Task M 6 - Show how best to access EU
financial support and explore the
financial procurement strategies
Vytautas Lingaitis
Paris 2008-05-14
EU Funding
28.07.2017
CEDR
2
General provisions ERDF - ESF
- Cohesion Fund (2007-2013)
• Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 of 11 July 2006 laying
down general provisions on the European Regional
Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the
Cohesion Fund and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999.
• The aim of the Regulation is to strengthen economic and
social cohesion in order to promote the harmonious, balanced
and sustainable development of the Community for the period
2007-2013.
• Community action and cohesion policy aims to respond to the
challenges linked to economic, social and territorial
inequalities, the acceleration of economic restructuring and the
ageing of the population.
28.07.2017
CEDR
3
THREE NEW OBJECTIVES
• A total of EUR 308.041 billion will be allocated to financing
regional policy between 2007 and 2013 to work towards the
three new objectives:
– Convergence;
– Regional Competitiveness and Employment;
– Territorial Cooperation.
These objectives will supersede the former Objectives 1 (to promote
the development and structural adjustment of regions whose
development is lagging behind), 2 (to support the economic and social
conversion of areas experiencing structural difficulties) and 3 (to
support the adaptation and modernization of education, training and
employment policies and systems in regions not eligible under
Objective 1) for the 2000-2006 programming period.
28.07.2017
CEDR
4
Convergence
• The total resources allocated to this objective are EUR
251.163 billion, equivalent to 81.54% of the total. The
following are eligible:
• for the Structural Funds (ERDF and ESF):
– regions where per capita GDP is below 75% of the
Community average. They will receive 70.51% of the
funds allocated for this objective;
– regions where per capita GDP has risen above 75% of
the Community average due to the statistical effect of
enlargement will benefit from transitional, specific and
degressive financing. They will receive 4.99% of the total
allocation;
28.07.2017
CEDR
5
Convergence (continue)
• for the Cohesion Fund:
– Member States whose per capita Gross National Income (GNI) is
below 90% of the Community average and which are running
economic convergence programmes. They will receive 23.22% of
the resources allocated for this objective. Regions where per capita
GNI has risen to above 90% of the Community average due to the
statistical effect of enlargement will benefit from transitional, specific
and degressive financing. They will receive 1.29% of the total
allocation;
• for specific financing from the ERDF:
– the outermost regions. The aim is to facilitate their integration into
the internal market and to take account of their specific constraints
(such as compensation for excess costs due to their remote
location).
28.07.2017
CEDR
6
Convergence (end)
• For this objective, the following ceilings apply to cofinancing rates:
• 75% of public expenditure co-financed by the ERDF or the ESF. The
ceiling can be raised to 80% where the eligible regions are located in a
Member State covered by the Cohesion Fund, and even to 85% in the
case of the outermost regions;
• 85% of public expenditure co-financed by the Cohesion Fund;
• 50% of public expenditure co-financed in the outermost regions (a new
additional allocation from the ERDF to compensate for excess costs).
28.07.2017
CEDR
7
Regional Competitiveness and
Employment
• The Regional Competitiveness and Employment objective
aims to strengthen the competitiveness, employment and
attractiveness of regions other than those which are the
most disadvantaged.
• It must help to anticipate economic and social changes,
promote innovation, entrepreneurship, protection of the
environment, accessibility, adaptability and the
development of inclusive labor markets. It will be financed
by the ERDF and the ESF.
28.07.2017
CEDR
8
Regional Competitiveness and
Employment (continue)
• The resources intended for this objective total EUR 49.13
billion, equivalent to 15.95% of the total and divided equally
between the ERDF and the ESF. Of this amount:
• 78.86% is intended for the regions not covered by the
Convergence objective.
• 21.14% is earmarked for transitional degressive support.
• Under this objective, measures can be co-financed up to
50% of public expenditure. The ceiling is 85% for the
outermost regions.
