ΕΓΓΡΑΦΟ ΕΡΓΑΣΙΑΣ. EL Eνωμένη στην πολυμορφία EL. Ευρωπαϊκό Κοινοβούλιο

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1 Ευρωπαϊκό Κοινοβούλιο Επιτροπή Ελέγχου του Προϋπολογισμού ΕΓΓΡΑΦΟ ΕΡΓΑΣΙΑΣ σχετικά με την ειδική έκθεση αριθ. 2/2017 του Ευρωπαϊκού Ελεγκτικού Συνεδρίου (Απαλλαγή 2016): Διαπραγμάτευση των συμφωνιών εταιρικής σχέσης και των προγραμμάτων του τομέα της συνοχής της περιόδου από την Επιτροπή: δαπάνες περισσότερο στοχευμένες στις προτεραιότητες της στρατηγικής «Ευρώπη 2020», αλλά πολυπλοκότερες ρυθμίσεις για τη μέτρηση των επιδόσεων Επιτροπή Ελέγχου του Προϋπολογισμού Εισηγητής: Georgi Pirinski DT\ docx PE v01-00 Eνωμένη στην πολυμορφία

2 Introduction Partnership Agreements (PAs) are strategic investment plans for EU Member States which indicate their national spending priorities for all five European Structural and Investment funds (ESIF) over a seven year period. There is one PA per Member State prepared in line with the guiding principles of the Common Strategic Framework and on the basis of the National Reform Programmes presenting the country s policies and measures to sustainable growth and jobs and to reach the Europe 2020 targets, the most recent relevant Country Specific Recommendations and relevant Council recommendations. PAs outline the goals and thematic objectives (TOs) pursued by the Member State, thus providing an overview of the information that is further developed in the individual operational programmes (OPs). During the period, the three ESI Funds for Cohesion policy (ERDF, CF and ESF) continue to be implemented through OPs. In an OP a Member State sets out investment priorities and specific objectives for intervention to meet targets of selected thematic objectives and describes how the funding (EU and national public and private co-financing) will be used during the period to finance projects. They must be agreed with the Commission. The implementation of actions at the level of the OPs is monitored and measured by performance indicators for outputs and results. PAs and OPs are drawn up by the Member State in dialogue with the Commission and in cooperation with partners (such as various public authorities; economic and social partners and non-governmental organisations). This must be based on transparent procedures and be in accordance with the Member States institutional and legal framework. Partnership Agreements were introduced by legislation and negotiated between the European Commission and Member States in By December 2015, the Commission had negotiated a total of 387 Operational Programmes for the European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Social Fund. Since these three funds represent the EU s main investment instruments, totalling some EUR 350 billion for the programme period, the outcome of the negotiations determines how a significant part of the EU budget will be spent. Audit approach and objectives Through this audit, the Court examined whether the Commission had effectively negotiated the PAs and OPs with the Member States for the Cohesion policy so that EU funding is more effectively targeted on Europe 2020 Strategy priorities, interventions are better justified in terms of investment needs and intended results, and whether conditions against which the performance of these programmes would be measured had been adequately set. In particular, the Court assessed whether: the Commission had completed the negotiation of the PAs and OPs with the Member States as quickly as possible and within the regulatory deadlines; the Commission succeeded in ensuring an alignment of Cohesion spending with the Europe 2020 strategy in its negotiation of PAs; PE v /8 DT\ docx

3 the OPs showed clearly which investment needs remained to be addressed and what results are expected from the planned interventions; and the financial monitoring arrangements and the performance indicators for outputs and results allowed for cost-effective monitoring of spending priorities and of performance, and set a solid basis for better performance-based arrangements in allocating funding for the post-2020 programme period. The Court s audit work included: an analysis of the timeframe in which the negotiations took place and an assessment of the Commission s internal procedures for negotiation; in-depth analysis of Partnership Agreements