Simplification of procedures related to allocating funds from the EMFF Fund

Subject: Simplification of procedures related to allocating funds from the EMFF Fund

The level of usage of EMFF funds is extremely low. The sparse use is not due to the absence of need but to difficulties encountered in obtaining grants from this fund. It is a matter of some concern that the Commission is calling for a further reduction in this fund’s budget.

When working on the Committee on Fisheries, MEPs agreed that the main reason for this state is an unprecedented level of barriers of bureaucratic difficulties, requirements and restrictions, which often makes it impossible to use these resources in practice.

What steps does the Commission intend to take to simplify the relevant procedures and facilitate the use of EMFF resources?

Answer given by Mr Vella on behalf of the European Commission

(23 January 2019)

The operational programmes of the European Maritime and Fisheries Funds (EMFF OPs) are under shared management and their implementation is a joint responsibility of the Commission and the Member States.

In the legislative framework for the EMFF OPs, the Commission had proposed and the co-legislators had adopted several measures (e.g. Simplified Cost Options) to simplify the access to and the implementation of the EU funds.

The Commission, in its survey in 2015 (1), however found that the level of take-up of these measures was very low. Therefore, several meetings of the expert group on the European Maritime and fisheries fund (EMFF) (2) were devoted to clarify and explain those measures to encourage Member States to ensure adequate uptake.

The recently adopted Financial Regulation (3) amended the Common Provisions Regulation (4) by deleting the rules applicable to the operations generating revenue in the context of the EMFF. It also introduced several further modifications to clarify existing rules or to introduce further simplification.

Currently, it is up to the Member States to decide to what extent they wish to use those opportunities for simplification. The Commission does not foresee any further amendment of the current legislative framework.

Nevertheless, the Commission proposal (5) for the 2021-2027 period includes a more substantial simplification in its amended intervention logic that does not contain any more detailed prescription of eligible measures. It will provide the Member States more flexibility to tailor the programmes to their specific circumstances and needs and thus will facilitate a smoother implementation.

⋅1∙ https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/sites/fisheries/files/docs/body/20151109-simplification-in-the-emff_en.pdf

⋅2∙ This group was established by Commission Decision C (2014) 4214 final of 23.6.2014. For further information, the Register of expert groups may be consulted here:

http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regexpert/index.cfm?do=groupDetail.groupDetail&groupID=3143 ⋅3∙ Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the

Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 (OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1) ⋅4∙ Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional

Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 320‐469) ⋅5∙ COM/2018/390 final.