REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 22ND ANNUAL REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STRUCTURAL FUNDS (2010)
Date: 2011-10-31
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Community budget, Structural Funds, financial year, structural expenditure

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 31.10.2011 
COM(2011) 693 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

22ND ANNUAL REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF  
THE STRUCTURAL FUNDS (2010) 

{SEC(2011) 1308 final} 

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

22ND ANNUAL REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF  
THE STRUCTURAL FUNDS (2010) 

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 linked to 
Structural Funds 2000-2006 assistance during 2010. 

More detailed information is available in the Commission Staff Working Document (attached 
to this report). 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

2010 was the eleventh year in which Structural Funds programmes and projects for 
implemented.  Altogether  7181 
the  2000-2006  programming  period  were 
operational programmes were managed in 2010. 

In  2010,  the  closure  process  began  for  the  majority  of  the  2000-2006  operational 
programmes.  Most  of  the  related  closure  documents  were  submitted  by  Member 
States  in  September  2010.  The  general  framework  for  the  closure  of  2000-2006 
Structural  Funds  assistance  was  set  out  in  Commission  Decision  C(2006)3424 
in 2006, amended by Commission Decisions C(2008)1362 and C(2009)960.  

The recovery package proposed by the Commission in response to the financial crisis 
allowed  for  an  extension  of  six  (or  twelve)  months  to  be  granted  on  a 
programme-by-programme  basis  for  those  Member  States  which  opted  for  it.  This 
flexibility  allowed  Member  States  and  regions  to  maximise  the  absorption  of  the 
allocated  funds  by  addressing  unexpected  programme  implementation  challenges 
and, consequently, achieve the objectives of the programmes. 

In  addition  to  the  implementation  of  2000-2006  Structural  Funds  programmes  and 
projects and preparation for their closure, the Commission was also heavily involved 
in  the  implementation  of  434 programmes  (317  European  Regional  Development 
Fund (ERDF), 117 European Social Fund (ESF))2 of the 2007-2013 period in 2010.  

In order to be able to demonstrate the added value of European cohesion policy, the 
Commission continued to carry out the ex post evaluation of Objectives 1 and 2 for 
the 2000-2006 period. The synthesis report of the ex post evaluation was published 
in  April  20103.  Furthermore,  the  ex  post  evaluations  for  Community  initiatives 

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226  Objective  1  and  Objective  2,  47  Objective  3,  12  FIFG  (outside  Objective  1),  81  INTERREG, 
71 URBAN, 27 EQUAL, 73 LEADER+ and 181 Innovative Action programmes.  
See Communication on the results of negotiations on strategies and programmes for the programming 
period 2007-2013. 
published on: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/evaluation/expost_reaction_en.htm 

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URBAN4  and  INTERREG5,  launched  in  2008,  were  published  in  June  2010.  The 
ex post evaluation of the EQUAL Community Initiative was launched in early 2009 
and  its  preliminary  results  presented  in  early  2010.  Concerning  the  Financial 
Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG), the ex post evaluation was undertaken in 
2009  and  was  presented  in  May  20106.  In  December  2010,  the  Commission  also 
presented the ex post evaluation of Leader+7, while the evaluation of the European 
Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) Guidance Section is on going. 

Sharing  of  experience  was  promoted,  notably  through  interregional  and  urban 
networks  and  the  conference  "Regions  for  Economic  Change:  building  sustainable 
growth" on 20th and 21st May with 755 participants from all 27 countries. 

The  8th  edition  of  OPEN  DAYS  ‘European  week  of  regions  and  cities’  organised 
jointly by the Commission and the Committee of Regions took place on 4-7 October 
2010.  It  brought  together  5,900  local,  regional,  national  and  European  decision-
makers and experts in the field of regional and local development. In addition to this 
263  local  events  were  organised  in  33  countries.  The  event  is  an  arena  for 
cooperation  and  networking,  for  sharing  knowledge  and  experience,  and  offers 
regions and cities a possibility to showcase their achievements. It also offers the ideal 
opportunity  to  highlight  the  synergies  between  cohesion  policy  and  other  EU 
policies. 

