Current situation with regard to the implementation of operational programmes in the Member States

Subject: Current situation with regard to the implementation of operational programmes in the Member States

With reference to my previous questions E-000944/2018, E-000945/2018 and E-000946/2018 on the low level of implementation of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), and the implementation difficulties encountered by the managing authorities, I have heard that a number of Member States have lost some of the funding allocated under the EMFF.

1. What expenditure commitments and payments have been made by each Member State to date?

2. With regard to the amounts assigned that remained unused by Member States after the n+3 rule was applied, where is that money going to be reinvested?

3. Has the Commission come up with any measures to speed up the way in which operational programmes are implemented, to prevent such losses of funding from happening again?

Answer given by Mr Vella on behalf of the European Commission

(30 April 2019)

As the Commission noted in its reply to Written Question E-000945/2018, the commitments and payments in Member States as well as the payments made by the Commission to the Member States may be followed on the Open Data Platfor m (1). Member States will submit updated information as of end of 2018 by 31 May 2019.

With regard to the amounts decommitted at the end of 2018 due to the application of the n+3 rule, these amounts are deducted from the national allocation of the affected Member States and can no longer be used. It is up to each Member State to propose a revision of its Operational Programme and corresponding remaining allocation.

The Commission closely monitors the implementation of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) programmes in Member States through the annual implementation reports and the annual review meetings.

As a consequence, in a number of cases, Operational Programmes have been modified in order to optimise their implementation and to facilitate the absorption of financial resources. This has led, for example, to the number of Operational Programmes affected by automatic decommitment being reduced to only 5.

The Commission will continue to closely monitor the implementation of the EMFF Programmes in the Member States.

⋅1∙ https://cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu/funds/emff | | ( | | )