COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Examples of EU added value Accompanying the document REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the evaluation of the Union's finances based on the results achieved
Date: 2015-06-26
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU expenditure, EU programme, European citizenship, activity report, area of freedom, security and justice, economic and social cohesion, employment policy, fund (EU), management of resources, multiannual financial framework

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 26.6.2015  
SWD(2015) 124 final 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

Examples of EU added value 

Accompanying the document 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL  

on the evaluation of the Union's finances based on the results achieved 

{COM(2015) 313 final} 
{SWD(2015) 125 final} 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
  
 
CONTENTS 
Introduction .........................................................................................................................................................................3 

Definition of EU added value....................................................................................................................................3 

Heading 1A EUROPEAN ADDED VALUE IN COMPETETIVENESS FOR GROWTH AND JOBS..............4 

Research and Innovation – Horizon 2020 ..........................................................................................................4 

Large infrastructure projects ................................................................................................................................ 10 

Other programmes financing common issues of European added value ........................................... 12 

Heading 1B EUROPEAN ADDED VALUE IN ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND TERRITORIAL COHESION 15 

European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)............................................................................................ 15 

Cohesion Fund ............................................................................................................................................................. 17 

European Social Fund (ESF) .................................................................................................................................. 17 

Heading 2 EUROPEAN ADDED VALUE IN SUSTAINABLE GROWTH: NATURAL RESOURCES ....... 19 

Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) .................................................................................................................... 20 

European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF)........................................................................................... 20 

Programme for the Environment and Climate Action (LIFE).................................................................. 22 

Heading 3 EUROPEAN ADDED VALUE IN SECURITY AND CITIZENSHIP................................................ 24 

Managing external borders and Internal Justice........................................................................................... 24 

Health and consumer protection ......................................................................................................................... 25 

Culture and Citizenship ........................................................................................................................................... 27 

Heading 4 EUROPEAN ADDED VALUE IN GLOBAL EUROPE........................................................................ 29 

Development aid......................................................................................................................................................... 29 

Humanitarian aid ....................................................................................................................................................... 30 

Pre accession assistance.......................................................................................................................................... 30 

preserve peace, prevent conflicts and strengthen international security.......................................... 32 

European Neighbourhood Instrument.............................................................................................................. 33 

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Introduction 

This Staff Working Document ('SWD' 1) is one of the two SWDs accompanying the Commission's 
fifth Article 318 Evaluation Report.  

It follows up on comments from the European Parliament, the Council and the European Court of 
Auditors on the need to demonstrate the added value of EU budgetary spending.  

In its recommendation to the 2013 discharge, the Council considered that: 

 "(….) providing EU added value is of paramount importance for any EU funding and, in order to 
achieve this, EU funding should deliver synergies and economies of scale at EU level. In this context, 
the  Council  invites  the  Commission,  the  Court  and  Member  States,  as  well  as  other  interested 
parties,  to  further  exploit  the  concept  of  EU  added  value  as  part  of  the  EU  performance 
framework".  

The  Court  of  Auditors  commented  in  its  2013  annual  report  on  the  EU  budget  that:  "However, 
none of the three main reports published in 2013 provided a comprehensive overview of results in 
terms of EU added value. This is a significant gap in the reporting"1. In response, the Commission 
committed to report on EU-added value in the Article 318 Report. 

The  present  SWD  aims  to  demonstrate  through  specific  examples  that  the  below  mentioned 
dimensions of EU-added value are being addressed in EU spending programmes. It draws on the 
information provided in the Annual Activity Reports of the Commission departments managing 
EU  spending  programmes  and  is  structured  around  budgetary  headings,  in  line  with  the  318 
Report. It is provided separately because the EU value added is intrinsic in the programme and 
not subject to annual changes. 

DEFINITION OF EU ADDED VALUE 

EU added value is best defined as "the value resulting from an EU intervention which is additional 
to the value that would have been otherwise created by member states alone2" and can be assessed 
on the basis of the following 3 criteria: 

•  Effectiveness: It may be more effective where it is the only way to get results to create 
missing links, avoid fragmentations, and realise the potential of border-free Europe.  
•  Efficiency:  It  may  also  be  more  efficient  where  the  EU  offers  better  value  for  money 
because externalities can be addressed, resources or expertise can be pooled, and action 
can be better coordinated.  

•  Synergy:  It  may  create  synergies;  where  EU  action  is  necessary  to  complement, 

stimulate, and leverage actions to reduce disparities, raise standards.  

The examples provided throughout this report will be structured around these three criteria. 

1 OJ C 398/263 of 12.11.2014; paragraph 10.21 of the 2013 annual report of the European Court of 
Auditors on the 2013 budget.  
2 Commission Staff Working Paper "The added value of the EU budget" SEC (2011)867 final. 

3 

 
 
 
                                                             
HEADING 
COMPETETIVENESS FOR GROWTH AND JOBS 

EUROPEAN 

ADDED 

1A 

VALUE 

IN 

Heading 1a of the budget finances a wide range of programmes addressing different dimensions 
of EU-added value.  

The main programme (Horizon 2020) under this heading aims to break down national barriers 
by  funding  international  research  consortia;  addresses  broad  social  issues  thereby  creating  a 
critical mass and promotes more intense competition in research which leads to higher quality 
and  excellence.  Through  EU  action,  mobility  of  students,  researchers  and  trainees  is  enhanced 
rendering them better skilled and highly employable on the European labour market. 

Heading  1a  also  supports  a  number  of  programmes  contributing  to  European  infrastructures, 
including  some  for  research  purposes;  either  by  financing  large  and  expensive  European 
infrastructure projects, which are of strategic importance for the EU and its Member States, or, 
by financing missing links in the existing infrastructure (CEF) and thereby realising the potential 
of a border-free, interconnected Europe.  

Aiming  to  enhance  the  competitiveness  of  enterprises,  including  those  of  a  small  or  medium 
size3,  heading  1A  financially  supports  actions  that  improve  firms'  research  and  innovation 
capabilities and helps to get access to risk finance to fund research projects4. The Single Market 
is  strengthened  by  improving  working  conditions5,  overcoming  market  fragmentation  in  areas 
like venture capital investments, and/or allowing economies of scale in areas where it is difficult 
for individual member States to achieve the required critical mass.    

Finally,  heading  1A  supports  a  range  of  small  programmes  finances  specific  areas  where  pan-
European coordination is needed, such as the cooperation between tax and customs authorities, 
the  cooperation  to  fight  fraud  or  counterfeiting,  the  compilation  of  statistics  by  national 
statistical agencies to ensure consistency and comparability.  

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION – HORIZON 2020  
The  EU  Framework  Programmes  support  research  which  addresses  pan-European  challenges 
  The  EU  facilitates  the 
and  develops  numerous  technological  outputs  and  innovations. 
establishment of a common scientific base by coordinating funding across national borders and 
restructuring  the  R&D  and  innovation  landscape  in  Europe6.  These  objectives  cannot  be 
efficiently realised by individual Member States.  

3 For instance, according to an evaluation study carried out in 2014 the SMEs participating in FP7 
increased their turnover (22%), employment (25%) and exports (28%) when compared to non-
participating SMEs. Among those who participated in FP7, 62% stated that they would not have been able 
to undertake the project without EC funding.  

4 For instance, under Horizon 2020 the 'access to risk finance" instrument (INNOVFIN) will support the 
development of Union-level venture capital. 

5 Marie Curie Actions set value benchmarks for working conditions and employment standards of EU 
researchers.  EURAXESS facilitates researchers’ mobility and job finding across Europe through a large 
network of more than 200 service centres in 40 Member States and Associated Countries. 

6  Several  examples  can  be  quoted.  The  EU  has  established  the  European  Research  Council  (ERC),  which 
4 

 
 
                                                             
When  it  comes  to  implementing  R&I  projects,  EU  actions  add  value  by  creating  durable  cross-
border,  cross-sectoral,  inter-disciplinary  networks,  which  are  well-structured,  sustainable  and 
well-integrated into global innovation networks.7  
The  competitive  nature  of  obtaining  EU  funding  through  the  Framework  Programme 
instrument8  has  triggered  the  participation  of  top-quality  researchers9  in  first-rate  research 
projects  performing  high-quality  research  as  reflected 
international  peer-reviewed 
publications10 and scientific awards  

in 

EU  action  is  needed  to  achieve  the  critical  mass  of  resources  and  knowledge  across  different 
fields, 
for 
breakthroughs which no single Member State can provide on its own. This is illustrated by the 
examples below. 

technologies,  scientific  disciplines  and  research 

infrastructures  required 

Example 1: NEOShield project (http://www.neoshield.net/) 

The  NEOShield  project  has  been  set  up  to  carry  out  a  detailed  analysis  of  the  open  questions 
relating to realistic options for preventing the collision of a NEO with the Earth. The aim of the 
project is to provide solutions to the critical scientific and technical issues that currently stand in 
the way of demonstrating the feasibility of the promising mitigation options with a test mission. 

Effectiveness:  The  European  space  industry  is  considered  of  strategic  importance  and  Space 
Research  has  a  strong  industrial  dimension  that  cannot  be  supported  at  MS  level  alone.  EU 
funding enabled the establishment of an international team including partners from established 
space-faring nations outside the European Union.  

Efficiency: The project ensured that expertise is pooled, which in turn enabled the investigation 
of key technologies to mitigate threatening asteroids. 

promotes  an  EU-wide  competition  for  funds  for  basic  research  and  encourages  the  highest  scientific 
quality.  Through  EU  leadership  a  pan-European  strategy  on  research  infrastructures  is  now  being 
implemented  (through  ESFRI,  the  European  Strategy  Forum on  Research  Infrastructures).  The  EU  helps 
private  companies  come  together  and  implement  joint  strategic  research  agendas  through  tailored 
instruments,  such  as  European  Technology  Platforms  and  Joint  Technology  Initiatives.  The  EU  brings 
together  compartmentalised  national  research  funding  using  instruments  such  as  the  ERA  Networks 
(ERA-NETs) and Article 185 initiatives, which set common research agendas and achieve the funding scale 
required for tackling important societal challenges. 

7 For instance, FP7 has created over 600,000 collaborative links between research-performing institutions 
in EU Member States. 

8 For instance, under FP7 nearly 1 365,000 proposals were received, of which more than 25,000 projects 
are being supported, involving more than 130,000 participants. 

9 For instance, in FP7 all the 100 best ranked European universities in the Shanghai ranking list have been 
actively involved in Marie Curie projects. At the same time, 65% of the outgoing European researchers 
have carried out part of their research projects in the top 50 world universities. 

10 More than 57,000 publications resulted from FP7 projects of which more than 50 % in High Impact Peer 
Reviewed Journals. 

5 

 
 
 
                                                                                                                                                                                              
 
Synergy: The project complements existing scientific research on near-Earth objects (NEOs) by 
taking  it  one  step  further.    It  covers  areas  in  which  further  scientific  research  and  technical 
development work is necessary and facilitates more accurate predictions of the consequences of 
an  impact  on  the  Earth  of  a  NEO,  including  the  development  of  a  European  strategy  for  future 
research and mission-related endeavours. 