The Belgian presidency organised a two-day conference (18 and 19 November 2010) 
on  "The  role  of  the  ESF  in  the  fight  against  poverty  and  social  exclusion".  Work 
sessions  were  organised  over  two  half  days  with  focus  on  the  role  of  the  ESF  as  a 
policy instrument in the fight against poverty and social exclusion. 

2. 

ANALYSIS OF IMPLEMENTATION 

2.1. 

Budget Implementation 

2.1.1.  ERDF 

In spite of the financial downturn, 2010 was an excellent year in terms of budgetary 
execution.  The  overall  absorption  rate  reached  100.0%  or  EUR  1,693  million 
reimbursed to operational programmes. While the execution under Objective 2 was 
higher than initially voted (EUR 230 million instead of EUR 104 million), payments 
to Objective 1 and INTERREG programmes were lower than originally foreseen (for 
Objective  1,  EUR 1,348  million  instead  of  EUR  2,077  million  and  for  INTERREG 
EUR 90 million 
transfer  of 
appropriations during the global transfer to reinforce the 2007-2013 appropriations. 
In  total  for  other  programmes  (Urban,  Innovative  actions),  EUR  25  millions  were 
paid.  

instead  of  EUR 202 million),  mainly  due 

to  a 

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Published 
http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/evaluation/expost2006/urban_ii_en.htm 
Published 
http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/evaluation/expost2006/interreg_en.htm 
Published on: http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/documentation/studies/fifg_evaluation/index_en.htm 
Published on: http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/eval/reports/leaderplus-expost/index_en.htm 

on 

on: 

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In  2010,  the  closure  process  began  for  the  majority  of  the  2000-2006  ERDF 
operational programmes. Out of 379 programmes, 281 (or 74%) representing 90% of 
ERDF funds have chosen to extend their eligibility dates. As at 31 December 2010, 
closures  documents  were  received  for  356  programmes.  The  responsible  units  are 
currently analysing the Winding-up Declarations and Final reports.  

A proposal for closure had been sent to Member States for 25 programmes while the 
remaining 354 will be closed during 2011 and 2012. 

For  the  entire  2000-2006  period,  EUR  123,339  million  have  been  paid  to  Member 
States  as  of  31 December 2010.  This  represents  an  average  absorption  rate  for  all 
Member States of 95.2% of the EUR 129,600 million overall allocation. Most of the 
remaining  payments  concern  payments  of  the  final  balances  for  the  closure  of 
programmes. 

At the end of 2010, commitments from previous years on which payments were still 
to  be  made  (RAL)  amounted  to  EUR  6,719  million  for  ERDF  compared  with 
EUR 8,400 million  at  end  of  2009.  This  represents  5.2%  of  the  total  amount 
committed for ERDF. A further decrease of the RAL is foreseen with the payment of 
final balances upon closure of the programmes.  

In 2010, as in the previous year, the so-called ‘n+2’ rule did not apply. As a general 
rule, the last commitment tranche (i.e. 2006) will be used to execute final payments 
once  the  closure  of  the  programme  is  agreed  between  the  Member  State  and  the 
Commission. Accordingly, the amount to be de-committed will only be calculated at 
the closure stage of the operational programmes8. 

2.1.2.  ESF 

For  the  2000-2006  programming  period,  the  payment  credits  consumption  during 
2010 reached EUR 319 million. This corresponds to 26.42 % of the annual payment 
credits allocation. 

This is due to the fact most of the programmes have reached the 95% threshold and 
the remaining balance will only be paid in the context of closure of the programmes 
which is currently on-going. 

The  total  outstanding  commitments  (RAL)  at  the  end  of  2010  stood  at  EUR  3,004 
million  (compared  to  EUR  4,700  million  in  2009).  This  represents  4.38%  of  total 
commitments  for  the  period  2000-2006.  The  RAL  has  been  consumed  by  interim 
payments, a few final payments and an automatic de-commitment of the unused RAL 
has been processed for an amount of EUR 1,460 million under the closure exercise. 

In  2010,  as  in  the  previous  year,  the  so-called  ‘n+2’  rule  did  not  apply  and  the 
concerned RAL has been decreased by de-commitments for the programming period 
2000-2006 at the closure of the operational programmes according to the provisions 
set in the Article 105(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006. 

