Getting cohesion funds into the real economy faster

MEPs could back speeding up the rate at which Europe's regional funds are made available. A new measure being discussed this week will call for them to be put on-stream this year and into projects faster to help boost Europe's ailing economy. Europe's cohesion policy is €347 billon over the next seven years and MEPs on the Regional Development Committee have already called for the parts will benefit the economy directly to me made available immediately.
The report being debated Wednesday is an own initiative one by Bulgarian Socialist Evgeni Kirilov. On Thursday MEPs will also discuss a report on employment policies and Europe's Economic Recovery Plan
 
Mr Kirilov delivered a clarion call for action: “What really matters in times of crisis is our key aim of maintaining social standards for European citizens and at the same time helping businesses, and especially small ones, to compete, grow and create jobs.”
 
Fast finance for small companies the plan
 
Before leaving for Strasbourg where the session opens Monday he said, “the changes aim to accelerate investment at national and regional level, by simplifying access to grants, especially supporting people hit by the crisis and increasing the availability of finance for small and medium size businesses.”
 
As for when the money would be made available he was cautiously optimistic: “We expect the Council of Ministers to approve this in March. The effect should be felt this year, I would even say by the middle of this year.”
 
Simple procedures, flat rate payments
 
He is putting the proposals forward now “due to the economic downturn...However, we have already been in a dialogue with the Commission for a long time discussing changes to make the whole process more transparent.”
 
And for the practicalities?  It entails “simplifying procedures, introducing lump sum and flat-rate payments, increasing the advance payments and accelerating reimbursement of expenditure,” he said.
 
 “We are talking about a resource of €347 billion for the 7-year period...a significant amount of which will be invested in the real economy. We know that some projects currently have difficulties getting money from banks, so the proposed measures will facilitate access to funding.”
 
Amid fears that corruption in some EU Members could swallow most of the money, he said, “we have to address the issue because obviously these are big resources and in each country there are negative examples. But simplification should lead to better monitoring results. The more bureaucracy you have, the more corruption you have. Less bureaucracy means less corruption because the process becomes more transparent”.
 
The cohesion funds go mainly to infrastructure projects in countries with a gross domestic product equivalent to less than 90% of the EU average, to help bring them up to the level of the rest of the EU.