Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-12-15-Speech-1-219"
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"en.20081215.19.1-219"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, on 15 November the Commission adopted the draft revision of Article 55 of the general regulation on Structural Funds, which applies to the conditions for taking account of revenue-generating projects within the framework of the cohesion policy programme. The reason for the change was to simplify administrative procedures. The first actual operation carried out in accordance with Article 55 showed that there were serious difficulties with effective implementation. These difficulties, as reported by the Member States, demonstrated that there was a lack of proportionality in the application of the procedures for setting the maximum eligible amount of the so-called ‘funding gap’ and in monitoring projects.
The aim of the amendment to the regulation in question is to exempt all operations cofinanced from the European Social Fund as well as small projects with overall costs of less than EUR 1 million cofinanced from the European Fund for Regional Development and the Cohesion Fund through the application of Article 55. The decision to impose a ceiling of EUR 1 million arose from preliminary studies and was aimed at retaining the general nature of Article 55.
We hope that thanks to this simplification, which constitutes a form of ‘de minimis’ clause, we will be able to speed up the administration of funds for the Member States and their regions, especially in relation to the most innovative operations in areas such as research and support for renewable energy sources, etc.
It was nevertheless important to avoid legal uncertainty, which would have unfairly delayed the payment process. The uncertainty could have led project managers to interrupt the running of operational programmes, which had to be avoided at all costs.
In view of this, the Commission decided to propose only one change of a technical nature. This decision led to success since we completed the revision process in just three months, thanks to the work of the Council and the parliamentary committees for regional development and employment. On behalf of the Commission I would like to express my sincere gratitude to your rapporteur Mr Arnaoutakis. Thanks to our productive cooperation I hope to secure agreement from the European Parliament, thus making it possible to complete the revision by the end of the year. This would allow the managing authorities to continue with their work, which is a compelling aspect of the simplification.
The revision of Article 55 has also demonstrated the quality of the work being undertaken in collaboration with the Directorate General for Regional Policy and the Directorate General for Employment which benefits political cohesion. This cooperation has never weakened. The proof of this is that within the framework of the plan to assist European economic regeneration we have combined forces with Commissioner Hübner on a proposal for three new fundamental amendments to structural fund regulations. These amendments will also be debated."@en1
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