Annual Activity Report Research Executive Agency  

Example 2: Graphene (http://graphene-flagship.eu/) 

The Graphene flagship was launched in October 2013 under the predecessor of Horizon 2020. It 
is  the  EU’s  largest  ever  research  initiative.  With  a  budget  of  EUR1  billion,  it  represents  a  new 
form of joint, coordinated research on an unprecedented scale.  

The Graphene  Flagship is divided into two separate phases:  a 30  month  ramp-up phase under 
the  7th  Framework  Program  (October  1,  2013  –  March  31,  2016)  with  a  total  European 
Commission  funding  of  54  million  euro,  and  a  steady  state  phase  under  the  Horizon  2020 
Programme  (April 1, 2016 – 2023) with expected European Commission funding  of  50 million 
euro per year. 

Effectiveness:  the  European  Commission  finances  50  per-cent  of  the  budget  of  the  whole 
initiative,  while  the  remaining  50  per-cent  is  expected  to  be  financed  through  Partnering 
Projects  at  regional,  national  or  transnational  level.  Without  the  EU  budget  to  cover  the  sunk 
costs, other funding partners would not have been found and the project would not have taken 
place. 

Efficiency:  GRAPHENE  brings  together  more  than  140  partners  from  23  countries,  thereby 
maximising the benefits of pooling expertise. In one year, the flagship has produced more than 
100 publications in major scientific journals (including a special dedicated issue from  Nature), 
more than 5 patent applications, and many prototypes. 

Synergy:  Many  European  companies  are  joining  the  flagship's  effort  to  take  graphene  and 
related materials from the lab to the market. To mention a few highlights, Graphene researchers 
have developed an ingenious and cheap method to fabricate high-quality graphene by separating 
graphene flakes in a rotating liquid, much like in a kitchen blender. They have signed a licence 
agreement with a UK-based chemical manufacturer to scale up production. 

Annual Activity Report DG CNECT  

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H2020 funds research to support Europe's most pressing societal challenges as identified in the 
Europe 2020 Strategy11. For example, the cost-effective development of effective medicines that 
Europe urgently needs to improve the health of its citizens. EU funding in this area is necessary 
cover the funding gap triggered by the high investment risks. Medical research depends crucially 
on  the  ability  to  run  easily  multinational  clinical  trials  in  Europe  so  that  full  advantage  can  be 
taken of its aggregate population size to access patients. Europe's 500 million people and high 
healthcare standards offer unique opportunities to undertake clinical research. 

Despite  past  efforts,  most  of  Europe's  investigator-driven  clinical  trials  are  still  conducted  at 
national  level.  Large  financial  costs  are  associated  with  the  burden  of  recruiting  and 
investigating patients and volunteers, mapping the trials, and meeting the legal requirements to 
ensure  they  are  conducted  safely.  This  is  where  action  at  EU-level  can  make  a  real  difference. 
Action  at  EU-level  has  an  important  structuring  effect  on  the  European  research  landscape.  At 
EU-level,  it  is  easier  to  bring  all  key  players  around  the  table  and  to  progress  towards  the 
development  of  common  standards  and  tools  and  towards  the  better  harmonisation  of 
procedures.  

The benefit of creating a single European area for clinical research through EU support is shown 
below: 

Example 3: ECRIN (http://www.ecrin.org/) 

The European Clinical Research Infrastructures Network (ECRIN) is a sustainable, not-for-profit 
infrastructure supporting multinational clinical research projects in Europe. It provides services 
for multinational clinical trials on rare diseases, medical devices and nutrition. It also develops 
tools  for  risk-adapted  monitoring  and  will  upgrade  data  management  tools.  The  four-year 
project is backed by a EUR 8 million EU grant. 

Effectiveness:  Multinational  clinical  research  is  hampered  by  the  fragmentation  of  health  and 
legislative systems in Europe. The financial support provided by the EU budget towards ECRIN 
enables  clinical  research  to  overcome  this  fragmentation.  ECRIN  involves  networks  from  23 
countries 

Efficiency:    The  project  develops  a  single  European  area  for  clinical  research  as  it  integrates 
national  clinical  research  facilities  into  an  EU-wide  network  able  to  provide  support  in  any 
medical field through specialised services and infrastructure. This benefits the development of 
medicines and strengthens the attractiveness of Europe for industry trials through the creation 
or maintenance of national infrastructures having common tools, standards and procures. 

Synergy: EU funding was necessary to leverage action at Member State level. ECRIN has brought 
together  efforts  from  Germany,  Spain,  France,  Italy  and  Portugal,  all  of  which  have  become 
funding members. 

11 Horizon 2020 funding to tackle societal challenges focusses on the following specific objectives; (a) 
health, demographical change and well-being, (b) food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, 
marine, maritime and inland water research and the bioeconomy, (c) secure, clean and efficient energy, 
(d) smart, green and integrated transport, (e) climate action, environment, resource efficiency and raw 
materials, (f) Europe in a changing world – inclusive, innovative and reflective societies and (g) secure 
societies – protecting freedom and security of Europe and its citizens.  

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Finally,  EU  funding  for  research  and  innovation  produces  large  macro-economic12  and  social 
impacts13 by increasing industry added value, leveraging private investments,14 creating jobs15, 
and contributing to tackling societal challenges.16  

Annual Activity Report DG RTD 

EDUCATION 

EU  added  value  is  in  particular  visible  in  terms  of  positive  impact  of  EU  funded  mobility  on 
beneficiary  employability  and  competitiveness.  Whereas  one  out  of  two  European  graduates 
who  studies  or  trains  abroad  benefits  from  Erasmus  (3  million  students  since  its  inception), 
Erasmus  increases  their  employability  advantage  over  non-mobiles  by  45%  in  total.  More 
specifically,  the  unemployment  rate  of  Erasmus  students  is  23%  lower  than  of  non-mobile 
students  five  years  after  graduation.  Furthermore,  EU  funded  mobility  widens  the  scope  of 
mobility  across  all  Member  States  and  has  a  ripple  effect  on  student  mobility  at  large. 
International  experiences  and  intercultural  competence  are  indeed  considered  as  the  most 
important assets that distinguish Erasmus Mundus beneficiaries from other graduates. 

Example  4:  Jean  Monnet  projects  (https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/actions/jean-
monnet/jean-monnet-projects_en) 

The objective of the Jean Monnet project is to raise awareness of the workings of the EU among 
young  people  aged  17-30  and  to  promote  the  study  of  the  European  Union  within  all  levels  of 
higher  education.  The  project  is  developed  by  the  University  Association  for  contemporary 
European Studies in the UK, London 

Effectiveness: EU funding is the main funding instrument supporting the promotion of diversity 
and richness of the EU. The positive externalities of these actions benefit all MS indirectly. 

Efficiency: The benefits for students and learners of the project are an increased understanding 
of the EU and the role it plays in our lives, increased knowledge of European Union studies as a 

12 Under the NEMESIS econometric model, the long term FP7 macro-economic impact was estimated at an 
extra 0.96% of GDP, 1.57 % exports and a reduction of 0.88 % of imports.  

13  For  instance,  FP7  promotes  gender  equality;  around  40%  of  participants  are  female  researchers 
(depending on field of research). 

14 Under FP7 the Risk-Sharing Finance Facility (RSFF), an EU outlay of EUR 1 billion is expected to 
mobilise over EUR 11 billion EIB loans and support a total investment of approx. EUR 30 billion. The Court 
of Auditors concluded that the RSFF exceeded its initial expectations and has enabled the EIB to finance 
investments well above its usually accepted level of risk, with high leverage (6.6) and multiplier effects 
(28). 

15 Under the NEMISIS econometric model, the long term employment effects of FP7 was estimated at 
900,000 jobs of which 300,000 in the field of research.  

16 For instance, the ex post evaluation of the FP7 Cooperation - environment programme concluded that it 
could generate around EUR 7-20 billion of sales and EUR 30-100 billion in terms of resource saving. 

8 

 
 
                                                             
discipline and experience of presenting research to peers. The value for money assessment is yet 
to be carried out. 

Synergy: 'Teaching young people European Studies' creates synergy amongst master students, 
undergraduates  and  A-level  students.  Fostering  this  type  of  synergy  in  the  European  higher 
education landscape can only be achieved effectively by means of EU dedicated funding. 

Annual Activity Report EACEA Agency 

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LARGE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS 

Strategic  infrastructure  projects  are  vital  for  Europe  helping  boost  the  economy  and  generate 
new jobs. Article 170 TFEU lays down that the Union shall contribute to the establishment and 
development  of  trans-European  networks  in  the  areas  of  transport,  telecommunications  and 
energy. Whereas the projects to develop them are complex exceeding the financial and technical 
capacities  of  a  single  Member  State,  the  use  and  benefits  of  these  infrastructures  extend  well 
beyond the national boundaries of Member States. 

Action at EU level is more effective and efficient than action at national level and allows the EU 
to have its own autonomous and independent systems. The European budget finances different 
European infrastructures, such as the European satellite navigations systems (EGNOS, Galileo), 
the  European  autonomous  earth  observation  system  (Copernicus)  and  the  International 
Thermonuclear  Experimental  Reactor  (ITER)  which  is  a  risky,  costly  and  long-term  project 
aiming  to  demonstrate  fusion  which  could  greatly  contribute  to  the  long-term  EU  energy 
strategy.  

The  below  examples  show  the  European  dimension  of  the  use  of  these  trans-European 
infrastructures:   

Example 5: EGNOS (http://egnos-portal.gsa.europa.eu/) 

EGNOS are Satellite-based augmentation systems that improve the accuracy and the reliability of 
GPS information by correcting signal measurement errors  and by providing information  about 
the integrity of its signals. EGNOS’ infrastructure comprises a ground network of 34 ranging and 
integrity  monitoring  stations  (RIMS),  six  navigation  land  earth  stations  (NLES),  four  mission 
control  centres  and  signal  transponders  on  three  geostationary  satellites  (Artemis,  Inmarsat 
AOR-E and Inmarsat IOR-W). The signal coverage area includes most European countries. 

Effectiveness: The co-ordination and pooling of resources across different actions is paramount 
in  the  development  of  satellite  navigation  systems.    EGNOS  arose  from  a  tripartite  agreement 
between the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Commission (EC) and Eurocontrol, the 
European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation. The system provides an unprecedented 
level  of  accuracy  and  reliability,  enabling  new  services  to  develop  –  including  safety-critical 
applications – in a wide range of market segments.  

Efficiency:  About  65%  of  all  existing  satellite  navigation  receiver  models  are  already  EGNOS-
enabled,  meaning  that  these  receivers  can  use  the  EGNOS  message.  In  Europe,  more  than  170 
EGNOS-based  landing  approaches  are  currently  available  at  more  than  110  airports  in  15 
countries,  which  allow  navigating  vertically  when  landing  at  an  airport  with  reduced  visibility 
conditions.  The  Airbus  A350  is  the  first  large  commercial  aircraft  providing  an  option  to  land 
with EGNOS. From the 750 firm orders, most of them contracted the EGNOS option.  EGNOS is 
also used for inland maritime navigation in the 400 km-long Hungarian Danube stretch. ENI, a 
multinational gas and oil company, is in the process of equipping all 1500 trucks in Italy and 400 
trucks  outside  Italy  with  EGNOS-enabled  devices  to  monitor  the  transport  of  hydrocarbon. 
About  90%  of  high-end  combine  harvesters  currently  sold  by  CLAAS,  a  leading  agricultural 
machinery manufacturer based in Germany, are equipped with EGNOS-enabled receivers.  

