92001E3085

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3085/01

by Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(13 November 2001)

Subject: Progress with implementation of the CSF programmes and Cohesion Fund projects

Will the Commission produce a detailed comparative table showing the progress made to date in implementing (commitments, payments) the programmes under the CSF and the Cohesion Fund in the four beneficiary countries? Is the Commission satisfied with the progress of the programmes?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(11 January 2002)

The Commission is sending direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament's Secretariat the table of commitments and payments under the Structural Funds during the 1994-1999 programming period for the four Member States eligible under the Cohesion Fund. That table gives figures for the Cohesion Fund, but for 1993-2001.

The actual rate of implementation of commitments, which represents the part of Community assistance actually paid, can be regarded as an approximate, but not definitive, indicator of the state of progress in implementing the programmes. This rate is indirectly linked to the actual rate of implementation of assistance on the ground.

For the Member States eligible under the Cohesion Fund, the rate of implementation of commitments under the Structural Funds programmes, and therefore the actual rate of implementation of these programmes on the ground, is above the Community average.

The implementation rate under the Cohesion Fund is lower than that of the Structural Funds programmes. However, these rates are not comparable because the period under consideration is different. Assistance under the Cohesion Fund is project-based throughout the programming period; a significant share of the payments made in 2000 and 2001 consists of either the balances of the previous projects or advances on new decisions; it therefore results in a fall in this rate. In addition, the rules concerning payments under that Fund are more directly connected with the actual implementation of assistance on the ground.

The overall implementation rate under the Cohesion Fund is, however, satisfactory, with the rate in Ireland and Portugal being higher than in Greece and Spain.

If a level of implementation of commitments of under 80 % is regarded as indicating delay, the number of programmes concerned, under the various Community Support Frameworks, would be as follows: 13 programmes out of 53 in Greece, 12 programmes out of 98 in Spain, 4 programmes out of 33 in Portugal and no delay for the 18 programmes in Ireland.