Effective management of the European Union (EU) structural and cohesion funds

Abstract

Cohesion policy is based on the conviction that the EU is a community of solidarity, spreads prosperity across its members, enhances competitiveness and offers a good return on the public investment sustainable development at an EU level. The visible expression of EU solidarity towards its citizens and its synergy with national action, is aimed to maximise the effectiveness of spending, having the largest impact on overall sustainable development. Analyses of this dissertation will examine how the multi-annual programming has been one of the main successes of the mentioned funds, giving the Member States/regions concerned the capacity to plan programmes with the Commission, to have the required value added and coherence with other specific policies. Cohesion assistance to enhance inadequate endowment or physical and human capital, lack of innovative capacity and regional convergence and a low level of environmental capacity; proved to be essential if adequately operated in synergy with Community policies implemented on a national level. Efficient and effective management of the SF and CF requires a detailed system of managerial and financial control on a partnership basis with the Commission, to reduce the pressures of over-concentration, congestion and bottlenecks. These are aimed to verify the effectiveness of management and control arrangements, ensuring application of Community rules and principles of sound financial management. Managing, Paying, Contracting, Auditing and Intermediary Authorities must be set up to ensure high standards in the management, execution and certification of the expenditure incurred by the Final Beneficiaries running the project. A clear audit trail is set up together with the necessary co-ordination of controls, monitoring, evaluation and exchange of information with all those involved. Examining efficiency entails the following questions: • Can the same results be produced using less input? • Can the same amount of input produce more results?

The EU offers better value for money, because externalities can be addressed, resources or expertise can be pooled, and an action can be better coordinated. In effective terms, the EU action is identified as the only way to get results to create missing links, avoid fragmentation, and realise the potential of a border-free Europe. All this would not be possible without necessary synergy of EU action, stimulating leverage action to reduce disparities and raise standards. Midway through this dissertation, analyses will be dedicated to some countries/regions which succeeded to allocate funding resources more strategically than others. Ultimately absorption capacity depends much on knowledge-equipped national administrative capacity, which frequently lacks necessary fundamentals to make the best out of what is available. The performance of the Irish with that of the Greeks may confirm this. A whole Chapter is dedicated for Malta's managerial and financial set-up in view of benefiting from funding under the 2004-2006 programming period. As emphasised in the financial perspectives 2007-2013, the 'Convergence', 'Regional Competitive and employment' and 'Territorial cooperation' objectives; are aimed to cater for challenges arising from likely acceleration of economic restructuring, technical revolution and knowledge economy, ageing population and growth in immigration; towards reaching goals set at Gothenburg and Lisbon European Councils.