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Article 105(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006. 

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For  the  whole  period,  at  the  end  of  2010  EUR  64,118  million  have  been  paid  to 
Member States. This represents an absorption rate for all Member States of 93.47% 
of the EUR 68,600 million overall allocation. 

In total for 229 programmes under closure in 2010, all closure documents have been 
submitted  in  the  required  deadline  and  10  of  the  programmes  have  already  been 
closed. 

2.1.3.  EAGGF 

The  total  amount  paid  in  2010  was  EUR  168.3  million  or  30.7%  of  the  budget 
available  at  the  end  of  the  year  (an  amount  of  EUR  13.9  million  was  transferred 
during  the  year  to  other  budget  lines  outside  the  EAGGF).  The  execution  rate  as 
regards the initial budget for payment appropriations would be 29.9%. 

In absolute terms, the amount paid in 2010 is far below the amount paid in 2009 (by 
EUR 300 million). Three main reasons are behind this reduction: 

– 

– 

– 

The  rural  development  programmes  financed  by  EAGGF-Guidance  have 
followed a very high rhythm of implementation in previous years. At the end of 
2009,  94%  of  the  EAGGF-Guidance  contribution  programmed  for  the  whole 
period  had  already  been  paid,  and  a  substantial  number  of  programmes  (112 
out  of  a  total  of  152),  had  already  reached  the  95%  ceiling  for  interim 
payments.  In  these  cases,  no  further  payments  were  possible  in  2010  until 
closure. 

In 2010 the closure of 2000 – 2006 EAGGF-Guidance programmes started and 
by the end of the year 19 programmes (out of a total of 152 programmes), were 
closed.  

The low EAGGF-Guidance expenditure in 2010 was very largely compensated 
by  EUR  11.12  billion  of  EAFRD  expenditure  under  the  rural  development 
programming  2007-2013  (which  is  EUR  2.91  billion  more  than  in  the  year 
2009). 

The  EAGGF-Guidance  outstanding  commitments  (RAL)  at  the  end  of  2010 
amounted to EUR 1,183.3 million, equivalent to 5.3% of the whole allocation 2000-
2006. This amount is EUR 171.3 million lower than the EUR 1,354.6 million RAL at 
the end of 2009. 

2.1.4.  FIFG 

The  overall  absorption  rate  for  payments  was  100 %,  with  EUR  10  million  being 
disbursed to Member States. 

Concerning the execution level of payment appropriations, EUR 10 million was paid 
under Objective 1. No payment was made outside Objective 1. 

The  total  RAL  for  the  FIFG  at  the  end  of  2010  reached  EUR  296.44  million 
(compared  with  EUR  306.41  million  in  2009).  This  represents  7.5 %  of  total 
commitments for the period 2000-2006.  

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For  the  whole  period,  as  at  the  end  of  2010,  EUR  3,639  million  have  been  paid  to 
Member States. This represents an absorption rate for all Member States of 92.5% of 
the EUR 3,935 million overall allocation. 

2.2. 

Programme Implementation 

2.2.1.  Objective 1 

Objective  1  programmes  focused  on  basic  infrastructure  projects  (40.2%),  with 
almost  half  of  all  investment  in  this  category  spent  on  transport  infrastructure 
(49.9%).  More  than  a  third  (34.9%)  of  Objective 1  resources  was  invested  in  the 
productive  environment  where  the  focus  continues  to  be  on  assisting  Small  and 
Medium-sized  Enterprises  (SME)  and  the  craft  sector  (26.6 %)  where  as  human 
resources supported projects account for 22.5% of resources. 

2.2.2.  Objective 2 

The  main  focus  of  programmes  in  Objective  2  regions  continues  to  be  on  the 
productive  investments,  with  over  half  of  all  financial  resources  devoted  to  this 
category  (55.4%)  mostly  targeting  the  SME  and  craft  sector.  The  second  most 
supported field is basic infrastructure, with 29.2% of all Objective 2 resources. In the 
category of human resources to which 10.5% or resources were devoted, workforce 
flexibility  and  entrepreneurial  activity,  innovation,  information  and  communication 
technologies are the main fields of investment. 

