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The European Commission increases flexibility of structural funds in response to financial crisis

Edited on

24 June 2019
Read time: 1 minute
EU policies

In response to the financial and economic crisis, Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner has announced a package of decisions by the European Commission aimed at giving Member States more flexibility in their use of the structural funds. The changes will extend the deadline for EU countries to use up their allocations from the 2000-2006 funding period and ensure that every available euro can be used to maximum effect.

"Following an invitation by the Commission, Member states have requested an extension to the eligibility period for funding for 385 of the 555 Cohesion Policy programmes in 2000-2006, where funds had not been fully utilised. The extended eligibility period concerns the four structural funds in place at the time: the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), European Social Fund (ESF), the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG).
This flexibility will enable Member States and regions to implement and finalise more projects on the ground. The Commission is urging them to focus on 'high-return' sectors and measures, such as investing in energy efficiency to create green jobs and save energy, and support for clean technologies to boost sectors like the construction and automotive industries. The Commission has also adopted a measure to give Member States and regions more flexibility in allocating funding for different priorities. Until now, managing authorities had a 2% margin of flexibility if they wanted to transfer funding between the so-called 'priority axes' that define the strategic spending areas of each Cohesion Policy operational programme. Read more:

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