and 14 Operational Programmes for five Member States - Spain, Ireland, Croatia, Poland and Romania. We also carried out a study visit to Denmark; interviews with staff at the Commission and with officials in the Member States and their permanent representations in Brussels; consultations with experts in the field of EU regional, structural and cohesion policies and performance budgeting. The audit covered the period from December 2013 to December This is the first of two reports dealing with the Commission s negotiation of the PAs and OPs. The second report will focus on the setting of ex-ante conditionalities, the specification of performance indicators and the arrangements concerning the performance reserve. The Court s observations and conclusions Compared to the previous period, the Commission presented its legislative proposal for the programme period three months later (i.e. October of 2011 compared with July of 2004). The European Parliament and the Council adopted the Cohesion policy legislative package in December 2013, just before the start of the programme period. Compared to the period, where the legal base was adopted in July 2006, this represents a delay of five months. More time was needed to find an agreement, due to the need to wait for the adoption of the Financial Regulation (adopted in October of 2012) and of the MFF (adopted in December of 2013), as well as due to the comparatively greater power of the European Parliament over the negotiations. The adoption of the secondary legislation, i.e. a total of 17 implementing and delegated acts was gradually completed until January 2016, i.e. in parallel with adoption of the OPs by the Commission. The Commission provided a considerable number of general and thematic guidance notes to its own staff and to the Member States containing detailed recommendations and instructions on the different topics under negotiation. However, this guidance was made available late in the process also due to the fact that the cohesion policy package was adopted only in December DT\ docx 3/8 PE v01-00

4 To help mitigate the impact of the late adoption of the regulations, the Commission started informal negotiations with the Member States as early as The Commission encouraged Member States to present drafts of the PAs and OPs as early as However, they were less active in consulting the Commission on draft OPs. Only five of the 14 OPs examined had been informally sent for review. The Court concludes that despite difficulties, the Commission adopted PAs and OPs within the deadlines specified in the Common Provisions Regulation 1303/2013 (CPR) and on average, the time taken to adopt an OP was comparable with the previous programme period, but the time period from the moment when the Commission send the observations to the Member State until the Member State resubmits the OPs that can be adopted (i.e. where observation made by the Commission has been adequately taken into account) is not counted towards this regulatory timeline. By December 2014, only 64 % of the OPs (198) under the Investment for growth and jobs goal had been adopted, almost all of them (151) during the month of December. In the previous programme period , 98 % of the OPs had been adopted by the equivalent month (December 2007). The negotiations between the Commission and the Member States were more demanding than in previous periods. The main reasons for this were additional requirements, such as ex-ante conditionalities or the requirement to set out a more explicit intervention logic, IT problems and complex approval process. This, and the quality issues with the initial drafts of programming documents submitted by Member States contributed to long duration of negotiations of Partnership Agreements and Operational Programmes Partnership Agreements have proven to be an effective instrument for ring-fencing ESI funding for thematic objectives and investment priorities and supporting the focus on the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy for growth and jobs. For most of the OPs examined, the Commission and Member States have been successful in developing programmes with a more robust intervention logic, i.e. setting out the interventions aims (specific objectives/results) and how these are expected to be achieved (required funding, actions to be undertaken