2.2.3.  Objective 3 

ESF  programme  implementation  in  2010  continued  to  be  focused  on  the  European 
Employment  Strategy,  particularly  on 
improving 
employability  in  the  labour  market  (30.9 %  of  certified  expenditure),  lifelong 
learning  (activities  developing  educational  and  vocational  training  represented 
31.2 %  of  certified  expenditure),  social  inclusion  (13.3 %  of  certified  expenditure), 
equal  opportunities  (5.2 %  of  certified  expenditure)  and  entrepreneurial  activities, 
workforce  flexibility,  innovation,  information  and  communication  technologies 
(19.05%). 

the  measures  aimed  at 

2.2.4.  Fisheries outside Objective 1 

Expenditure  of  the  FIFG  programmes  outside  Objective  1  focussed  on  processing, 
marketing and promoting of fisheries products (26.7%). The second most important 
measure was adjustment of the fishing effort (17.8%), followed by the renewal and 
modernisation of the fishing fleet (17.5%), fishing port facilities (16.9%) and actions 
by professionals (vocational training, small coastal fishing) (12.8%). 

2.2.5.  Community initiatives 

2.2.5.1.  INTERREG 

By the end of 2010 the 81 INTERREG III/Neighbourhood programmes had selected 
about 19,000 projects and networks aimed at reducing the effects of national borders, 
language  barriers  and  cultural  differences  and  developing  border  areas,  supporting 
strategic  development  and  territorial  integration  across  larger  zones  of  the  EU  and 

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better integration with its neighbours. Effectiveness of regional development policies 
and  instruments  was  also  supported  by  sharing  of  good  practice  and  exchange  of 
experience. 

By  the  end  of  2010,  the  payment  absorption  rate  was  about  92%.  Due  to  the  more 
specific and challenging nature of cooperation programmes, project de-commitments 
due to the ‘n+2’ rule could not be avoided for some programmes. In total EUR 135 
millions were de-committed during the programming period due to the automatic de-
commitment rule. 

In 2010, the closure process for 81 INTERREG III/Neighbourhood programmes has 
begun and for 3 programmes the closure has been finalised. 

2.2.5.2.  EQUAL 

The  EQUAL  Community  Initiative  programmes  were  administratively  closed  in 
2008 in most Member States. Only a few asked for an extension of the final date of 
eligibility  into  2009  in  order  to  achieve  a  higher  absorption  rate  and  to  continue 
mainstreaming actions. In 2010 the administrative closure process was continued and 
by  the  end  of  the  year  4  closures  of  EQUAL  Operational  programmes  were 
completed. 

2.2.5.3.  URBAN 

In  2010,  URBACT  I  programme  has  been  closed.  The  URBACT  Programme 
reported a total eligible cost of EUR 25 043 714 of which a total of EUR 15 386 591 
ERDF  was  claimed.  This  represents  an  ERDF  under-spend  of  EUR  2  644  526  or 
14.67%.  

The  URBACT  II  programme,  the  Urban  Development  Network  Programme  under 
the  European  Territorial  Cooperation  Objective,  is  an  exchange  and  learning 
programme  for  cities  based  on  the  good  experiences  with  the  URBACT  I 
programme.  In  2010,  work  on  the  management  of  the  URBACT  II  programme 
continued by way of monitoring committees and reporting procedures. 

2.2.5.4.  LEADER+ 

The  Community  Initiative  Leader+  consisted  of  three  activities:  implementation  of 
local  development  strategies  by  public  private  partnerships,  cooperation  between 
rural  territories  and  networking.  73  Leader+  programmes  for  the  EU-15  were 
approved  for  the  period  2000-2006.  EU  Member  States  which  joined  after  01  May 
2004  had  the  option  of  integrating  Leader+  type  measures  into  their  EAGGF 
Objective 1 programmes. 

By the end of 2010, 14 LEADER+ programmes were closed and 8 pre-closure letters 
had been sent to Member States. 

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2.2.6. 

Innovative actions 

2.2.6.1.  ERDF 

The  Directorate-General  for  Regional  Policy  also  managed  181  Regional 
Programmes of Innovative Actions (by 31 December 2010, 171 had been closed, 24 
of them during 2010) which contribute to the promotion of strategic innovation in the 
regions  by  experimenting  with  innovative  methods  and  practices  designed  to 
improve the level of innovation and the quality of EU assistance under three themes: 
knowledge  and  technological  innovation,  information  society  and  sustainable 
development.  