28.07.2017
CEDR
9
Regional Competitiveness and
Employment (end)
• The eligible regions are:
– regions which fell under Objective 1 during the period
2000-06, which no longer meet the regional eligibility
criteria of the Convergence objective, and which
consequently benefit from transitional support. The
Commission will produce a list of these regions. Once
adopted, the list will be valid from 2007 to 2013;
– all other regions of the Community not covered by the
Convergence objective.
28.07.2017
CEDR
10
European Territorial
Cooperation
• The European Territorial Cooperation objective aims to
strengthen cross-border, trans-national and inter-regional
cooperation. It is based on the old INTERREG initiative and
will be financed by the ERDF.
• It aims to promote common solutions for neighbouring
authorities in the fields of urban, rural and coastal
development, the development of economic relations and
the creation of networks of small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs). Cooperation will be based around
research, development, information society, the
environment, risk prevention and integrated water
management.
28.07.2017
CEDR
11
European Territorial
Cooperation (continue)
• The resources intended for this objective total EUR
7.75 billion, equivalent to 2.52% of the total, fully
covered by the ERDF. This amount will be
distributed between the different components as
follows:
• 73.86% for financing cross-border cooperation;
• 20.95% for financing transnational cooperation;
• 5.19% for financing interregional cooperation.
28.07.2017
CEDR
12
European Territorial
Cooperation (end)
• Regions eligible for funding are those regions ,
which are situated along internal land borders,
certain external land borders and certain regions
situated along maritime borders separated by a
maximum of 150 km.
• In the case of networks of cooperation and
exchange of experience, the entire territory of the
Community is eligible. The ceiling for co-financing
is 75% of public expenditure.
28.07.2017
CEDR
13
Operational programmes
• Operational programmes deal with only one of the
three objectives and receive financing from a single
Fund.
• The Commission appraises each programme
proposed to determine whether it contributes to the
objectives and priorities of:
• the national strategic reference framework;
• the Community strategic guidelines on cohesion.
28.07.2017
CEDR
14
Operational programmes
• Operational programmes relating to the Convergence and
Regional Competitiveness and Employment objectives must
include:
– justification for the priorities in view of the strategic guidelines on
cohesion and the national strategic reference framework;
– information on the priority areas and their specific objectives;
– a financing plan;
– the implementing provisions for the operational programme;
– a list of major projects linked to an operation comprising a set of
works, activities or services whose total cost exceeds EUR 25
million in the case of the environment and EUR 50 million in the
other fields.
28.07.2017
CEDR
15
Operational programmes
• Compared to the period 2000-2006, programming has been
simplified as follows:
• on the policy level, each Member State prepares a
document based on the Community strategic guidelines
approved by the Council and negotiated with the
Commission, which will serve as a framework for the
preparation of the programmes;
• on an operational level, the Commission approves
programmes on the basis of the national strategic reference
framework.
28.07.2017
CEDR
16
TEN-T
• Objectives:
– The trans-European transport network shall be established gradually
by 2010 by integrating land, sea and air transport infrastructure
networks throughout the Community in accordance with the outline
plans indicated on the maps in Annex I and/or the specifications in
Annex II.
– The network must:
• ensure the sustainable mobility of persons and goods within an area without
internal frontiers under the best possible social and safety conditions, while
helping to achieve the Community's objectives, particularly in regard to the
environment and competition, and contribute to strengthening economic and
social cohesion;
• offer users high-quality infrastructure on acceptable economic terms;
• include all modes of transport, taking account of their comparative advantages;
• allow the optimal use of existing capacities;
28.07.2017
CEDR
17
TEN-T budget
• The total TEN-T budget for the period 2007-2013
is € 8,013 billion.
• Inland waterways would receive "maximum
possible funding", receiving as much as 11.5% of
the total budget. Railways will get 74.2% of total
funds, while roads receive just 2.7% (€ 216,35
million).
28.07.2017
CEDR
18
Marco Polo
• Marco Polo is the European Union's funding programme for
projects which shift freight transport from the road to sea,
rail and inland waterways.
• This means fewer trucks on the road and thus less
congestion, less pollution, and more reliable and efficient
transport of goods.
