Subject: Eligibility period for expenditure under the 2014-2020 programming period
Having regard to the Commission notice1 on the Guidelines on the closure of operational programmes adopted for assistance from the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (2014-2020), and taking into account the provisions of Regulation (EU) No 1303/20132 whereby the maximum period of eligibility for expenditure for the 2014-2020 programming period may not exceed 31 December 2023, could the Commission please state, in the light of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic consequences of rising energy, construction material and fuel prices, and the war in Ukraine and its present and future economic and humanitarian consequences, whether it is considering, at this point, extending the eligibility period for expenditure under the 2014-2020 programming period beyond 31 December 2023? Have any Member States made official requests regarding the possibility of extension?
1 https://op.europa.eu/ro/publication-detail/-/publication/e3ebf9b3-2c88-11ec-bd8e-01aa75ed71a1
2 Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, Title VII, Chapter III. Eligibility of expenditure and durability. Article 65.
Eligibility. (2) Expenditure shall be eligible for a contribution from the ESI Funds if it has been incurred by a beneficiary and paid between the date of submission of the programme to the Commission or from 1 January 2014, whichever is earlier, and 31 December 2023. In addition, the expenditure shall only be eligible for a contribution from the EAFRD if the relevant aid is actually paid by the paying agency between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2023.
Answer given by Mrs Ferreira on behalf of the European Commission
(27 July 2022)
In light of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic situation and the humanitarian impact of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine, the Commission has proposed various amendments to cohesion policy legislation with the Cohesion’s Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE) (3), and an increased pre-financing of EUR 3.5 billion from REACT-EU resources (4).
Both proposals were adopted and entered into force in April 2022. Member States and regions can now make use of the new possibilities offered.
All amendments proposed by the Commission are meant to make the available resources more flexible and rapidly implementable, as well as to relieve the pressure on national and regional budgets.
While the measures adopted are playing a major role in supporting Member States and regions addressing the immediate effects of the war, the evolving situation required additional action.
In this sense, the Commission has adopted, on 29 June 2022, another proposal on Flexible Assistance for Territories (FAST CARE), enabling notably to continue the support to uncompleted or delayed projects over the two programming periods.
This flexibility allows to address the difficulties underpinning the request for an extension of the period. The Commission was of the opinion that such extension would have triggered further delays in the take up of 2021-2027 programmes, impeding in turn the capacity of Member States and regions to meet the ambitious EU objectives and recovery needs.
⋅1∙ https://op.europa.eu/ro/publication-detail/-/publication/e3ebf9b3-2c88-11ec-bd8e-01aa75ed71a1
⋅2∙ Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, Title VII, Chapter III. Eligibility of expenditure and durability. Article 65. Eligibility. (2) Expenditure shall be eligible for a
contribution from the ESI Funds if it has been incurred by a beneficiary and paid between the date of submission of the programme to the Commission or from 1 January 2014, whichever is earlier, and 31 December 2023. In addition, the expenditure shall only be eligible for a contribution from the EAFRD if the relevant aid is actually paid by the paying agency between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2023. ⋅3∙ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52022PC0109&qid=1648481247407 ⋅4∙ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52022PC0145&qid=1648481331329 amended on 31 March 2022 https://eur‐
lex.europa.eu/legal‐content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52022PC0162&qid=1650470654953