2.2.6.2.  ESF 

The  remaining  Innovative  Actions  for  2005  and  2006  projects  were  completed  as 
planned and closed in 2010.  

3. 

CONSISTENCY AND COORDINATION 

3.1. 

Consistency with other Community policies 

The  previous  reports  have  detailed  relevant  developments  in  relation  to  ensuring 
consistency  between  cohesion  policy  and  other  EU  policy  priorities  such  as 
competition  policy,  internal  market,  environment,  transport  and  gender  equality 
objectives.  There  were  no  specific  changes  in  requirements  or  expectations  on 
managing authorities as the 2000-2006 programmes entered the closure phase. 

3.2. 

Coordination of instruments 

3.2.1.  The Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund 

In  2000-2006,  all  25  Member  States  benefited  from 
the 
Structural Funds,  while  thirteen  Member  States  also  benefited  from  the  Cohesion 
Fund  which  supports  the  less  prosperous  countries.  The  programming  and 
implementation  of  the  Structural  Funds  have  been  carefully  co-ordinated,  also 
vis-à-vis  the  Cohesion  Fund  (ERDF  in  particular),  to  avoid  duplication  in  projects 
supported.  

the  support  of 

3.2.2.  The Structural Funds and the EIB/EIF  

Throughout the 2000-2006 period the Commission and the EIB and EIF reinforced 
their  cooperation  by  setting  up  the  three  initiatives  JASPERS,  JEREMIE  and 
JESSICA.  Details  of  this  cooperation  were  provided  in  previosu  reports.  Since  the 
implementation of the 2000-2006 period entered the closure phase in 2010, there is 
nothing to report. 

4. 

EVALUATIONS 

the  Commission  continued 
In  2010, 
decision-making under Cohesion Policy. 

to  carry  out  evaluations 

to  support 

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ERDF 

In 2010, the Commission completed the ex post evaluation of ERDF interventions in 
objective 1 and 2 regions. The synthesis report of all the done work was published 
and presented to the public in April 2010. The ex-post evaluations of the Community 
Initiatives URBAN and INTERREG were also completed in 2010. 

Furthermore, in 2010 the Commission launched evaluations on the Cohesion Policy 
support  to  enterprises  and  to  innovation  and  research.  In  addition  three  thematic 
studies  concerning  Cohesion  Policy  and  local  development,  regions  with  specific 
geographical characteristics and innovation activities have also been launched.  

ESF  

The  ex-post  evaluation  of  the  ESF  interventions  for  the  2000-2006  period  was 
completed  in  2010.  It  consists  of  1  preparatory  study,  2  thematic  studies  (-  ESF 
support to the Open Method of Coordination in social protection and social inclusion 
and - The impact of the ESF on the functionning of the labour market and investment 
in  human  capital  infrastructure  through  support  to  systems  and  structures),  and  2 
main  evaluations  on  the  ESF  and  EQUAL.  All  the  evaluation  reports  have  been 
published. 

Another  5  evaluations  and  studies  have  been  completed  in  2010  while  a  further  3 
have been launched within ther year. 

EAGGF 

The  ex  post  evaluation  of  Leader+  was  completed  in  2010.  This  evaluation  covers 
the Leader+ programmes, as specified by Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/99, and 
the  Leader+-type  measures  included  in  transitional  rural  development  programmes 
for  the  period  2004-2006  (EU-10).  The  evaluation  concluded  that  Leader+  was  an 
important  complement  to  mainstream  policies  and  has  contributed  to  economic 
diversification, quality of life and enhancement of the natural and built environment 
of rural areas. 

In  2010  the  Commission  launched  the  ex-post  evaluation  of  2000-2006  rural 
development  programmes.  The  evaluation  will  assess  the  relevance,  coherence, 
effectiveness  and  efficiency  of  the  different  measures  and  programmes.  It  will  be 
completed during 2011. 

5. 

CONTROLS 

Detailed information on the results of the controls is available in the Annual Activity 
Reports of the respective Directorates-General9. 