and expected outputs). Where weaknesses did exist, these were due to development needs not being documented and objectives not seeming to address the needs identified. Objectives were often also defined too broadly, or there were doubts as to whether the actions presented in the OP would contribute to the achievement of its objectives and to its results. In such cases, there is a risk of public spending not being correctly allocated or not used in the most effective way. The Court found that the way the OPs are structured resulted in a significant increase in the number of performance indicators for outputs and results that need to be monitored. The fundspecific regulations have introduced different requirements for collecting and reporting performance data on outputs and results and for the financial monitoring of investments. There is no common definition of output and result and no harmonised approach between the different funds as to the use of common indicators (which need to be reported to the Commission). Moreover, Member States have the option of defining additional programmespecific output indicators and splitting indicators between regions. The Court s analysis showed that thousands of performance indicators were created by Member States and the common indicators are significantly outnumbered by programmespecific indicators. This high number of indicators, according to the Court, will result in an PE v /8 DT\ docx

5 additional administrative burden, while it remains to be seen what use will be made by Member States of this data. Given the differences in approach, in particular for the programme-specific indicators, the question whether a meaningful aggregation of performance data will be possible exists. On the positive side, more and better performance data on outputs could pave the way for a more performance-based budget in post The Court s recommendations to the Member States and to the Commission The Member States should: provide the Commission with the financial information necessary to effectively monitor compliance with the thematic concentration requirements (including the derogations set out in the ERDF regulation). discontinue the use of unnecessary programme-specific indicators in case of programme modifications. ensure that the data that is relevant to establish the effects of the ERDF interventions is collected. The Commission should: ensure that its Cohesion policy legislative proposals for the post-2020 period are presented in time to complete the negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council before the start of the programme period. ensure that the ring-fencing of ESI funding to the thematic objectives is respected by the Member States. define a common terminology for output and result and propose it for inclusion in the Financial Regulation and ensure that the proposals for the sectorial regulations follow these definitions for the post-2020 periods. carry out an analysis of the programme-specific and common indicators for outputs and results to identify those which are most relevant and best suited to determining the impact of EU interventions. disseminate good practices by Member States for evaluations which can best determine the impact of EU interventions and assist the Member States in updating their evaluation plans which include such good practice evaluations. use the data collected via the annual implementation reports and the results of ad-hoc and ex-post evaluations for comparative analysis of performance and, where appropriate, to promote benchmarking and allow for policy learning during period; apply the concept of a performance budget, which links each increment in resources to an increment in outputs or other results, to the funding of Cohesion policy interventions for the post-2020 period, where appropriate. In this context, the Commission should make use of data on the actual unit costs determined during the period. The position of the European Commission DT\ docx 5/8 PE v01-00

