra 
EUR 2 million paid.  

The  payments  added  up  to  EUR  3 589 million,  of  which  EUR  3 562.1 million  was 
for  the  2000-2006  programmes  (Objective  1:  EUR 3 193.0 million;  Leader+: 
EUR 361.1 million; Peace: EUR 8.1 million) and EUR 26.9 million for the closure of 
45 programmes from the 1994-1999 programming period. 

9 “RAL” (restes à liquider). Open commitments from previous years. 

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Outstanding  EAGGF  commitments  at  the  end  of  2006  totalled  EUR  7 636 million 
(compared  with  EUR  7 085 million  in  2005),  of  which  EUR  7 288 million 
corresponded to 2000-2006 programmes. 

Implementation  of 
EUR 9.3 million being decommitted. 

the  n+2  rule  for 

the  2003  commitments  resulted 

in 

2.1.4.  FIFG 

In  all,  99.58 %  of  commitment  appropriations  and  84.16 %  of  payment 
appropriations  were  implemented.  The  payment  rate  was  86.23 %  in  Objective 1 
regions and 79.06 % in regions outside Objective 1. The total outstanding payments 
on  commitments  for  the  FIFG  for  the  2000-2006  programming  period  totalled 
EUR 1 336 million in 2006 (compared with EUR 1 111 million in 2005). 

Concerning the application of the n+2 rule, at the end of 2006 and in relation to the 
2000,  2001,  2002,  2003  and  2004  commitments,  9  programmes  were  involved  for 
which a total of EUR 22 million was at risk. For these programmes the Commission 
opened the contradictory procedure with the Member States. Only by the end of this 
procedure the amounts to be decommitted will be definitively known. 

2.2. 

Programme Implementation 

2.2.1.  Objective 1 

Expenditure on the Objective 1 programmes followed the same path as in 2005. The 
Objective  1  programmes  focused  investment  on  basic  infrastructure  projects 
(41.6 %), with over half (54.4 %) of all investment in this category spent on transport 
infrastructure.  More  than  one-third  (33.5 %)  of  the  Objective  1  resources  were 
invested  in  productive  environment,  where  the  priority  continues  to  be  on  assisting 
SMEs and the craft sector (30 %). Projects targeted at human resources took 23.2 % 
of resources in Objective 1 regions. The main fields of activity were, almost equally, 
labour market policies (31.6 %) and education and vocational training (31 %).  

2.2.2.  Objective 2 

In  Objective  2  regions,  the  main  focus  of  the  programmes  continued  to  be  on 
productive environment, with over half of all financial resources (56.3 %) allocated 
to  this  category.  Within  this  field,  assistance  to  SMEs  and  the  craft  sector 
predominated  (56.5 %).  The  second  most  important  field  of  activity  was  basic 
infrastructure,  with  29.1 %  of  all  Objective  2  resources.  Unlike  the  Objective  1 
programmes,  the  most  important  area  in  financial  terms  was  planning  and 
rehabilitation of industrial zones (44.6 %). In the human resources category (10.2 % 
of  all  investment  in  Objective  2  regions),  workforce  flexibility,  entrepreneurial 
activity,  innovation,  information  and  communication  technologies  were  the  main 
fields of investment (31.6 %).  

2.2.3.  Objective 3 

The main emphasis of the ESF programme in 2006 continued to be on support for the 
improving 
European  Employment  Strategy,  particularly  measures  aimed  at 
employability on the labour market (31 % of expenditure), lifelong learning (27 %) 

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and equal opportunities (6 %), while measures to promote entrepreneurship remained 
stable (19 %) but below the level suggested by the programming documents (21 %). 
Furthermore,  there  was  still  a  marked  difference  in  financial  implementation  of 
programmes  between  EU-15,  where  long-established  programmes  continued  to  be 
implemented, and EU-10, where some Member States are experiencing considerable 
difficulties in getting some projects and measures underway.  

2.2.4.  Fisheries outside Objective 1 

Take-up for structural improvements in the fisheries sector progressed in 2006. This 
was reflected in the financial implementation of the FIFG operational programmes, 
which contributed to achieving the objectives of the common fisheries policy. 