5.1. 

ERDF 

The  effective  functioning  of  the  Member  States'  management  and  control  systems 
has  been  the  subject  of  wide-ranging  audits  since  2004  covering  key  elements  of 

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Published at http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/synthesis/aar/index_en.htm 

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management  and  control.  In  terms  of  coverage,  the  programmes  audited  represent 
43%  of  the  number  of  the  mainstream  programmes  and  76%  of  the  decided  ERDF 
contribution. As regards INTERREG, a separate audit enquiry launched in 2006 was 
concluded  in  2010  for  the  23  programmes  examined  (28%  of  total  programmes) 
representing 54 % of the decided contribution. 

An extensive  preparatory enquiry  was carried out  from 2007 to  2010 to review the 
winding-up bodies (WUB) in order to verify the assurance which can be placed on 
their  closure  work  underpinning  the  winding-up  declarations  (WUD),  to  verify  the 
preparation of Member States for closure and to identify and mitigate related risks. 
The 42 audits carried out under this enquiry, together with audit missions done on the 
winding-up body as part of regular systems audits which started in 2004, resulted in a 
coverage  of  winding-up  bodies  in  charge  of  approximately  85%  of  the  decided 
amount of the 2000-2006 programmes.  

In addition, during 2010, four audit missions were carried out to follow up previous 
ERDF systems audits (mainly implementation of remedial action plans following the 
detection of systems deficiencies) in three countries: in Spain (1), Germany (1) and 
Italy (2).  

Other  audit  work  carried  out  in  2010  for  the  2000-2006  programming  period 
included  the  examination  of  the  86  systems  audit  reports  received  from  national 
auditors, eleven annual control reports received under Article 13 of Regulation No. 
438/2001  (2009  was  the  last  year  where  submission  of  annual  control  report 
summarising all audit work carried out in the year was obligatory, before submission 
of  the  closure  documents  by  Member  States  for  most  programmes  in  2010). 
Assessment letters were sent to all the Member States with observations and, where 
necessary,  requests  for  additional  information  in  order  to  be  able  to  draw  as  much 
assurance as possible from the results of national audit work. 

5.2. 

ESF 

During  the  2000-06  programming  period,  the  work  carried  out  by  the  audit 
directorate included the assessment of management and control system descriptions, 
analysis of national system audit reports and annual control reports in the context of 
annual bilateral coordination meetings, and three main audit enquiries. 

Considering  the  stage  of  implementation  of  the  2000-2006  programming  period's 
Operational Programmes, no further audits of management and control systems were 
organised in 2010. Instead, the audit work focused on the follow up of irregularities 
and  the  reservations  issued  in  the  Annual  Activity  Report  for  2009  and  on  the 
analysis of the Winding up declarations.  

5.3. 

EAGGF 

In  total,  at  the  end  of  2010,  103  programmes  out  of  the  152  were  subject  to  audit 
(67.8%),  covering  €21.7  bill ion  (96.4%)  of  total  commitment  appropriations.  The 
total number of programmes which were subject to a follow-up audit was 44. During 
2010 all those audits were closed. 

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By 31 December 2010, the examination of the winding-up declarations submitted by 
Member  States was finalized as  regards  78 programmes, representing 51.3% of  the 
total number of programmes. 

5.4. 

FIFG 

Since the beginning of the 2000-2006 programming period, DG MARE has carried 
out  a  total  of  58  audit  missions  covering  all  its  mono-fund  programmes  (18 
programmes representing an initial budget contribution of €3,608.73 million – 87.4% 
of the total 2000-2006 budget) as well as 18 multi-fund programmes representing a 
contribution of €374.58 million - 9.2% of tota l 2000-2006 initial budget. In total, DG 
MARE  systems  audits  have  covered  programmes  representing  96.6%  of  the  total 
FIFG  initial  contribution  for  2000-2006.  For  the  remaining  programmes,  the 
assurance  is  gained  from  other  Structural  Funds  DGs'  audit  work  and/or  national 
audits. 