 Annual Activity Report DG ENTR 

10 

 
 
Connecting  Europe  Facility  (CEF)  with  a  contribution  from  the  Cohesion  Fund  (CF)    as  well  as 
the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) supports transport infrastructure by granting 
resources  to  selected  European  projects  in  all  transport  modes and  in  every  EU  Member  State 
via  the  TEN-T  programme.  The  strategic  projects  under  the  TEN-T  programme  provide  strong 
EU added value by contributing to closing the gaps between Member States' transport networks, 
removing  bottlenecks  that  still  hamper  the  smooth  functioning  of  the  internal  market  and 
overcoming  technical  barriers  such  as  incompatible  standards  for  railway  traffic.  The 
implementation of these projects plays a major role for territorial, economic and social cohesion 
of the Union. 

Examples of such projects are:  

Example 6: Brenner  Base Tunnel project (www.bbt-se.com) 

Effectiveness:  The  Brenner  Base  Tunnel  is  a  straight,  flat  railway  tunnel  improving  the 
infrastructure links between Austria and Italy. Construction has started of the EUR 380 million 
access tunnel Tulfes – Pfons in Austria and the final preparation of the Eisack underpath in Italy. 
To date, for the whole project (covering both access tunnels and the base tunnel itself), 34 km of 
tunnel have been excavated. 

Efficiency:  Once  completed,  the  tunnel  will  lead  to  significant  efficiency  gains  in  terms  of 
reduced  transport  times  and  energy  efficiency:  Because  of  the  flat  track  longer  and  heavier 
trains  can  navigate  the  route  needing  less  energy  and  less  time  to  arrive  at  their  destination. 
Travelling time between Innsbruck and Fortezza will be reduced from 80 to 25 minutes.  

Synergy:  EU funding is necessary to leverage action at Member State level. The Brenner Base 
Tunnel, which is meant primarily for freight transport, allows a modal shift of traffic from road 
to  rail.  Passenger  trains  can  also  travel  through  the  tunnel.  It  builds  on  international  best 
practice and includes innovative technologies. 

Annual Activity Report DG MOVE  

Example 7: CROCODILE project (http://crocodile.easyway-its.eu/) 

Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) are widely used across Europe and drive transport efficiency 
by contributing to a cleaner, safer and more efficient use of the existing infrastructure in a cost-
effective way. 

Effectiveness: Through the harmonisation of pan-European services across Member States and 
coordinated  implementation  Europe,  ITS  contributes  to  the  creation  of  the  single  European 
Transport Area. 

Efficiency:  In  CROCODILE  stakeholders  of  13  EU  Member  States  are  currently  setting-up  data 
exchange  infrastructures  in  order  to  provide  real-time  information  to  road  administrators, 
drivers,  and  other  concerned  parties.  For  example  accurate  travel  information  on  weather 

11 

 
 
 
conditions,  traffic  congestion,  route  advice,  availability  of  truck  parking,  etc.  will  be  always 
available to serve the European traveller along the entire corridor.  

Synergy:  The  deployment  of  such  services  implies  a  continuous  cooperation  among  Member 
States, technical harmonisation and investments in ITS infrastructures.  

Annual Activity Report of the INEA agency 

OTHER PROGRAMMES FINANCING COMMON ISSUES OF EUROPEAN ADDED VALUE 

Finally,  it  includes  a  range  of  small  programmes  which  finances  specific  areas  where  pan-
European coordination is needed, such as the cooperation between tax and customs authorities, 
the  cooperation  to  fight  fraud  or  counterfeiting,  and  the  compilation  of  statistics  by  national 
statistical agencies to ensure consistency and comparability.  

COOPERATION  BETWEEN  TAX  AND  CUSTOMS  OFFICIALS  (FISCALIS  2020  AND  CUSTOMS 
2020) 

The core outputs of Fiscalis and Customs programmes are IT systems allowing for the exchange 
and availability of electronic tax and customs related information between Member State tax and 
customs  administrations  in  a  rapid  and  secure  manner.  A  closed  and  secure  Common 
Communication  Network/Common  Systems  Interface  (CCN/CSI)  allows  national  customs  and  tax 
administrations in approximately 5,000 connection points. 

This common network ensures that every national administration only needs to connect once to 
this infrastructure to be able to exchange information with any of the Member States. If such an 
infrastructure  were  not  available  a  Member  State  would  have  to  link  27  times  to  the  national 
systems of each of the other Member States.  

The EU-added value has been confirmed in recent evaluations which identified a strong case for 
the  EU  added  value  of  the  programmes,  particularly  regarding  its  role  in  supporting  the 
implementation of EU legislation at national level and reducing in administrative costs.  

Example 8: Vat Information Exchange System (VIES) 

Effectiveness:  Evidence  from  the  case  studies  in  the  final  evaluation  of  Fiscalis  2013  showed 
that the information from Vat Information Exchange System (VIES) is an important tool to help 
combat  VAT  fraud,  and  interviewees  could  not  see  any  alternative  outside  of  the  Fiscalis 
Programmes to provide a similar service.  

Efficiency:  Towards  the  end  of  Fiscalis  2013  tax  administrations  used  VIES  to  exchange  more 
than 500 million messages per year related to cross border transactions made by traders within 
the EU. In 2014, more than 1 billion messages have been exchanged.  

The combined evidence of the final evaluation of Fiscalis 2013 and records of 2014 as well as the 
forecasts  for  the  next  years  in  terms  of  usage  of  European  Information  Systems,  shows  that 
consequences of ceasing to fund European Information systems would likely include an overall 

12 

 
 
 
reduction in Member States ability to combat fraud and tax evasion and a reduced effectiveness 
within  national  administrations  –  in  particular  in  relation  to  collaboration  with  other  Member 
States  to  implement  EU  tax  legislation.  This  would  probably  lead  to  loss  of  tax  revenues, 
distorting competition and ultimately would have a detrimental effect on the functioning of the 
internal market. 

Synergies: Also evidence from the Customs evaluation pointed out that the IT systems funded 
through  the  programme  are  highly  complementary  to  national  initiatives  and  mostly  relate  to 
implementing such legislation. In addition to rendering of information more systematically and 
effectively, they also reduced the amount of time needed by officials to file official requests with 
their counterparts in other Member States. While hard to quantify, all of the systems associated 
with  risk  management  financed  by  the  Customs  programme  helped  administrations  target 
controls more effectively. 

Annual Activity Report DG TAXUD 

COOPERATING TO PROTECT THE EUROPEAN UNION'S FINANCIAL INTEREST  
As criminality and corruption doesn't end at national borders, cross-border operations between 
cooperation  between  Member  States  is  effective  to  fight  fraud,  corruption,  counterfeiting    and 
other  illegal  activities  affecting  the  financial  interests  of  the  Unions.  This  includes  the  fight 
against cigarette smuggling.  

Supporting  cooperating  to  protect  the  European  Union's  financial  Interest  the  Hercule 
programme, amongst others, helps to create saving deriving from the collective procurement of 
specialised equipment and databases, the benefits of which are demonstrated below:  

Example 9: Anti-Fraud Information System (AFIS) 

The  Anti-Fraud  Information  System  (AFIS)  is  a  set  of  anti-fraud  applications  operated  by  the 
European Commission under a common technical infrastructure allowing the timely and secure 
exchange  of  fraud-related  information  between  national  and  EU  competent  administrations. 
AFIS  has  funded  a  "Virtual  Operational  Coordination  Unit"  for  joint  customs  operations 
channelling the flow of information.  

Effectiveness:  Under  the  coordination  of  OLAF,  customs  authorities  carried  out  targeted 
physical  or  X-ray  controls  on  several  hundred  selected  containers.  These  checks  uncovered  a 
wide array of counterfeit goods including cigarettes, perfumes, car and bicycle spare parts, toys, 
fashion  accessories  and  electric  devices.  The  seizures  of  cigarettes  alone  prevented  the  loss  of 
EUR 25 million in customs duties and taxes. In fact, the amount of cigarettes seized is equivalent 
to  what  17  000  people,  smoking  a  packet  a  day,  would  consume  in  a  year.  In  terms  of  overall 
seizures in this Operation, the value of the equivalent genuine products is estimated to be over 
EUR 65 million.  

Efficiency: During the operational phase of REPLICA, OLAF facilitated the cooperation between 
all the EU Member States, Norway, Switzerland, 11 international partners, Interpol, Europol and 
the World Customs Organisation. The operation was coordinated by OLAF with the support of a 

13 

 
 
 
team  of  eleven  liaison  officers  from  the  EU  Member  States  and  China,  all  working  together  in 
Brussels.  

Synergy:  AFIS  Virtual  Operational  Coordination  Unit  (VOCU)  -  a  brand  new  secure 
communication  channel  for  such  joint  customs  operations  –  was  used  to  channel  the  flow  of 
incoming  information.  Most  international  EU  ports  were  also  involved  during  the  two-week 
period, providing support for the checking of the containers. The exchange of information in real 
time  allowed  all  the  experts  involved  to  identify  suspect  flows  of  counterfeit  goods  from 
ordinary commercial transactions. 

Annual Activity Report DG OLAF 

14 

 
 
HEADING  1B  EUROPEAN  ADDED  VALUE  IN  ECONOMIC, 
SOCIAL AND TERRITORIAL COHESION 

Economic and social cohesion – as defined in the 1986 Single European Act – is about ‘reducing 
disparities  between  the  various  regions  and  the  backwardness  of  the  least-favoured  regions’. 
The  EU's  most  recent  treaty,  the  Lisbon  Treaty,  adds  another  facet  to  cohesion,  referring  to 
‘economic, social and territorial cohesion’. 

Heading  1B  of  the  EU  Budget  finances  hundreds  of  thousands  of  projects  all  over  Europe  that 
receive support through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social 
Fund  (ESF)  and  the  Cohesion  Fund  (CF)17.  These  three  funds  constitute  the  Cohesion  Policy  of 
the EU. 

Cohesion  Policy  has  a  strong  impact  in  many  fields.  Its  investments  help  to  deliver  many  EU 
policy  objectives  and  complement  EU  policies  such  as  those  dealing  with  education, 
employment, energy, the environment, the single market, research and innovation. In particular 
Cohesion Policy provides the necessary investment framework to meet the goals of the Europe 
2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in the European Union by 2020. 

Cohesion  policy  aims  to  promote  the  development  and  structural  adjustment  of  regions.  It  is 
based  on  a  sharing  of  competences  between  the  European  Union,  Member  States  and  regions. 
Where  the  Union  intervenes  in  regions  in  difficulty,  through  the  funds  in  question,  it  is  to  act 
upon the causes of regional disparities. In other words, this policy has not only a redistributive 
character, in that it transfers resources from the richest States and regions of the Union to the 
poorest ones. It also performs an allocative function, permitting less favoured States and regions 
to  maintain  high  levels  of  investment  in  physical  and  human  capital  in  order  to  improve  their 
competitiveness and their growth potential and to promote sustainable development. 

Examples of EU added value in projects funded under the ERDF, the CF and the ESF are provided 
below. 