• The current, second Marco Polo programme runs from
2007-13 and features:
– the programme budget is €450 million Euros
– this programme includes "motorways of the sea" and "traffic avoidance"
projects
– Countries bordering the EU eligible for funding if they signed an association
agreement
28/07/2017
CEDR
19
Civitas
• CIVITAS - cleaner and better transport in cities - stands for
CIty-VITAlity-Sustainability.
• With the CIVITAS Initiative, the EC aims to generate a
decisive breakthrough by supporting and evaluating the
implementation of ambitious integrated sustainable urban
transport strategies that should make a real difference for
the welfare of the European citizen.
• CIVITAS II (2005-2009) 17 cities in 4 demonstration
projects are taking part. These 36 cities all over Europe will
be funded by the EU with € 100 million and the overall
budget of the Initiative will be more than € 300 million.
28.07.2017
CEDR
20
Civitas Objectives
• to promote and implement sustainable, clean and
(energy) efficient urban transport measures
• to implement integrated packages of technology
and policy measures in the field of energy and
transport in 8 categories of measures
• to build up critical mass and markets for innovation
28.07.2017
CEDR
21
Review of Task M6 working
process, conclusions and
suggestions
• During the working process on Task M6, the group
had difficulty in getting information about the EU
financed projects’ implementation problems from
various countries. After discussions, the group
decided that the countries do some mistakes, but
they do not publicize and admit them. Accordingly,
an official report on the countries’ experience is
impossible.
28.07.2017
CEDR
22
Review of Task M6 working
process, conclusions and
suggestions
• During the group discussions it was pointed out that a solution to
Task M6 might be to describe what criteria the countries shall
meet to become eligible for the EU funds. This explanation is not
quite correct because the EU support shall be provided according
to the set rules. Countries are preparing operational programmes
and the European Commission is taking a decision on the
countries’ eligibility. If a country is unable to prove its eligibility,
the project is rejected. In short, the funds are available for every
country meeting the requirements; however, if due to some
internal reasons the country fails to prove its eligibility, any advice
is pointless.
• The problem whether the criteria for the solution of this task
should be corrected will not be solved if an expert in the area is
not hired.
28.07.2017
CEDR
23
Review of Task M6 working
process, conclusions and
suggestions
• In our last meeting it was decided to describe the
existing EU funds, their aims for 2007-2013 (what has
just been done) and to evaluate their use in the period
of 5-10 years retrospectively as well as to study the
general problems of their implementation. During the
4th meeting, the Lithuanian experience, main problems
and possible solutions were presented. It was pointed
out that the information is useful and the issue should
be studied thoroughly. In our opinion, those common
problems will be very similar to the Lithuanian ones,
and we will not move forward with this task.
28.07.2017
CEDR
24
Review of Task M6 working
process, conclusions and
suggestions
• Therefore, the following questions should be
answered in task M6:
• If CEDR decides to hire an expert (a consultant) to
survey and make amendments to the EU support
criteria, would it be practical, i.e. can a CEDR’s
survey change anything? Besides, 2007–2013
programming period is in progress (for example,
Lithuania is planning to implement the funds in
2010–2011). Would these amendments be
practical then?
28.07.2017
CEDR
25
Review of Task M6 working
process, conclusions and
suggestions
• If the decision was made to survey the funds and
describe how they are used by the countries, for
example, what percentage is allocated for transport
infrastructure, etc. (questions of interest may be
suggested). The questionnaire on statistical data
would be prepared. This could be a general
comparative statistical information; however, would
it be of interest to CEDR? In this case, the
amendment of the task should be initiated.
28.07.2017
CEDR
26
Review of Task M6 working
process, conclusions and
suggestions
• If CEDR is not interested in these suggestions
about Task M6 future implementation, maybe our
group should recommend the Executive Board to
cancel Task M6 since it is neither correct nor
relevant.
28.07.2017
CEDR
27
Thank you for your attention
Vytautas LINGAITIS