By  the  end  of  2010,  17  Winding-up  declarations  had  been  analysed:  9  had  been 
accepted, for 8 the analysis was interrupted and additional information was requested 
and  for  the  remaining  43  the  analysis  was  ongoing.  From  the  9  which  have  been 
accepted,  the  opinion  for  8  was  unqualified  and  for  one  the  opinion  was  qualified 
(and for which a financial correction will be proposed). 

5.5. 

OLAF 

In 2010, OLAF undertook 53 missions in the Member States relating to measures co-
financed  by  the  Structural  Funds.  During  these  missions  on-the-spot  checks10
  were 
carried out on 52 economic operators and 6 other types of missions were carried out 
to  gather  information  or  to  assist  either  national  administrations  or  judicial 
authorities. As was the case in previous years, typical problems identified by OLAF 
in the course of 2010 included false declarations, false invoicing and failure to abide 
by  public  procurement  rules  as  well  as  specified  instances  of  conflict  of  interest  in 
certain tendering procedures. 

In  2010,  Members  States  communicated  to  the  Commission,  in  accordance  with 
Regulation (EC) N° 1681/9411
 as 
amended14, some  6,91015
 notifications of irregularities involving EUR 1,546  billion 
affecting  co-financed  measures  of 
the  1994-99,  2000-2006  and  2007-2013 
programming periods.  

 and Regulation (EC) N° 1828/200613

2 as amended12

10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 

Regulation (EC) N° 2185/1996, OJ L 292, 15.10.1996, p. 2 
OJ L 178, 12.07.1994, p.43 
Regulation (EC) N°2035/2005, JO L 328, 15.12.2005, p; 8 
OJ L 371, 27.12.2006, p,1 
Regulation (EC) N° 846/2009, JO L 250, 23.09.2009, p.1 
2009: number of communicated cases 4.858; overall amount related to the communications € 
1.161.865.730 

EN 

10 

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6. 

COMMITTEES ASSISTING THE COMMISSION 

6.1. 

Coordination Committee of the Funds (COCOF) 

The only COCOF activity in 2010 concerning the implementation of the 2000 -2006 
period was the consideration of two Commission Decisions: 

– 

– 

Draft DECISION of the Commission exempting certain cases of irregularity arising 
from operations co-financed by the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund for 
the  2000-2006  programming  period  from  the  special  reporting  requirements 
laid down by Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1681/94 and by Article 5(2) 
of Regulation (EC) No 1831/94, and  

Draft  DECISION  of  the  Commission  concerning  the  financial  consequences  for  the 
Union  budget  exempting  certain  cases  of  irregularity  arising  from  operations  co-
financed  by  the  Structural  Funds  and  the  Cohesion  Fund  for  the  2000-2006 
programming period from the special reporting requirements laid down by Article 5(2) 
of Regulation (EC) No 1681/94 and by Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1831/94. 

The Committee gave favourable opinion for both proposals. 

6.2. 

ESF Committee 

In  2010  there  were  three  Plenary  Sessions  and  six  Technical  Working  Group 
meetings  but  however,  they  did  not  deal  with  any  issues  relating  to  the 
implementation of the 2000-2006 period. 

6.3. 

Committee on Agricultural Structures and Rural Development (STAR) 

The  STAR  Committee  met  six  times  in  2010  and  gave  one  favourable  opinion  on 
two decisions: 

– 

– 

Draft DECISION of the Commission exempting certain cases of irregularity arising 
from operations co-financed by the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund for 
the  2000-2006  programming  period  from  the  special  reporting  requirements 
laid down by Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1681/94 and by Article 5(2) 
of Regulation (EC) No 1831/94, and  

Draft  DECISION  of  the  Commission  concerning  the  financial  consequences  for  the 
Union  budget  exempting  certain  cases  of  irregularity  arising  from  operations  co-
financed  by  the  Structural  Funds  and  the  Cohesion  Fund  for  the  2000-2006 
programming period from the special reporting requirements laid down by Article 5(2) 
of Regulation (EC) No 1681/94 and by Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1831/94. 

6.4. 

Committee on Structures for Fisheries and Aquaculture (CSFA) 

The  Committee  on  Structures  for  Fisheries  and  Aquaculture  (CSFA)  met  twice  in 
2010.  Main  points  discussed  at  the  meetings  include  ex-post  evaluation  and  the 
closure of the FIFG. 

EN 

11 

  EN