EUROPEAN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUND (ERDF) 

The  ERDF  focuses  its  investments  on  several  key  priority  areas.  This  is  known  as  'thematic 
concentration':  

Innovation and research;  

• 
•  The digital agenda;  
•  Support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs);  
•  The low-carbon economy. 

The  ERDF  also  gives  particular  attention  to  specific  territorial  characteristics.  ERDF  action  is 
designed to reduce economic, environmental and social problems in urban areas, with a special 
focus  on  sustainable  urban  development.  It  also  fosters  territorial  cooperation  in  its  three 
dimensions  (cross-border,  transnational  and  interregional).  Addressing  common  problems 

17 Cohesion Fund applies to EU Member States which have a GDP lower  than 90 % of the EU-27 average – 
Croatia not taken into account http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/faq/#1 

15 

 
 
                                                             
together  allows  for  more  efficient  use  of  public  resources  and  circulation  of  ideas  and  good 
practice. 

Example 10: The road towards entrepreneurial Poland 

Effectiveness:  The  road  towards  entrepreneurial  Poland,  a  project  initiated  in  2008,  is  an 
example of the systemic change induced and supported by ERDF in European regions, thanks to 
the  multiannual  development  strategy,  aligned  to  EU-wide  priorities,  supporting  interventions 
co-financed by the ERDF/CF. Born with the aim to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation 
in high technology fields across Poland, the programme has developed an innovative network of 
pre-incubation  facilities  (Academic  Business  Incubators  located  in  universities),  incubation 
services (ABI Business Link centres) and a Seed Capital system.  

Efficiency:  The  pre-incubation  and  incubation  scheme  provides  low-cost  office,  research  or 
production  accommodation  to  start-up  companies  and  provides  business  support  services  to 
around  1,450  start-ups  per  month.  Companies  wishing  to  expand  their  businesses  into 
international  markets  are  also  supported  with  professional  advice  through  a  network  of  three 
start-up ‘embassies’ in China, the United States and the United Kingdom. In the space of just five 
years,  this  programme  has  helped  over  6,000  start-up  initiatives  and,  by  generating  income  of 
around EUR 35.5 million, has had a positive effect on the lives of around two million people.  

Synergy: With two years of the programme still to run, it has so far achieved the creation of 38 
out  of  50  planned  business  incubators  across  Poland,  making  it  Europe’s  largest  network  of 
business incubators. This has had a systemic impact on the whole sector in the country, creating 
a dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem and a community of young entrepreneurs. 

Annual Activity Report DG REGIO 

Example 11: Ticket Kyoto 

Effectiveness: EU action created the missing link between five major European public transport 
companies (MoBiel, RATP, RET, STIB and TFGM). Through the "Ticket Kyoto" project they have 
joined forces and exchange, innovate, and experiment with practical solutions for reducing CO2 
emissions  from  public  transport.  The  ultimate  goal  is  to  set  low  CO2  emissions  as  the  new 
standard for public transport providers, thus contributing to reaching the European objectives 
of the Kyoto Protocol in 2020.  

Efficiency:  The pooling of resources and knowledge delivered economies of scale and value for 
money.  Specifically,  the  five  partners  1)  have  developed  energy  saving  measures  called  ‘quick 
wins’ that are easy to achieve in the short term without large investments; 2) have mutualised 
their knowledge investing in infrastructure like energy recovery from tram and metro braking; 
3)  have  identified  effective  solutions  to  improve  policies  and  regulations  for  longer  term 
sustainability;  4)  have  mobilised  both  the  public  and  industry  to  take  action  through  public 
campaigns. It is estimated that STIB’s new cogeneration system will save up to 165 tons of CO2 
each year.  

Synergy:  The  coordination  of  5  major  public  transport  operators  has  reduced  the  costs  of 
planning  by  enlarging  the  number  of  possible  suppliers,  organising  eventual  joint  tenders  and 
identifying  the  conditions  for  optimal  implementation,  developing  a  joint  approach  capable  of 
being directly transferred to other industries. 

Annual Activity Report DG REGIO

16 

 
 
COHESION FUND 

The Cohesion Fund allocates funding to activities under the following categories:  

•  Trans-European  transport  networks,  notably  priority  projects  of  European  interest  as 

identified by the EU;  

•  Environment: here, the Cohesion Fund supports projects related to energy or transport, 
as  long  as  they  clearly  benefit  the  environment  in  terms  of  energy  efficiency,  use  of 
renewable  energy,  developing  rail  transport,  supporting  intermodality,  strengthening 
public transport. 

Example 12: Wind farm brings renewable energy to western Poland 

A new wind farm, built in the village of Golice near the Polish border with Germany, is generating 
“green”  electricity  for  the  national  grid  while  cutting  down  on  CO2  emissions.  The  Cohesion 
Fund contributed EUR 10 million to this project. 

Effectiveness: The feasibility study prepared in the context of the project demonstrated that the 
project would not have been possible without the EU financial support.  

Efficiency: The wind farm, which is the first in the country, increases the supply of energy from 
renewable  resources  in  Poland.  This  is  helping  the  country  to  meet  its  international 
commitments for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 15 % by 2020. 

Synergy: EU action was able to increase the contribution made by renewable energy sources in 
Poland and reduce disparities. Along  with providing  a reliable  renewable source of power, the 
wind farm also brings greater energy security to Poland by diversifying supply and by reducing 
the  need  to  import  energy  from  abroad.  The  local  population  also  benefits  from  an  improved 
electricity supply and lower air pollution. The project has created around 600 direct and indirect 
jobs. 

DG REGIO website 

EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND (ESF) 

The ESF played an important role in tackling the economic downturn in several Member States 
by  dynamising  the  development  of  human  resources  and  facilitating  better  response  to  local 
labour  market  needs  and  employment  by  allowing  national  administrations  to  adapt  their 
processes  and  undertake  new  measures.    Without  the  additional  funding  ("the  volume  effect") 
provided  through  the  ESF,  important  measures  would  not  have  been  developed  and  the 
mitigation of the economic decline would have been less effective18. 

18 As indicated in the "Evaluation of the reaction of the ESF to the economic and financial crisis", 
http://ec.europa.eu/social/keyDocuments.jsp?advSearchKey=evalation+ESF+&mode=advancedSubmit&l
angId=en&policyArea=&type=0&country=0&year=0 

17 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                             
 
 
A key element of the volume effects was the ability of the ESF to boost provision in relation to 
changing needs, with a substantial increase in support for shorter term unemployed people who 
became  unemployed  at  the  onset  of  the  recession.  ESF  action  broadened  existing  action  by 
supporting  groups  or  policy  areas  that  would  otherwise  not  have  received  support  (such  as 
older  people  (50+),  ethnic  minorities,  prisoners,  Roma  people).  On  the  downside,  examples  of 
ESF programmes overlapping with or displacing other interventions not co-financed by the ESF 
also  exist.  Of  the  27  country  reports  reviewed  in  the  final  synthesis  report  of  the  ESF  Expert 
Evaluation Network produced in 2014: 

•  22  reported  that  ESF  action  broadened  existing  action  by  supporting  groups  or  policy 

areas that would not otherwise receive support (scope effects); 

•  20  reported  that  ESF  funding  added  to  existed  actions,  either  by  supporting  national 
action  in  general  or  specific  areas  of  national  policy  (positive  volume  effects),  while  2 
(BE and LV) indicated some potentially negative displacement effects; 

•  20  generated  evidence  that  ESF  action  influenced  member  state  administrations  and 

organisations involved in the programmes (process effects).  

•  13 reported evidence of that ESF action supported local/regional innovations that were 
taken up at national level or national innovative actions that were then ‘mainstreamed’ 
(role effects);  

Example  13: Tackling the economic downturn in Estonia 

Different  innovative  measures  to  increase  the  flexibility  of  labour  were  implemented  with  ESF 
support, namely: training courses for extended target groups, possibilities to continue disrupted 
studies,  increase  entrepreneurship  (including  counselling  and  training  of  people  belonging  to 
risk groups), services helping persons belonging to risk groups (specific measures for disabled 
persons and a more personal approach to designing active labour market measures).  

Effectiveness: Measures to enhance the competitiveness of the Estonian business environment 
were carried out: new training courses, implementation of specific activities in the case of start-
ups and  for  business expansion,  fostering research and development activities in  the  company 
around encouraging and supporting exporting. 

Efficiency: Newly designed and/or redesigned services offered to specific target groups, which 
involved  a  more  personal  approach  to  services,  were  assessed  positively  by  recipients,  service 
providers and partners. 

Synergy:  The  ESF  also  helped  broadening  the  range  of  target  groups  eligible  for  the  various 
active labour market services.  

These  changes  were  not  just  responses  to  the  crisis,  but  also  contribute  to  the  long-run 
restructuring of the Estonian economy.  

Final synthesis report of the ESF expert evaluation network

18 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
HEADING  2  EUROPEAN  ADDED  VALUE  IN  SUSTAINABLE 
GROWTH: NATURAL RESOURCES 

The  EU,  together  with  other  international  actors,  is  committed  to  the  principle  of  sustainable 
'World  Commission  on 
development  as  defined  by  the  Brundtland  Commission  in  its 
Environmental  and  Development  Report  'of  1987:  “Sustainable  development  is  development 
that  meets  the  needs  of  the  present  without  compromising  the  ability  of  future  generations  to 
meet their own needs.” 

This definition incorporates an intergenerational commitment of the current generation to leave 
the next generation a stock of productive capacity that is capable of producing more wellbeing 
per capita than that enjoyed by the current generation.  

The  ability  of  humans  to  improve  their  wellbeing  is  in  turn  determined  by  the  quantity  and 
quality of capital assets (man-made capital, human capital and natural capital) available at any 
one time19. 

Under  Heading  2  of  the  Budget,  the  EU  financially  supports  the  sustainable  management  of 
natural resources via the CAP, the EMFF and LIFE programmes, thereby looking after one of the 
three categories of capital assets listed above. 

The justification  for  EU intervention  in this domain is based on the fact that natural resources 
are rival20, but not excludable21. They are thus subject to being overused, a problem also known 
as  the  'Tragedy  of  the  Commons22':  Everybody  wants  to  use  the  common  resource  as  much  as 
possible  but  the  result  is  –  given  that  the  good  is  in  fixed  supply-    that  it  will  disappear  and 
everybody  will  lose.  In  other  words,  management  of  natural  resources  cannot  be  ensured  by 
Member  States  alone  and  actions  can  better  be  carried  out  at  the  Union  level  and  beyond. 
Achieving sustainable development will require a decisive societal and technological transition 
to an economy based on a sustainable relationship between nature and human well-being. 

Examples of how EU spending contributes to reducing resource use and environmental impacts, 
whilst increasing competitiveness, are provided below. 

19 PEARCE D.; Conceptual framework for analysing the distributive impacts of environmental policy; 
prepared for the OECD environment Directorate Workshop; 2003 

20 Goods are rival if one person's use of the good diminishes other people's use; 
http://www.econ.uiuc.edu/~seppala/econ102/lect10.pdf 

21 Goods are excludable if a person can be prevented from using it; 
http://www.econ.uiuc.edu/~seppala/econ102/lect10.pdf 

22 The tragedy of the commons is an economic theory by Garrett Hardin, which states that individuals 
acting independently and rationally according to each's self-interest behave contrary to the best interests 
of the whole group by depleting some common resource. 