6 The Commission accepts fully five of the Court s recommendations and partially two recommendations. The Commission: Agrees that it presented the proposal for the period slightly later, but the main reason for the delay in the entry into force of the regulation was the increased complexity of the legislative negotiations (enhanced role of EP, proposal covering 5 funds) and the fact that the MFF Regulation was adopted only in December The sectorial legislation could not have been adopted before that, even if the Commission had presented its proposals earlier. Notes that it has to present its proposal for the post 2020 multiannual financial framework before 1 January 2018 and that its proposal for the cohesion policy legislative package post 2020 will be presented subsequently. Notes that it has implemented a system to monitor thematic concentration through the data provided in the OPs, together with additional information from the concerned Member States and is confident that this is sufficient to establish if thematic concentration requirements are respected. Notes that the concept of result indicators is indeed different in the ESF and ERDF regulation primarily due to the different objectives and expected results of the two funds. As a result, not all indicators lend themselves to aggregation across funds. It is exploring the possibility to proceed towards a harmonisation of those concepts in the context of the post 2020 discussions. Notes that ERDF and ESF programme-specific performance indicators for results are not intended to be aggregated at EU level. Those specific indicators are suited for target setting and reporting on performance in relation to the targets, while common indicators allow reporting on achievements based on pre-defined categories that reflect frequently used investments across the EU. Programme-specific output indicators refer to the physical products that allow grasping the changes achieved by the EU-funded interventions in programmes. These interventions are tailor-made to resolve place-based development bottlenecks. By definition, these need to be specific to the region and action foreseen. Notes that it will continue to disseminate good practice evaluations. Notes that the data provided by Member States on all the common output indicators and, for the ESF, also on the common result indicators, can and will be aggregated by Fund at EU level and the Commission provides a summary report on a yearly basis. Notes that the EU Budget is a performance budget which enables the budgetary authority to take performance information into account during the budgetary process by providing information on the objectives of the programmes and the progress in achieving them (i.e. what is done or expected to be done with the funds allocated to each programme) in the programme statements attached to the Draft Budget. Explicitly linking each increment in resources to an increment in outputs or other results at the budget level is rarely used in practice and if so, only in specific cases (World Bank, OECD). The direct budgeting approach implying linking each increment/reduction in resources to an increment/reduction in outputs or other results is not considered feasible or applicable at the EU budget level, across programmes and management modes. PE v /8 DT\ docx

7 Συστάσεις του εισηγητή προς ενδεχόμενη ενσωμάτωσή τους στην έκθεση σχετικά με τη χορήγηση απαλλαγής στην Επιτροπή για το 2016 Το Ευρωπαϊκό Κοινοβούλιο: 1. εκφράζει την ικανοποίησή του για τα πορίσματα, τα συμπεράσματα και τις συστάσεις του Ελεγκτικού Συνεδρίου στο πλαίσιο της ειδικής έκθεσής του αριθ. 2/2017 θεωρεί ότι η ανάλυση του Ελεγκτικού Συνεδρίου σχετικά με το στάδιο προγραμματισμού της εφαρμογής των ΕΔΕΤ για την περίοδο ήταν χρήσιμη και έγκαιρη ώστε να βοηθηθούν οι νομοθέτες και η Επιτροπή να αντλήσουν κατάλληλα συμπεράσματα για την περίοδο μετά το λαμβάνει υπό σημείωση τις απαντήσεις της Επιτροπής και ότι η Επιτροπή αποδέχεται πλήρως πέντε από τις συστάσεις του Ελεγκτικού Συνεδρίου και δύο συστάσεις μερικώς χαιρετίζει την προθυμία της Επιτροπής για την εφαρμογή τους και ζητά από την Επιτροπή και τα κράτη μέλη να εφαρμόσουν τις συστάσεις πλήρως και εγκαίρως 3. διαφωνεί με τη γνώμη του Ελεγκτικού Συνεδρίου και της Επιτροπής ότι οι ενισχυμένες αρμοδιότητες του Κοινοβουλίου αυτές καθαυτές αποτέλεσαν παράγοντα που συνέβαλε στην αδικαιολόγητη καθυστέρηση της έγκρισης των σχετικών κανονισμών για την περίοδο αναμένει ότι η Επιτροπή θα εφαρμόσει έμπρακτα την υποχρέωσή της να υποβάλει την πρότασή της για το ΠΔΠ μετά το 2020, πριν από την 1η Ιανουαρίου 2018 και ότι, αμέσως μετά, θα υποβάλει πρόταση νομοθετικού πλαισίου για την πολιτική