2.2.5.  Community initiatives 

2.2.5.1.  Interreg 

The  implementation  of  the  81  Interreg  III/Neighbourhood  programmes  progressed 
well in 2006 in pursuit of their objective of reducing the negative economic impact 
of borders and promoting cooperation. 

Over the period from 2000 to 2006, the 81 Interreg III/Neighbourhood programmes 
selected  some  13 000  projects  and  networks.  For  some  programmes,  changes  were 
necessary  due 
the  Union's  new 
Neighbourhood  programme  concept.  N+2  decommitments  and  updates  of  the  mid-
term  evaluations  contributed  to  further  changes  to  the  programme  in  the  two 
following years.  

to  enlargement  and/or 

integration  of 

the 

2.2.5.2.  Equal 

In  2006,  good  progress  continued  to  be  made  with  implementation  of  the  27 
programmes  and  more  than  3 300  projects  under  Equal.  Under  the  n+2  rule,  six 
Member  States  were  unable  to  use  a  part  of  the  2004  budgetary  commitment.  In 
order to make maximum use of the results of the Equal programmes and to prepare 
for  mainstreaming  Equal  into  the  next  generation  of  operational  programmes,  the 
Commission  and  the  Member  States  worked  in  partnership  during  2006  on  issues 
such as the treatment of asylum seekers, diversity, youth employment, ex-offenders, 
social economy, inclusive business creation, media and discrimination, management 
innovation  and  gender 
transnational  cooperation, 
principles 
mainstreaming). 

(partnership, 

2.2.5.3.  Urban  

In  2006,  the  twenty  thematic  networks  and  six  working  groups  created  within  the 
framework of Urban continued their efforts to promote best practices and exchange 
information.  Thirteen  networks  completed  this  work  and  a  final  conference  was 
organised to present their results and recommendations. A report on the “role of the 
cities in the development of disadvantaged districts”, based on the experience of the 
cities, was produced under the auspices of the German Presidency.  

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2.2.5.4.  Leader 

73 Leader+ programmes have been approved for the period 2000-2006. Of the 938 
Local Action Groups (LAGs) proposed, 892 were finally selected. 

2.2.6. 

Innovative actions 

2.2.6.1.  ERDF 

Some 181 regional programmes for innovative actions were approved for the period 
2000-2006.  By  the  end  of  2006  fifty-nine  programmes  had  been  brought  to  a 
conclusion. This resulted in 40 projects being identified as best practice examples for 
dissemination to other regions (for example, through the Inforegio website). It should 
be  recalled  that  the  programmes  are  organised  around  the  following  themes: 
knowledge  and  technological  innovation,  information  society  and  sustainable 
development. 

2.2.6.2.  ESF 

During the year 37 projects relating to Local Employment Strategies were finalised. 
In 2006, 19 projects were selected under the third round of the call for proposals on 
“Innovative  approaches  to  the  management  of  change”.  Together  with  the  61 
ongoing  projects  selected  in  previous  rounds,  they  address  two  priority  issues: 
management of restructuring and management of demographic change. With a view 
to mainstreaming the results, six projects were selected under the second round of the 
call on “Transfer and dissemination of innovation from ESF Article 6 projects”.  

2.2.6.3.  FIFG 

Nine  projects  were  brought  to  a  conclusion  in  2006.  Following  the  2005  ex  post 
evaluation  of  transnational  projects  for  innovative  action  in  the  fisheries  sector,  it 
was decided not to launch any new call for proposals in 2006. The evaluation showed 
that  the  overall  EU  added  value  of  these  projects  was  rather  limited.  The  key 
characteristics  of  the  innovative  action  -  innovation,  networking  and  transnational 
cooperation  –  have,  however,  been  included  in  the  European  Fisheries  Fund 
Regulation. 

3. 

CONSISTENCY AND COORDINATION 

3.1. 