19 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
                                                             
COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY (CAP) 

As  the  agricultural  economy  continues  to  globalise,  prices  of  agricultural  commodities  have 
become more volatile, along with prices of energy and fertilisers. Even though the demand for 
agricultural  products  remains  more  or  less  stable,  supply  can  change  due  to  adverse  weather 
events  such  as  droughts  and  floods,  or  unforeseen  factors  such  as  the  Russian  ban  on  EU 
foodstuffs and food products. This element of uncertainty makes it very difficult for farmers to 
plan their production.  

Where  price  fluctuations  are  driven  by  market  fundamentals,  the  CAP  helps  stabilise  markets 
through its safety net and crisis measures. Intervention prices, private and public storage as well 
as compensation for non- or green-harvesting are CAP tools designed to stabilise markets on an 
ad-hoc  basis  in  times  of  crisis,  e.g.  in  response  to  the  Russian  ban  on  EU  foodstuffs  and  food 
products in 2014. 

Example 14:  EU action following the Russian ban on EU agri-food products  

From  the  moment  Russia  banned  imports  of  EU  agri-food  products  in  August  2014,  the  EU 
showed full solidarity in its response in order to: (1) maintain the stability of the internal market 
via market crisis management measures adopted at EU level, (2) strengthen the resilience of the 
EU's  agricultural  and  food  sector  by  encouraging  the  reorientation  towards  new  markets  and 
opportunities, including via enhanced promotion measures and tackling non-tariff barriers, and 
(3) address the negative impacts of the restrictions on some vulnerable EU sectors by means of 
well-targeted compensation. 

 Effectiveness:  In  line  with  the  functioning  of  the  single  market,  the  oversupply  of  agricultural 
products no longer sent to the Russian market, with corresponding price decreases, affected the 
whole of the EU, hence implying the need for an EU wide market stabilizing response. However, 
due to the varying levels of dependency on the Russian market, some Member States were more 
affected  than  others.  Farmers  and  operators  in  some  regions  were  hit  particularly  heavily. 
Where possible, exceptional market measures were adopted taking into account these variations 
in trade dependency.  

Efficiency:  The  rapid  and  clear  response  of  August  2014  strengthened  EU  solidarity,  ensured 
market  confidence  and  supported  the  resilience  of  the  EU  agri-food  sector  in  the  face  of  this 
challenge.  

Annual Activity Report DG AGRI 

EUROPEAN MARITIME AND FISHERIES FUND (EMFF)  

Example 15:  Maritime Common Information Sharing Environment (Maritime CISE) 

Maritime  CISE  contributes  to  the  Commission's  priorities  to  foster  growth,  jobs,  security  and 
Europe's  Digital  Agenda.  By  making  public  authorities  IT  interoperable,  Maritime  CISE 

20 

 
 
 
 
contributes  to  preserving  safe,  secure  and  clean  seas  fundamental  to  economic  activity,  taking 
into account Blue Growth and considering that 90% of the EU’s external trade is carried by sea. 
Member  States  together  with  the  Commission  are  developing  Maritime  CISE  as  a  user  driven 
process  in  the  context  of  the  EU  Digital  Agenda  to  increase  efficiency  and  effectiveness  in 
maritime surveillance. 

The Commission has spent some EUR 30 million mainly to (co-)finance: four large scale Member 
States’  projects  to  design,  implement  and  test  Maritime  CISE;  funding  for  Member  States  to 
improve their interoperability, the development of cheap, accessible and neutral interoperability 
concepts; studies assessing the impact of Maritime CISE on European societies; studies assessing 
the  existing  landscape  upon  which  Maritime  CISE  is  building;  support  for  the  European  and 
Mediterranean  Coast  Guard  functions  fora;  support  for  developing  the  Coast  Guard  Academy 
Network.  For  example,  the  ‘MARSUNO’,  ‘BlueMassMed’  and  the  ‘Cooperation  Project’  each 
supported  co-operation  between  about  10  Member  States  including  over  30  authorities  from 
seven  different  sectors.  These  projects  linked  up  national  ‘interoperability  test  gateways’  in 
particular in southern EU countries, to establish and fine tune the provision of open information, 
to  develop  a  common  data  model  building  on  existing  models  from  all  relevant  sectors  and  to 
develop  proposals  for  structuring  future  information  flows  in  an  effective  and  cost  efficient 
manner. 

Effectiveness: While existing systems are performing well, Maritime CISE is designed to exploit 
untapped room for value added. In 2012 Member States’ experts concluded that only 30% of the 
existing  surveillance  information  reaches  those  authorities  (future  CISE  users)  who  need  it. 
Providing public users with the remaining 70% is what Maritime CISE is essentially designed to 
do and this would not have been possible without EU funding. 

Efficiency:  It  is  estimated  that  Maritime  CISE  will  provide  citizens,  taxpayers  and  EU  societies 
with an overall benefit worth EUR 4 billion for a relatively low investment of EUR 100 million, 
over  ten  years.  As  a  non-binding  and  user  driven  process,  Maritime  CISE  allows  both  for  civil-
military  cooperation  and  reduces  the  need  for  extra  legislation  and  avoids  further  regulatory 
burden. 

Synergy:  Political,  legal,  operational,  technical  and  semantic  interoperability  creates  synergies 
between 400 public authorities acting in the fields of transport, environmental control, border 
control, fisheries control, general law enforcement, customs and defence. 

Annual Activity Report DG MARE 

Example 16:  Axis 4 of the EFF (predecessor of EMFF) 

Axis  4  is  an  area-based  policy  of  the  European  Fisheries  Fund  (EFF)  that  aims  to  encourage 
sustainable  development  in  fisheries  areas  and  improve  the  quality  of  life  of  fishing 
communities. The rationale is that fisheries areas should be part of an integrated local approach 
centred on the area’s needs and adapted to the local situation.  

Effectiveness and Efficiency: An EFF study on Axis 4 shows that the sustainable development 
of fisheries and aquaculture areas delivers promising, positive results. Most of the 312 fisheries 
local action groups (FLAGs) are active. At the end of 2014, more than 9 800 projects had been 
21 

 
 
 
approved,  a  significant  increase  on  the  6  363  at  the  end  of  2013.  Since  2010  some  7  300  jobs 
have been created by the FLAGs and 12 500 more jobs preserved. More than 200 new companies 
have  been  generated  with  Axis  4  support.  Furthermore,  the  implementation  of  Axis  4  in  the 
period  2007-2013  has  resulted  in  a  leverage  factor  of  1.06,  meaning  that  one  euro  of  EFF 
support has attracted an additional EUR 1.06 (in private and public funding). Moreover, FLAGs 
expect that 61% of projects will continue even after EFF support stops, thereby providing a good 
outlook for the sustainability of investments. 

Synergy: Axis 4 is designed to be as decentralised as possible. It uses a bottom-up approach to 
help  local  partnerships  tackle  the  short-term  effects  of  the  Common  Fisheries  Policy  and  the 
economic, social and environmental impact of the depletion of fish stocks. Its purpose is also to 
help fishing communities and areas create new sustainable sources of income and better living 
standards. 

Axis 4 therefore funds measures that strengthen the competitiveness of fisheries areas, such as 
promoting  eco-tourism;  diversifying  activities  by  creating  additional  jobs  outside  the  fisheries 
sector;  protecting  the  environment;  and  promoting 
inter-regional  and  trans-national 
cooperation among groups in fisheries areas. 

Annual Activity Report DG MARE 

PROGRAMME FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE ACTION (LIFE) 

Some  environmental  and  climate  problems  have  a  cross-border  or  transnational  nature  and 
cannot be solved by Member States acting alone. Others are better addressed at regional or local 
level, given that some environmental and climate assets are more localised than others.  

The  LIFE  programme  provides  support  to  both.  On  the  one  hand  it  attracts  partnerships  that 
otherwise  would  be  difficult  to  setup,  ensuring  a  more  effective  intervention  than  Member 
States' individual action by an increased pooling of resources and expertise. On the other hand, it 
provides  a  platform  for  development  and  exchange  of  best  practices  and  knowledge-sharing, 
allowing Member States to learn from each other and address an environmental and/or climate 
problem more efficiently. 

Example  17:  INDEMARES (http://www.indemares.es/en/project/description) 

Effectiveness:  The  project  "INDEMARES"  enabled  Spain  to  gain  the  necessary  knowledge  and 
experience  to  increase  by  39  the  number  of  Special  Protected  Areas  for  birds  and  by  10  the 
number of Sites of Community interest. This raised the percentage of protected sites of Spain's 
maritime territory from less than 1% to 8% (altogether more than 1.7 million ha) and is a show 
case for other Member States in the process of declaring such sites. 

Efficiency:  New  technologies  for  surveillance  and  monitoring  of  maritime  habitats  were 
developed,  which  led  to  the  creation  of  spin-off  companies  producing  these  technologies  and 
applying  them  in  other  EU  countries.  This  would  have  been  impossible  without  the  EU 
dimension  and  the  close  monitoring  and  regular  exchange  of  views  that  the  LIFE  projects 
require. 

Synergy: In contrast with a purely national effort, the project facilitated the integration of actors 
from  different  Member  States,  and  the  close  accompaniment  by  the  Commission  services 

22 

 
 
ensured that Union policy remained at the centre of attention. The synergies with policies such 
as growth and job creation and maintenance are evident in this type of project. 

Annual Activity Report DG ENV

Example 18:  European Week for Waste Reduction 

The  project  "European  Week  for  Waste  Reduction"  implemented  several  ideas  in  relation  to 
waste  prevention  and  reduction,  developing  communication  tools  and  creating  a  network  of 
public authorities in four Member States (France, Belgium, Spain and Portugal).  

Effectiveness:  A  project  such  as  LIFE  European  Week  for  Waste  Reduction  would  not  have 
materialised  without  LIFE,  since  it  is  the  only  instrument  that  provides  a  framework  for 
demonstrative transnational projects in the environmental field for public authorities. 

Efficiency:  The  project  had  an  impact  on  the  ground,  harmonising  approaches  in  the  regions 
involved  and  increasing  the  acceptance  and  implementation  of  EU  Waste  legislation,  which  is 
also vital for the sustainable economic development of the Union.  

Synergy: The project activities included a European Waste Reduction Award which should be an 
incentive for further innovative ideas.  

Annual Activity Report DG ENV 

Example  19: AgriClimateChange (http://www.agriclimatechange.eu/index.php?lang=en) 

AgriClimate Change is a cross-border/trans-national project implemented in Spain, Italy, France 
and Germany.  

Effectiveness: EU funding created missing links between the 4 largest agricultural economies of 
the  EU,  which  enabled  the  development  of  a  common  evaluation  system  to  monitor  climate 
change through farming–applications.  