συνοχής μετά το τονίζει ότι η πρόταση νέων κανονισμών για την πολιτική συνοχής μετά το 2020, ανεξαρτήτως του αν αποτελούνται από ένα ενιαίο σύνολο κανόνων, πρέπει να εξασφαλίζουν έμπρακτα την απλούστευση, τη βελτίωση της προσβασιμότητας στους πόρους και την επιτυχή υλοποίηση των στόχων της πολιτικής αυτής 6. τονίζει ότι είναι αναγκαίο να αποφευχθεί η εκ νέου καθυστέρηση στην έγκριση των επιχειρησιακών προγραμμάτων, και τα προβλήματα που εντοπίστηκαν από το Ελεγκτικό Συνέδριο, όπως οι πιο σύνθετες, απαιτητικές και μακρές διαπραγματεύσεις σχετικά με τους κανονισμούς για τα ΕΔΕΤ για την περίοδο , η καθυστερημένη έγκριση του παράγωγου δικαίου και των κατευθυντήριων γραμμών και η ανάγκη για πολλαπλούς γύρους εγκρίσεων των επιχειρησιακών προγραμμάτων από την Επιτροπή εκφράζει τη λύπη του για το γεγονός ότι οι αδυναμίες αυτές έρχονται σε αντίθεση με τον στόχο της απλούστευσης του συστήματος διαχείρισης της πολιτικής της συνοχής 7. επισημαίνει ότι στην ειδική έκθεση αριθ. 2/2017, το Ελεγκτικό Συνέδριο καταλήγει στο συμπέρασμα ότι οι συμφωνίες εταιρικής σχέσης έχουν αποδειχθεί αποτελεσματικό μέσο για την οριοθέτηση της χρηματοδότησης από τα ΕΔΕΤ για θεματικούς στόχους και επενδυτικές προτεραιότητες, και για την υποστήριξη της εστίασης στους στόχους της στρατηγικής «Ευρώπη 2020» για την ανάπτυξη και την απασχόληση υπογραμμίζει, ωστόσο, ότι η επιτυχής υλοποίηση των στόχων απαιτεί επαρκή προϋπολογισμό για την πολιτική συνοχής μετά το παρατηρεί ότι, σε αντίθεση με προηγούμενες περιόδους, οι παρατηρήσεις της Επιτροπής DT\ docx 7/8 PE v01-00

8 σχετικά με τα σχέδια επιχειρησιακών προγραμμάτων έπρεπε να εγκριθούν από το Σώμα των Επιτρόπων, ενώ κατά την προηγούμενη περίοδο προγραμματισμού, μόνο τα τελικά επιχειρησιακά προγράμματα έπρεπε να εγκριθούν από το Σώμα των Επιτρόπων προτρέπει την Επιτροπή να επανεξετάσει την προστιθέμενη αξία της εν λόγω διαδικασίας, κατά την κατάρτιση της πρότασής της για την περίοδο προγραμματισμού μετά το καλεί την Επιτροπή να αναλύσει προσεκτικά τα προβλήματα που αναφέρονται ανωτέρω και να λάβει μέτρα για την αποφυγή τους κατά την περίοδο μετά το 2020, μεταξύ άλλων επιφέροντας τις αναγκαίες βελτιώσεις και καθιστώντας δυνατό τον ταχύ και ποιοτικό προγραμματισμό 10. καλεί τα κράτη μέλη και την Επιτροπή να ενισχύσουν τις μεταξύ τους διαβουλεύσεις κατά την κατάρτιση των επιχειρησιακών προγραμμάτων, πράγμα που αναμένεται να επιταχύνει τη διαδικασία έγκρισής τους 11. υπογραμμίζει ότι είναι σημαντικό να χρησιμοποιείται ακριβής και εναρμονισμένη ορολογία που επιτρέπει την ορθή μέτρηση των επιτευγμάτων της πολιτικής της συνοχής εκφράζει τη λύπη του για το γεγονός ότι η Επιτροπή δεν έχει προτείνει κοινούς ορισμούς για τα «αποτελέσματα» και τις «εκροές» στην πρότασή της για τον νέο δημοσιονομικό κανονισμό καλεί την Επιτροπή να θεσπίσει σαφείς κοινούς ορισμούς όρων όπως «εκροές», «αποτελέσματα» και «αντίκτυπος» το ταχύτερο δυνατόν και πολύ πριν από την έναρξη της περιόδου μετά το υπενθυμίζει ότι η επαρκής διοικητική ικανότητα, ιδίως σε εθνικό και περιφερειακό επίπεδο, είναι ζωτικής σημασίας για την ομαλή διαχείριση και εφαρμογή των επιχειρησιακών προγραμμάτων, μεταξύ άλλων όσον αφορά την παρακολούθηση και την υποβολή εκθέσεων σχετικά με τους στόχους και τα αποτελέσματα που επιτεύχθηκαν, με χρήση σχετικών δεικτών επιμένει, στο πλαίσιο αυτό, ότι η Επιτροπή και τα κράτη μέλη θα πρέπει να χρησιμοποιούν τη διαθέσιμη τεχνική βοήθεια για τη βελτίωση της διοικητικής ικανότητας σε διάφορα επίπεδα 13. καλεί την Επιτροπή να ενισχύσει και να διευκολύνει τη διάδοση των «βέλτιστων πρακτικών» σε όλα τα επίπεδα 14. εκφράζει ανησυχία όσον αφορά τα κράτη μέλη που εφαρμόζουν πληθώρα συμπληρωματικών δεικτών σχετικά με τις συνέπειες και τα αποτελέσματα πέρα από τους δείκτες που παρέχονται από τις βασικές νομικές πράξεις φοβάται ένα αποτέλεσμα «κανονιστικού υπερθεματισμού» που θα μπορούσε να καταστήσει τη χρήση των διαρθρωτικών ταμείων πιο επαχθή και λιγότερο αποτελεσματική καλεί την Επιτροπή να αποθαρρύνει τα κράτη μέλη από το να ακολουθούν ανάλογη προσέγγιση 15. υπογραμμίζει ότι είναι σημαντικό να μετράται ο μεσοπρόθεσμος και μακροπρόθεσμος αντίκτυπος των προγραμμάτων καθώς μόνον τότε μπορούν οι φορείς λήψης αποφάσεων να εξακριβώσουν κατά πόσο επιτεύχθηκαν οι πολιτικοί στόχοι ζητεί από την Επιτροπή να μετρήσει σαφώς τον «αντίκτυπο» κατά την περίοδο προγραμματισμού μετά το PE v /8 DT\ docx