Consistency with other Community policies 

3.1.1.  Competition 

Under  Regulation (EC) No 1260/99  Member  States  are  required  to  verify  that  all 
operations  comply  with  EC  legislation,  including  the  rules  on  State  aid.  Where  the 
Commission  is  informed  of,  or  audits  demonstrate,  any  breach  of  EC  legislation, 
appropriate  action  is  taken.  In  order  to  provide  full  transparency,  Member  States 
indicate the State aid schemes for which assistance from the Structural Funds is used 
in their programmes. The majority of regional aid schemes expired on 31 December 
2006.  New  guidelines  apply  as  of  1  January  2007  with  a  view  improving  the 
efficiency of state aid as well as increasing transparency and simplicity of operation. 

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3.1.2. 

Internal market 

Under  Regulation (EC) No 1260/99,  Member  States  are  also  required  to  verify  that 
operations  financed  by  the  Funds  comply  with  EU  Public  Procurement  Directives. 
Where the Commission is informed of any breach of EC legislation or where audits 
demonstrate  that  this  is  the  case,  appropriate  action  is  taken.  In  the  programming 
context the Commission requires information from the Member States in the annual 
reports  on  the  programmes.  The  Directorates  General  for  Regional  Policy  and  for 
Internal Market have contributed to clarify the legal treatment of concessions dating 
before  accession  of  new  Member  States,  on  1  May  2004,  and  which  were  not  in 
compliance with the EC-acquis. A new regulatory framework for public procurement 
law  has  been  introduced  in  order  to  provide  greater  legal  certainty  both  for  the 
private and the public sector.  

3.1.3.  Environment 

The  main  focus  has  been  on  using  appropriate  actions  under  the  cohesion  policy 
programmes to support compliance with the Community Acquis in the field of urban 
wastewater,  water  supply  and  waste  management.  Other  important  areas  of 
investment  have  been  in  eco-innovation  and  rehabilitation  of  polluted  soil.  The 
promotion  of  sustainable  development  has  been  achieved  with  investments  in 
environmentally-friendly  transport  and  energy,  introducing  environmental  criteria 
into  project  selection,  and  by  pro-actively  ensuring  compliance  of  projects  with 
environmental legislation. 

3.1.4.  Transport 

Cohesion programmes continue to be the main source of Community support for the 
realisation  of  Community  priorities  in  transport.  Accordingly,  the  main  focus  has 
been  on  supporting  investment  in  line  with  European  transport  policy.  For  a  list  of 
major projects supported in this field by the ERDF, see Part 3 of the Annex. 

3.1.5.  Gender equality 

In March 2006, the Commission adopted “A Roadmap for Equality between Women 
and  Men”,  covering  the  period  2006-2010,  which  reflects  the  Commission’s 
commitment  to  this  issue  and  covers  all  external  and  internal  EU  policies.  The 
roadmap outlines six priority areas for EU action on gender equality. It is designed to 
improve governance by exploring the possibilities to develop gender budgeting at EU 
level,  particularly  in  the  Structural  Funds  within  the  possibilities  of  shared 
management for the new period.  

3.2. 

Coordination of instruments 

3.2.1.  The Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund 

In 2006, before the latest enlargement to Romania and Bulgaria on 1 January 2007, 
whereas  all  25  Member  States  benefited  from  the  support  of  the  Structural  Funds, 
there were 13 Member States benefiting from also the Cohesion Fund which supports 
the less prosperous countries. 

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The Structural Funds have been carefully co-ordinated among themselves, and vis-à-
vis  the  Cohesion  Fund  (ERDF  in  particular),  to  avoid  duplication  in  projects 
supported. 

3.2.2.  The Structural Funds and the EIB/EIF 

In  2006  Jaspers  (Joint  Assistance  to  Support  Projects  in  European  Regions),  a  new 
technical  assistance  facility  to  assist  the  new  Member  States  to  prepare  major 
projects, came into operation. Action plans (work programmes) for 2006 were agreed 
with eleven of the twelve beneficiary countries.  

The  Commission and  the  EIB Group  have  also agreed to launch a joint initiative – 
Jeremie (Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises) – to improve 
access  to  finance  for  SMEs  and  develop  micro-credit  for  the  next  programming 
period.  