Efficiency:  Quantifiable  evidence  showed  how  an  average  reduction  of  10%  in  GHG  emissions 
and 10% in energy consumption is achievable at single farm level. Better value for money was 
provided as evidence and data could be collected and pooled during the project’s trials from no 
less than 128 action plans under a single coordinator. This data collection would not have been 
possible  except  at  a  much  higher  cost  if  it  had  to  be  done  by  the  individual  MS  and  to  be 
compiled afterwards. A management and measuring tool (ACCT) was created to measure farm-
based  climate  action  that  is  promoted  now  as  a  standard  and  will  be  further  deployed. 
Quantifiable  monitoring  systems  are  just  one  part  of  the  ACCT,  which  also  helps  farmers  to 
identify their most cost-effective options for avoiding emissions by producing renewable energy 
at  farm-level,  a  tool  which  can  also  audit  carbon  sequestration  from  cover  crops,  agroforestry, 
crop  rotations,  and  reuse  of  residues  and  help  adapting  farms  to  new  weather-related 
challenges. 

Annual Activity Report DG CLIMA

23 

 
 
Heading 3 EUROPEAN ADDED VALUE IN SECURITY AND 
CITIZENSHIP 

Heading  3  of  the  budget  provides  financial  support  to  multiple  policy  areas  whose  common 
objective is to strengthen the concept of ‘European citizenship’ by creating an area of freedom, 
justice,  security,  without  internal  frontiers.  Citizens  and  businesses  want  to  fully  enjoy  the 
freedoms guaranteed by the Treaties and make full use of their rights to live, study, work and do 
business in any Member State. They want a dynamic access to basic public goods and services. 
For  the  purpose  of  simplicity,  they  are  being  regrouped  under  the  following  paragraphs:  
Managing  external  borders  and  internal  Justice;  Health  and  Consumer  protection  and  Culture 
and Citizenship.  

MANAGING EXTERNAL BORDERS AND INTERNAL JUSTICE 

The abolition of internal border controls needs to be accompanied by common measures for the 
effective control and surveillance of the Union's external borders. These common measures are 
being  politically  steered  by  the  EU  and  financially  supported  by  its  spending  programmes. 
Evidence  collected  so  far  demonstrates  that  the  pooling  of  resources  at  EU  level  in  areas  like 
training and equipment ensures a more efficient use of public funds. 

In  addition  to  delivering  value  for  money,  EU  action  in  this  field  also  ensures  a  fair  burden 
sharing  between  Member  States.  Because  of  their  geographical  characteristics,  some  Member 
States face surges in migration, a problem which  should not be tackled at  national level as the 
benefits of border control also spill over to other Member States. 

To avoid that delivery of border controls suffers from the "free rider" problem, i.e. one Member 
State  enjoying  the  benefit  of  actions  taken  by  another  without  paying;  the  EU  financially 
supports Member States in their actions, thereby installing a degree of burden-sharing, which in 
turn reinforces solidarity.   

Example 20: Organised Crime Portfolio (ocportfolio.eu/) 

The  project  "Organised  Crime  Portfolio"  examined  where  organised  crime  proceeds  are 
generated (from which illicit markets), where they are re-invested in the legitimate economy (in 
which regions, assets and business sectors) and  to what  extent these proceeds are confiscated 
by national authorities.  

It represents a first step towards a better understanding of how the business of organised crime 
works.  It  is  an  important  tool  to  improve  the  assessment  of  the  risks  of  the  infiltration  of 
organised crime into the economy and to strengthen the tracing and the confiscation of criminal 
assets in Europe. 

Effectiveness:  EU  financing  facilitated  the  data  collected  in  seven  Member  States  (Finland, 
France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom), thereby enabling for the 
first time a detailed study of the main illicit markets, which in turn resulted in the detection of 
almost 5 000 instances of organised crime infiltration in the economy.  

24 

 
 
Efficiency:  the  project  resulted  in  pooling  the  few  available  national  statistical  data  on 
confiscated assets and led to the development of a methodology of using data from open sources, 
which can be replicated. 

Synergy: The project also creates a solid basis for the future development of a risk assessment 
tool that could be used by public and private institutions to reduce the opportunities for criminal 
infiltration in the legal economy. 

The project shows a definite added value with respect to a previous project on organised crime 
infiltration, which covered only Italy, both in terms of efficiency and synergies.  

Annual Activity Report DG HOME 

In  the  area  of  justice,  the  EU  budget  contributes  to  the  creation  of  a  'European  area  of 
justice'. The effective and coherent application of EU law in the areas of civil law, criminal 
law  and  fundamental  rights,  cannot  be  met  adequately  by  national  administrations  alone, 
thereby  justifying  EU  action.  Improved  operational  cooperation  involving  the  pooling  of 
resources in areas like training and equipment ensures a more efficient use of public funds.  

Example  21: European Judicial Training Network (www.ejtn.eu/) 

The  EJTN  is  a  platform  of  nearly  40  EU  national  judicial  bodies,  either  members  or  observers 
who work and cooperate on the analysis and identification of training needs of the judiciaries of 
the Member States, the exchange and dissemination of experience in the field of judicial training 
and the design of programmes and methods for collaborative training.  

Effectiveness:  The  EJTN  contributes  to  the  Commission’s  2011  objective  to  train  50%,  which 
corresponds  to  700.000  of  all  EU  legal  practitioners  by  2020  and  makes  it  attainable.  In  the 
course  of  2014,  the  EJTN  addressed  3,168  judges  and  prosecutors  and  offered  around  25,000 
individual training days through its eight different training programmes, ranging from long-term 
exchanges through short-term study visits to seminars, a trainers’ forum, virtual e-learning and 
collaboration site.  

Efficiency:  Uncoordinated  spending  at  national  level  would  not  have  been  able  to  reach  the 
common  objective  of  promoting  amongst  EU  Member  States  an  exchange  of  judicial  practices, 
the  understanding  of  the  judicial  systems  of  the  Member  States  and  the  understanding  of  the 
means of judicial cooperation within the EU as well as language skills. Pooling resources at EU 
level further generated economies of scale and better results than if the finances had been spent 
separately at national level.  

Synergy:  EJTN ensured synergy with other actions by providing the participants with the sense 
of belonging to a common judicial culture from the very beginning of their careers, helping them 
to build the identity of a European judge within the future judiciary. 

Annual Activity Report DG JUST

HEALTH AND CONSUMER PROTECTION 

Outbreaks of serious human, animal or plant diseases can cause major losses to the society and 
economy at Member State, the EU or global level.  Conversely, the prevention and treatment of 

25 

 
 
 
diseases  provides  benefits  across  national  borders,  which  is  why  actions  in  this  area  are 
generally categorised as global public goods23.  

A characteristic of global public goods is that they are  generally underprovided, which implies 
that too little is being produced to be socially optimal.  

EU  intervention  counters  this  trend  by  complementing  and  adding  value  to  Member  State 
actions in the area of health promotion, prevention of illness, protection of citizens, cooperation 
between health systems and the sharing of knowledge and expertise. Via its budget, the EU also 
delivers  important  added  value  in  its  coordination  role,  thereby  delivering  rapid  and 
coordinated answers to global health threats as was successfully demonstrated in its response to 
the Ebola outbreak (see Section 2 of the Article 318 report). 

In  the  field  of  consumer  protection,  EU  actions  and  coordination  is  essential  to  ensure  that 
products in the Single Market are safe, that consumers are provided with the right information, 
can  get  access  to  redress  when  things  go  wrong  and  have  their  rights  enforced  when  buying 
across borders.24 

Example  22: The Rabies eradication programme 

The  value  of  investing  in  preparedness,  prevention  and  coordination  of  measures  for  certain 
notifiable diseases at EU level was clearly demonstrated by the rabies eradication programme, 
rabies being a zoonosis, an animal disease that can be transmitted to humans.  

Effectiveness: Prior to 2000, actions were funded by Member States (mainly in the Western part 
of the EU (AT, BE, DE, FI, FR, IT and LU).  Due to the presence of a wild reservoir of the disease 
(notably  in  foxes),  it  could  not  be  addressed  at  Member  State  level  as  wild  animals  obviously 
roam across national borders. The cross-border approach offered by the EU contributed to the 
full eradication of the disease in most of the previously affected Member States  

Efficiency: The EU action offered better value for money than the actions previously delivered by 
Member  States.  It  focused  on  the  design  of  a  harmonised  strategic  approach,  on  the  sound 
technical  approval  of  the  programmes  to  make  them  compatible  with  the  strategy  and  also  on 
providing technical assistance and coordination of other actions, such as information sharing for 
the successful implementation of the programmes. 

Synergy: Action at EU level was necessary to complement national actions and create synergies. 
It was so successful that it now even goes beyond EU borders as the ultimate goal is to establish 
a safety belt in the neighbouring countries of the EU like Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Of course, 
this requires years to achieve. 

Annual Activity Report DG SANTE

Example  23: On-line Consumer Support when abroad

The  network  of  European  Consumer  Centres  is  financed  via  the  Consumer  Programme  and 

23 Stiglitz 

24 SEC(2011)867 Final 

26 

 
 
 
                                                             
provides information to consumers on EU rights when shopping in a country different of that of 
the usual residence of the consumer. The network covers all 28 EU Member States, plus Iceland 
and Norway.  

•  Effectiveness: In 2013, the services of the network were used by over 80.000 consumers 
and more than 32.000 complaints were handled in a timely manner. The trend increased 
in  2014.  The  network  also  developed  joint  projects  which  provide  evidence,  tips  and 
practical information on topics of interest for European consumers including guarantees, 
e-commerce, timeshare, etc. In 2014, it also developed a unique mobile application ECC-
Net:  Travel  App.  This  application  helps  consumers  to  cope  with  difficult  situations  on 
their holidays abroad and to express their consumer rights in the language of the country 
of their destination.  

•  Efficiency: The ECC-Net Travel App provides legal information and language support in 
all  24  EU  languages  plus  Norwegian  and  Icelandic  free  of  charge  for  the  user.  The 
provision  of  this  service  has  been  made  possible  through  the  pooling  of  resources  and 
the accompanying economies of scale. The topics covered include: retail  purchases, car 
rental, hotel accommodation, medical treatment, air and rail transport as well as bus and 
maritime  travel.  A  ‘useful  information’  section  provides  important  phone  numbers  and 
contact details necessary in case of emergencies or every day needs. The App is free of 
charge and works offline to avoid the roaming trap. It is available for mobile devices with 
iOS,  Android  and  Microsoft  Windows  operating  systems.  There  were  over  30.000 
downloads of the App since its launch in July 2014.  

•  Synergy:  Unless  the  network  was  set  up  and  operating  under  clear  cooperation 
modalities  at  European  level  it  would  be  very  hard  (if  not  impossible)  for  a  consumer 
residing in a member state to claim rights against a trader/ service provider established 
in another member state via a single contact point and free of charge. Within the course 
of 2014, 93.741 consumers chose to seek advice and support from an ECC. The European 
Consumer Centres cooperate with the national consumer organizations, authorities and 
the  Consumer  Ombudsmen;  this  platform  of  cooperation  allows  for  synergies  among  a 
European (cross border) and national level on consumer protection issues. Additionally, 
the  information  provided  to  the  European  Commission  by  the  European  Consumer 
Centres  resulting  from  the  discharge  of  their  cross  border  tasks  allows  the  former  to 
obtain  substantive  information  regarding  aspects  of  the  internal  market  that  appear  to 
be  problematic  from  a  consumer  point  of  view  and  could,  eventually,  require  to  be 
addressed at EU level. 

Annual Activity Report CHAFEA Agency 

CULTURE AND CITIZENSHIP 

Cultural cooperation at EU level seeks to ensure that culture makes its full contribution to both a 
competitive economy and an inclusive society. As provided in the Treaties, action by the EU shall 
be aimed at encouraging the cooperation among its Member States so that it contributes to the 
flowering of their cultures while respecting their national and regional diversity.  

EU action in the field of citizenship aims to promote citizens understanding of the EU, its history 
and diversity and to foster civic and demographic participation at EU level. 

27 

 
 
 
 
 
 
The  essential  added  value  of  the  EU  funding  in  this  field  is  its  contribution  to  a  greater 
awareness  of  the  existence  of  a  common  European  heritage,  to  intercultural  dialogue  and  the 
promotion of transnational mobility of artists.25 

Example  24: The FILMIN project (https://www.filmin.es/) 

FILMIN is a project financed through the MEDIA sub-programme Creative Europe. The output of 
the project is a Video on Demand platform which specializes in independent author cinema and 
television  series,  with  a  strong  focus  on  European  works.  FILMIN  can  be  considered  a  leading 
example of how to develop a successful VOD platform and how to become an important actor in 
this new and difficult market 

Effectiveness: The Spanish VOD service of FILMIN would not have been  delivered without EU 
funding as it focused on European and not national works. FILMIN stands out for its catalogue of 
over 8000 titles without losing its focus on quality and curated offer. It also boasts an innovative 
user interface feature, including a high number of online film festivals reaching a large audience. 

Efficiency: The project shows that European films can have a good audience in the online market 
if presented in the correct way. The market uptake of FILMIN in Europe (especially in Portugal) 
and  internationally  (South  America)  demonstrates  the  competitiveness  of  this  project  and 
underlines the results of a sophisticated and effective marketing approach.  

Synergy: FIMIN achieved the creation of links within a specialised industry in EU.  

Annual Activity Report EACEA 

Example  25:  The LED project (http://festivalsabirlampedusa.it/en/)  

The  LED  project  was  developed  by  the  Italian  Association  ARCI.  Through  the  project, 
communities  of  citizens  are  invited  to  debate  about  Europe's  values  and  politics.  One  major 
event was organised in October 2014 in Lampedusa, focusing on the crucial issue of immigration 
in Europe in order to propose concrete alternatives to the current European migration policies. 
Migrants,  refugees,  EU  and  non  EU  citizens,  public  authorities  and  civil  society  organisations 
were  gathered  together  –  in  one  of  the  most  symbolic  place  of  Europe  today  –  to  reflect  on, 
debate, discuss migration as a main challenge of the future of Europe.  

Efficiency  and  effectiveness:  This  project  enabled  communities  of  citizens  to  debate  about 
European  values  and  policies  with  a  focus  on  immigration  as  a  challenge  for  the  future  of 
Europe.  

Synergy:  Through  the  bottom-up  approach  of  the  project  synergy  effects  can  be  found  with 
regard to the ongoing European debate on migration and citizenship including the reference to 
common European values. 

Annual Activity Report DG COMM

25 Sec (2011) 867 

28 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                             
HEADING  4  EUROPEAN  ADDED  VALUE 
EUROPE 

IN  GLOBAL 

The  programmes  granting  development  aid  under  this  heading  contribute  to  the  EU's  primary 
development aid objective 'to reduce and in the  longer term  to  eradicate  poverty' (Article 208 
TFEU).    Other  programmes,  such  as  the  Instrument  for  Pre-Accession  (IPA)  supports  pre-
accession countries to prepare them for EU membership; Humanitarian Aid give ad-hoc relief to 
the most vulnerable people in the immediate aftermath of a crisis; the instruments supporting 
the  prevention  of  conflict  and  the  strengthening  of  international  security  (Instrument 
contributing  to  Stability  and  Peace  (IcSP)  and  the  Common  Foreign  and  Security  Policy 
operations  (CFSP)  whereas    the  European  Instrument  for  Democracy  and  Human  Rights 
(EIDHR)  contribute  to  projecting  EU  values  like  democracy  and  rule  of  law  outside  of  the 
European  Union.  The  European  Neighbourhood  Instrument  (ENI)  aims  to  and  in  promoting 
stability and security in the neighbourhood regions of the EU. 

DEVELOPMENT AID 

The  EU  is  in  charge  of  development  cooperation  policy  in  a  wider  framework  of  international 
cooperation, adapting to the evolving needs of partner countries, in order to reduce poverty in 
the  world,  to  ensure  sustainable  economic,  social  and  environmental  development  and  to 
promote democracy, the rule of law, good governance and the respect of human rights, notably 
through external aid.  

The EU is in a uniquely neutral and impartial position to deliver on external action on behalf of 
and  with  Member  States,  giving  enhanced  credibility  in  the  countries  where  it  works.  The  EU 
alone  has  the  critical  mass  to  respond  to  global  challenges,  such  as  poverty  reduction  and 
climate change. Thanks to its large scale and the existing network of international agreements, it 
can deliver  help to the  poor in some of  the world's most remote  areas, both implementing aid 
and coordinating. 

In its role as a promoter of inclusiveness and multilateralism, the Union can do more than other 
international organisation. Acting as one, the Union can have greater impact and more leverage 
in policy dialogue and donor cooperation. Working with the EU is also more cost effective, with 
lower administrative costs than the average. 

The  fight  against  hunger  and  malnutrition  in  West  Africa  appears  emblematic  of  the  success 
generated  by  the  EU,  having  helped  strengthen  food  insecurity  prevention  mechanisms  in  the 
region and thus its stability. The EU has been a catalyst in mobilising stakeholders (West African 
political  and  technical  organizations,  EU  Member  States,  Canada,  US  mainly)  to  provide  both 
political  and  financial  support  for  economic  development.  EU  involvement  has  enhanced  the 
effectiveness of the coordination and joint programming among different technical and financial 
partners.  EU  involvement  has  led  to  greater  efficiency  promoting  a  great  coherence  among 
national and regional interventions. 

Example 26: Global Alliance for the Resilience Initiative (AGIR) in the Sahel and in West Africa 

Humanitarian assistance must not be disassociated from efforts to combat the structural causes 
of poverty and chronic food insecurity. With this in mind, the EU took the initiative together with 
the  West  African  countries  and  regional  organizations  to  launch  the  Global  Alliance  for  the 
Resilience  Initiative  (AGIR)  in  December  2012.  Its  objective  is  to  structurally  reduce,  in  a 

29 

 
 
sustainable  manner,  food  and  nutritional  vulnerability  by  promoting  and  supporting  the 
implementation of Sahelian and West African resilience policies.  

Synergy:  Commission  plays  a  catalytic  role  &  ensures  synergy  in  mobilising  stakeholders  to 
provide political & financial support: The Alliance encompasses major stakeholders from the 17 
West  African  and  Sahelian  partner  countries.  It  involves  regional  organisations,  and  technical 
and financial partners, including donors and UN based agencies, civil society organizations and 
the private sector.  

Effectiveness:  AGIR  has  increased  the  effectiveness  of  food  security  programmes  by  targeting 
food/nutrition as a focal sector in almost all West African countries.  In October 2014, thanks to 
continued  high  level  support  by  the  EU,  the  AGIR  17  West  African  countries  committed 
themselves to achieve through their national and regional policies and budgets the objective of 
“Zero Hunger” within the next 20 years.  

Efficiency:  AGIR  is  leveraging  resources:  for  example,  a  regional  food  reserve  programme 
gathered EUR 56 million from the EU, EUR 10 million from Spain and France, 20 million dollars 
from ECOWAS.  

Annual Activity Report Directorate General DEVCO 

HUMANITARIAN AID 

The  aim  of  the  humanitarian  aid  policy  as  defined  in  Article 214  TFEU  and  Council  Regulation 
1297/96 is to provide ad hoc assistance, relief and protection to people in third countries who 
are victims of natural or man-made disasters, in order to meet the humanitarian needs resulting 
from these situations.  

Over  the  years,  the  EU  has  acquired  high  levels  of  recognition  as  a  reference  donor  and 
important  contributor  to  humanitarian  action.  The  EU  leads  the  way  in  ensuring  that 
humanitarian  aid  allocations  are  needs  based  and  that  no  humanitarian  crisis  is  overlooked  in 
the international humanitarian response. It is also in a unique position to be able to encourage 
other  humanitarian  donors  to  implement  effective  and  principled  humanitarian  aid  strategies 
and has a comparative advantage in being able to intervene more flexibly in politically sensitive 
situations.  Furthermore,  the  EU  is  well  positioned  to  rapidly  complement  as  required  EU 
Member States' bilateral contributions in response to crises. Section 2 of the main report gives 
an  example  of  the  added  value  in  coordinating  humanitarian  aid  at  EU  level.  A  share  of  the 
annual  EU  humanitarian  aid  budget  is  pre-allocated  to  on-going  crises  (in  some  cases,  the 
Commission 
for 
prevention/preparedness  measures,  while  the  rest  is  deployed  to  respond  to  new  crisis  or 
deterioration of existing ones. 

donor,  namely 

"forgotten 

crisis") 

being 

only 

and 

the 

in 

PRE ACCESSION ASSISTANCE 
The enlargement of the EU is by its very nature a common task which can be pursued only at EU 
level. Only the Member States acting together can organise and decide on the accession of new 
candidates.  The  pre-accession  assistance  through  IPA  is  designed  to  help  candidate  countries 
and  potential  candidates  to  prepare  for  future  EU  membership.  Two  examples  of  support  in 
helping Serbia to meet EU standards for membership and in helping Bosnia and Herzegovina to 
recover from severe floods are presented below.  

Example 27: Project Preparation Facility and Support measures 

30 

 
 
Thanks  to  IPA  support,  technical  assistance  has  been  provided  to  Serbian  authorities  with  the 
"Project  Preparation  Facility"  with  a  view  to  developing  a  methodology  for  selection  of 
infrastructure  projects  in  the  sectors  of  energy,  transport,  environment  and  business 
infrastructure.  The  methodology  approved  by  the  Government  provides  a  framework  for  an 
objective and transparent analysis of project proposals according to their strategic relevance as 
well  as  technical  and  financial  maturity.  As  a  key  output  the  Serbian  authorities  developed  a 
single project pipeline for these four sectors with 80 projects than have been selected for their 
strategic  relevance.  Each  project  has  its  'project  passport'  describing  its  level  of  preparedness 
and the next steps needed before its financing. It also identifies the competent institutions in the 
phase of project preparation and assigns the relevant responsibilities. 

Effectiveness:  The  EU  was  the  best  placed  to  support  this  action  and  coordinate  donors  to 
support  this  process  helping  Serbia  to  meet  EU  standards  for  membership.  The  financial 
assistance  and  constant  support  by  EU  authorities  made  the  establishment  of  such  a  system 
possible. The single project pipeline contributes to avoid fragmentation, as funding from the EU 
and IFIs will focus only on projects in the single project pipeline. The approach benefits directly 
the  EU  as  connectivity  projects  are  prioritised  for  financing,  notably  on  energy  and  transport. 
This  approach  is  also  expected  to  have  a  remedial  effect  on  the  problem  of  steadily  declining 
public investments in Serbia, increase the certainty for private investors and reduce significantly 
the risk of bottlenecks in the implementation of investment projects. 