Another  initiative,  Jessica  (Joint  European  Support  for  Sustainable  Investment  in 
City  Areas),  has  been  put  in  place  with  the  EIB  and  the  Council  of  Europe 
Development  Bank  to  support  sustainable  urban  investment  and  development  in 
cities in the EU from the Structural Funds. Under Jessica, managing authorities in the 
Member States have the opportunity to use some of their Structural Fund allocations 
to  invest  in  Urban  Development  Funds  (UDFs)  and  recycle  these  resources  for 
further rounds of investment in urban areas. 

JEREMIE  and  JESSICA  represent  a  cultural  shift  for  cohesion  policy,  seeking  to 
move away from an exclusive dependence on grants towards greater use of repayable 
forms of assistance. 

4. 

EVALUATIONS 

In  2006  the  Commission  carried  out  strategic  and  thematic  evaluations  to  support 
decision-making  under  cohesion  policy.  In  addition,  its  summary  reports  analysed 
the quality and the results of evaluations carried out by the Member States. Another 
important  task  for  the  Commission  was  to  provide  methodological  guidance  to  the 
Member States and organise exchanges of experience. 

5. 

CONTROLS 

5.1. 

ERDF 

For the 1994-1999 programming period, closure audits were completed on a sample 
of  56  programmes  covering  all  EU-15.  The  work  in  2006  involved  completing  the 
follow-up  of  all  audits,  reaching  final  positions  on  corrections  to  be  applied  and 
launching financial corrections procedures, where applicable. 

For the 2000-2006 period, the audit work carried out in 2006 consisted of 85 on-the-
spot  missions  covering  both  systems  audits  and  substantive  testing  on  332 
operations.  The  audit  work  carried  out  substantially  advanced  the  level  of  security 
regarding  the  operation  of  systems  in  the  Member  States  and  achieved  important 
improvements through the implementation of action plans, in certain cases. 

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By  the  end  of  2006,  for  EU-15,  a  total  of  126  audit  missions  had  been  carried  out 
covering  61  programmes  or  22.1 %  of  the  number  of  the  mainstream  and  URBAN 
programmes and 52.6 % of the ERDF resources available. For EU 10, at the end of 
2006, 28 audit missions had been carried out representing audits on 9 programmes or 
45 % of the number of the mainstream programmes and 65.5 % of the decided ERDF 
contribution. 

As regards INTERREG, in 2006, 5 programmes were audited representing 28 % of 
ERDF commitments. 

5.2. 

ESF 

During 2006, 69 audit missions were organised by the Commission: 53 system audit 
missions on 2000-2006 plus 16 closure audits on 1994-1999. 

Out of a total of 237 European Social Fund programmes, 123 have been covered by 
the Commission, with the emphasis on those assessed as high-risk programmes. In all, 
34  programmes  assessed  as  high-risk  were  audited  in  2006,  including  10  new 
programmes. Every Member State except Luxembourg was visited. In five Member 
States a follow-up audit was performed. 

In 2006, 12 financial correction procedures and 14 action plans were agreed. 

5.3. 

EAGGF 

By the beginning of 2006, the planned ex post audit programme for 1994-1999 had 
been completed. Programmes accounting for 32 % of total expenditure were audited 
in  this  action.  A  number  of  financial  correction  procedures  are  underway:  bilateral 
meetings  were  held  with  the  Member  States  in  2006  on  18  programmes.  Four 
financial  correction  decisions  covering  five  programmes  were  adopted  by  the 
Commission in the course of the year. 

A total of 21 programmes, covering 38 % of the planned expenditure, were audited 
over the year for the period 2000-2006 (EU-25). By the end of 2006 a total of 73 of 
the 152 programmes approved for the EAGGF-Guidance Section had been audited.  

5.4. 

FIFG 

A  total  of  six  on-the-spot  checks  were  carried  out  in  2006  for  the  FIFG.  Three  of 
these  missions  were  to  verify  and  follow  up  the  effective  functioning  of  the 
management  and  control  systems  for  the  period  2000-2006,  combined  with  sample 
checks in Italy, Poland and Sweden.  

Another  two  missions  were  carried  out  in  France  and  in  Portugal  and  concerned 
system  audits  combined  with  sample  checks  to  verify  effective  functioning  of  the 
management and control systems for operational programmes under Objective 1.  