Efficiency: In generating economies of scale as same methodology is applied for all investments, 
thus also increasing coordination of donors 

Synergy: In raising standards in terms of selection and preparation of project; Increase leverage 
financing with IFIs and donors. 

Annual Activity Report DG ELARG 

Example 28: Floods Recovery Programme 

In  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  the  implementation  of  the  Floods  Recovery  Programme  (43.52  M 
EUR,  out  of  which  42.24  M  EUR  provided  by  the  EU)  launched  in  July  2014  has  produced  an 
aimed at supporting the countries facing the impact of the substantial floods affecting the whole 
region. 

Effectiveness: A whole range of tangible results was achieved, gradually restoring normal living 
conditions in local communities and ensure the provision of aid to the most vulnerable people 
affected by the May floods. The Programme was focused on the rehabilitation of public services 
and  infrastructure,  housing  units  for  the  most  vulnerable  people  and  for  social  and  economic 
recovery of local communities.  

Efficiency:  The  speedy  reaction  and  the  efficient  implementation  mechanisms  led  to  a  quick 
delivery  of  results:  in  the  first  six  months  of  the  implementation  671  dwellings  were 
rehabilitated, 337 being in progress; 66 public buildings were rehabilitated, with additional 31 
in  progress  and  19  in  different  stages  of  procurement  or  project  design;  32  communal 
infrastructure  projects  completed  and  26  ongoing;  surveying  of  additional  municipalities 
completed,  with  new  infrastructure  projects  to  be  selected  to  continue  implementation.  As 
concerns  the  economic  recovery  component,  48  bank  guarantees  were  received  and 
accompanying payments amounting to total of EUR 1.27 million were made.  

Synergies: the project was a very good example of effective cooperation with other agencies, the 

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UNDP implementing it, in cooperation with UNICEF and IOM. 

Annual Activity Report DG ELARG

PRESERVE PEACE, PREVENT CONFLICTS AND STRENGTHEN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY 

Article 21 TEU defined common overarching principles and objectives for the external action of 
the  Union,  in  particular  to  "preserve  peace,  prevent  conflicts  and  strengthen  international 
security". With 28 Member States acting within common strategies and polices the EU alone has 
the critical mass to respond to global challenges with Member State actions risking being smaller 
and  more  dispersed,  and  therefore  less  likely  to  have  a  significant  impact  in  the  field.  This 
critical  mass  also  puts  the  EU  in  a  better  position  to  conduct  policy  dialogue  with  partner 
governments.  

EUROPEAN INSTRUMENT FOR DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS (EIDHR) 

Given its accomplishments in conflict resolution, peace building and the creation of prosperity, 
the EU is in an excellent position to deliver on external action, on behalf of and with its Member 
States,  generally  enjoying  high  credibility  in  the  countries  where  it  works.  It  is  well  placed  to 
take  on  the  role  of  a  global  leader  on  behalf  of  its  citizens,  in  particular  in  its  support  and 
promotion of democracy and human rights. European added value is much larger than suggested 
by  purely  balance  sheet  approach:  contributing  to  peace  building  worldwide,  assisting  the 
world's  poorest  people  and  supporting  democracy  and  respect  for  human  rights  are 
indisputable demonstrations of how the EU adds value through its work every day.  

Due  to  its  scale  and  remit,  the  EU  can  deliver  help  in  the  world's  most  remote  areas,  hereby 
enhancing  the  strategic  reach  of  Member  States,  especially  in  cases  when  their  presence  is 
limited and therefore the capacity to act is reduced. 

Election Observation Missions (EU EOMs) contribute to projecting EU values like democracy and 
rule  of  law  outside  of  the  European  Union.  Electoral  missions  aim  at  building  confidence, 
enhancing the reliability and transparency of democratic electoral processes, and discouraging 
irregularities, abuse and electoral violence. They have therefore become an important flagship of 
the EU foreign policy.  

An example of action is given below:  

Example 29: Election observation missions 

Election  observation  is  a  vital  component  of  European  Union  activities  to  promote  democracy, 
human  rights  and  the  rule  of  law  worldwide.  Election  observation  can  contribute  to 
strengthening  democratic  institutions,  build  public  confidence  in  electoral  processes  and  help 
deter fraud, intimidation and violence. EU Election Observation Missions do not certify election 

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results. They assess the degree to which elections comply with international and national laws 
and issue recommendations. 

Effectiveness: Action at EU level enabled a long-term presence and full geographical coverage, 
which  would  not  have  been  possible  at  MS  level.  The  strength  of  EU  election  observation 
missions lies in their robust and comprehensive methodology that is based on the key principles 
of independence, neutrality.  

Efficiency: The Election observation Missions in Afghanistan and Egypt were part of the broader 
package  of  political  engagement  with  these  countries.  Regarding  the  deterrence  of  fraud  and 
violence,  the  EOMs  to  Guinea  Bissau  and  Malawi,  in  a  contested  and  fragile  political  contest, 
contributed  to  instilling  confidence  in  the  process  and  appeasing  the  competing  parties.  In 
response  to  an  invitation  by  the  President  of  Kosovo,  the  EU  deployed  an  EOM  to  observe 
Kosovo's early legislative elections that took place on 8 June 2014. The deployment of the EOM 
followed  an  earlier  EOM  deployed  from  October  2013  to  February  2014  to  Kosovo's  mayoral 
and  municipal  assembly  elections,  which  were  of  particular  significance  as  they  were  the  first 
elections  to  be  held  throughout  Kosovo,  including  in  the  four  Serb-majority  northern 
municipalities. The deployment of the two EOMs reflected the EU's long-term efforts to support 
credible,  transparent  and  inclusive  elections  in  Kosovo  as  part  and  parcel  of  Kosovo's 
democratisation process. 

Synergy: Due to its scale and remit, the EU can deliver help in the world's most remote areas, 
where most Member States have little strategic interest, only limited presence and less capacity 
to act.  

Final Annual Activity Report DG FPI 

EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD INSTRUMENT 
The EU has a strategic interest in seeing greater prosperity, economic development and better 
governance in its neighbourhood and in promoting stability and security in the region. Although 
the  responsibility  for  this  lies  primarily  with  the  countries  themselves;  the  EU  can  effectively 
encourage  and  support  their  reform  and  modernisation  efforts.  The  objective  of  the  European 
Neighbourhood  policy  is  to  build,  together  with  partners,  a  prosperous,  secure  and  stable 
neighbourhood on the basis of shared values and common interests. By acting at the Union level 
and by streamlining financial resources the EU has greater leverage to achieve a common goal: 
prevent the emergence of new dividing lines between the enlarged EU and its neighbours. The 
EU  provides  financial  resources  to  support  partners’  own  reforms  and  thus  stimulates  their 
transition  and  modernisation  programmes.  In  addition,  the  EU  has  a  leading  role  in  bringing 
together  donors,  including  major  actors  outside  the  EU,  to  work  together  on  providing  a 
comprehensive response to the new challenges in the region. 

Example 30: Environmental protection and depollution of the Mediterranean Sea in partnership 
with the Union for the Mediterranean 

The  Horizon  2020  (H2020)  Initiative  was  launched  in  2006  as  a  commitment  made  by  all 
Mediterranean  countries,  and  the  EU,  to  better  manage  industrial  emissions,  municipal  waste 
and urban waste water, which might represent up to 80% of the pollution in the Mediterranean 
Sea.  The  European  Neighbourhood  Instrument  regional  programme  for  the  Southern 
Neighbourhood has supported the implementation of the Horizon 2020 in its first phase (2007-
2014), on capacity building, investment preparation (with the European Investment Bank) and 

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on monitoring and reporting (with the European Environment Agency  - EEA), for a total amount 
of  EUR  19  million.  Extra  ENI  funds  have  been  secured  (EUR  14  million  currently)  for  similar 
interventions in the 2nd phase leading to 2020. 

Synergy:    The  EU  support  to  H2020  has  allowed  to  create  good  complementarities  with  the 
work done under the 40-year old Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and 
the  Coastal  Region  of  the  Mediterranean  (the  Barcelona  Convention),  by  mobilizing  additional 
funding, EU expertise (through the EEA and the EIB in particular) and placing a stronger focus 
on  investments  (through  an  EIB-managed  investment  preparation  facility).  H2020  has  now 
become a flagship of the Union for the Mediterranean, and was reconfirmed as such at the UfM 
Ministerial meeting on environment and climate change in May 2014. 

Effectiveness:  In  the  first  phase  of  H2020  (2007-2014),  the  EIB  has  fully  prepared  4  large 
investments  projects  in  partner  countries  in  the  region  mobilising  more  than  €500  million  in 
investment  works.  The  work  of  the  EEA  has  led  to  improvements  in  the  way  environment  is 
monitored in ENP South countries, i.e. a data are more efficiently collected and processed, and 
made more publicly available. In addition, more than 3,500 people have participated in capacity 
building courses and study tours on a variety of environmental protection related topics in the 
same period. All this work has led to the publication of the “Horizon 2020 Mediterranean report” 
in 2014( http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/horizon-2020-mediterranean-report) 

Efficiency:    Grouping  several  EU-funded  projects  under  the  same  H2020  flagship,  relying  on 
skilled  organisations  for  their  implementation,  and  constantly  looking  for  synergies  with  the 
Barcelona  Convention  have  been  key  assets  for  the  overall  EU  support  to  H2020.  The  same 
approach will be adopted in the second phase of H2020 (2015-2020). 

DG DEVCO

Example 31: Providing finance to municipal energy efficiency projects

The  continuous  migration  of  population  to  cities  has  resulted  in  municipalities  playing  an 
increasingly  important  role  in  implementing  policy  goals  and  in  having  a  direct  impact  on  the 
economy  and  living  conditions  of  citizens.  With  this  in  mind,  the  EU  decided  to  support 
municipalities  in  improving  their  energy  efficiency.  One  of  the  means  to  provide  support  is 
through  the  Eastern  Europe  Energy  Efficiency  and  Environmental  Partnership  (E5P).  The 
objective  of  the  fund  is  to  provide  investment  grants  to  support  loans  from  the  participating 
financial institutions to implement municipal sector projects that will improve energy efficiency 
and  the  environment,  in  particular  by  cutting  the  CO2  and  other  greenhouse  gas  emissions.  At 
the same time, the fund also supports policy dialogue and the reform agenda in the countries. 

Synergy:  The E5P is a  multi-donor trust fund to  which the European Commission contributes. 
The E5P was initiated during the Swedish Presidency in 2009, and brings together European and 
international financing institutions: EBRD (fund manager), EIB, KfW, IFC, NEFCO, NIB, WB, CEB. 

Effectiveness:  Through  the  15  investment  projects  endorsed  to  date  in  Ukraine,  E5P  will 
improve  district  heating  rehabilitation,  waste  water  treatment  and  energy  efficiency  in  public 
buildings. It is estimated that these projects in Ukraine will collectively reduce CO2 emissions by 

34 

 
 
 
more than 536,103 tonnes per year and achieve gas savings of 120 million m3 per year. 

Efficiency: The E5P has received EUR 58.35 million in grants, which combined with loans from 
the EBRD, EIB and NEFCO to the amount of EUR 172.5 million, will result in a total investment 
volume of EUR 285.25 million. In addition to projects in Ukraine, as from 2015 the E5P is also 
operating in Armenia, Georgia and Moldova. 

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