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5.5. 

OLAF 

During  2006  OLAF  undertook  44  missions  in  the  Member  States  relating  to 
measures co-financed by the Structural Funds. Some 30 of these missions concerned 
on-the-spot  checks10,  while  14  were  conducted  for  other  purposes,  e.g.  to  gather 
information or to assist either national administrations or judicial authorities. Among 
problems  identified  were  cases  of  false  declarations  and  invoicing  and  failure  to 
respect public procurement rules. 

In  2006,  Members  States  communicated  to  the  Commission,  in  accordance  with 
Regulation  (EC)  N° 1681/94,  some  2 988  notifications  of  irregularities  involving 
EUR 516 697 561 affecting co-financed measures of the 1994-1999 and 2000-2006 
programming  periods.  The  number  of  notifications  showed  a  slight  decrease 
compared  to  2005,  probably  as  a  result  of  the  modifications  introduced  with  (EC) 
Regulation  N° 2035/200511  and  in  particular  the  increase  of  the  threshold  for  the 
reporting  of  irregularities  from  EUR 4 000 to  EUR 10 000.  However,  the  financial 
amounts concerned increased. The figures demonstrate an increased awareness and a 
better  reporting  by  the  Member  States  in  conformity  with  Community  law 
obligations. 

6. 

COMMITTEES ASSISTING THE COMMISSION 

6.1. 

Committee on the Development and Conversion of Regions (CDCR) 

In  2006  the  CDCR  was  consulted  on  technical  assistance  on  the  initiative  or  on 
behalf  of  the  Commission  and  on  amendment  of  Commission  Regulation  (EC) 
No 448/2001. 

A  new  Coordination  Committee  of  the  Funds  (COCOF)  was  established  under 
Article 103 of Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 which entered into force on 1 August 
2006.  It  was  consulted  as  a  management  committee  on  the  rules  for  implementing 
Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1083/2006  and  on  the  method  for  calculating  the 
structural public and equivalent expenditure for additionality purposes. 

The Committee was consulted as an advisory committee on the list of areas eligible 
under 
the  European  Territorial  Cooperation  Objective,  cost-benefit  analysis 
methodology,  guidelines  concerning  the  evaluation  methodology  and  the  allocation 
of technical assistance on the initiative or on behalf of the Commission. 

6.2. 

ESF Committee 

The Committee discussed a wide range of issues relating to both implementation of 
the  2000-2006 programming period of  the ESF and  preparations for  the  2007-2013 
programming period. 

The  Committee  examined  issues  concerning  the  new  regulations  for  2007-2013, 
including ESF support to education and training, health, anticipation, management of 

10 Regulation (EC) No 2185/1996, OJ L 292, 15.10.1996, p. 2. 
11 OJ L 328, 15.12.2005, p. 8. 

EN 

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   EN 

                                                 
change  and  restructuring,  social  partners  and  migrants,  and  the  mainstreaming  of 
EQUAL principles.  

6.3. 

Committee on Agricultural Structures and Rural Development (STAR) 

The  STAR  Committee  met  12  times  in  2006  and  gave  favourable  opinions  on  31 
amendments  to  rural  development  programmes  under  Article  44(2)  of  Council 
Regulation  (EC)  No  1257/1999  and  six  amendments  to  rural  development 
programmes under Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1268/1999.  

6.4. 

Committee on Structures for Fisheries and Aquaculture (CSFA) 

In  2006,  the  Committee  was  consulted  on  a  number  of  issues:  the  draft  working 
paper  on  ex  ante  evaluation  for  the  European  Fisheries  Fund  operational 
programmes; the draft working paper on indicators for monitoring and evaluation for 
the  European  Fisheries  Fund  operational  programmes;  the  draft  Commission 
Regulation laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation 
(EC)  No 1198/2006  on  the  European  Fisheries  Fund;  the  draft  codification  of 
Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No 908/2000  of  2  May  2000  laying  down  detailed 
rules for calculating aid granted by Member States to producer organisations in the 
fisheries and aquaculture sector. 

EN 

13 

   EN