Home » European funds: a few weeks before the end of the year, a third of the programs has not yet been approved

European funds: a few weeks before the end of the year, a third of the programs has not yet been approved

by admin
European funds: a few weeks before the end of the year, a third of the programs has not yet been approved

A few weeks after the end of the year, more than a third of the programs for the expenditure of the European cohesion policy funds 2021-2027 have not yet been approved. In addition to various regional programs, almost all national programs are missing – nine in total – except Pon Cultura, approved last week, and Pon Security and legality approved on Tuesday 15 November. Time is running out because programs not approved by the end of the year will lose part of the European funding: the entire quota for 2022 and a quarter for 2021. Given the delay with which the EU regulations were approved (in mid-2021), in fact, the The Commission had allowed the Member States to spread the 2021 quota over the four-year period 2022-2025.

The regional or national programs are the operational instruments through which the expenditure of the resources of the European structural funds assigned to each Member State is implemented, plus national co-financing. For 2021-2027 Italy draws on three funds: the traditional European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF+) have been joined by the Just Transition Fund (JTF).

Two thirds of the programs financed with ESF+ (28 in total, of which 9 financed also with ERDF resources) have already been approved. For now, these are only regional programmes, the rest are expected to be approved by the end of the year. As far as the ERDF is concerned, the process has already been concluded in Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, Valle d’Aosta, Tuscany, Piedmont, Liguria, Bolzano, Lazio, Campania, Sardinia, Trento, Calabria. The approval of the programs of Veneto, Molise, Puglia, Umbria, Marche, Friuli and Abruzzo is expected in November. Sicily’s program is also substantially ready. The region that has aroused the most concern in the Commission is Basilicata, for which discussions on the contents are still underway and whose difficulties are also linked to the region’s decision to unify the old ERDF and ESF in a multi-fund program. The environmental and strategic assessment – VAS – and the PRiga administrative strengthening program are also missing. The Commission is optimistic and in any case expects all regions to conclude the process of approving the programs by the end of the year.

See also  Inheriting the wine history and context to lead the new chapter of Harmony Wuliangye held the 26th Sacrifice Ceremony

As for the national programs, the go-ahead should also arrive soon for the PON Research, innovation and competitiveness, the one intended for schools and the new PON Salute. The plan for the JTF – financed through the new fund for the just transition – and the PN Metro+ and medium-sized cities in the South are also ready but awaiting the strategic environmental assessment. compared to the initial hypothesis: only 200 million EU plus 35 national. And to be honest, Brussels really wanted to cancel it, given the heavy delays of the 2014-2020 edition.

The Administrative Capacity node

But the real crux concerns the Capacity for Cohesion programme, strongly desired by the Commission to improve administrative capacity and therefore – this is the objective – chronically delayed expenditure of EU funds. The managing authority of this plan is the Cohesion Agency whose structure is already under pressure to support the implementation of the Pnrr. The Capacities for Cohesion program is a crucial tool for the execution of the whole cohesion package, therefore it is important that actions to improve the performance of the public administration are defined quickly. According to the data published on the Cohesiondata portal of the EU Commission, in mid-2022 Italy was in third last place in the EU for expenditure made of the 2014-2020 resources. Among the causes are the lack of skills – including digital skills – and the degree of experience of the personnel involved in fund management. The situation is even more worrying if one considers that the Pon Capacity for cohesion should support the improvement of administrative and technical capacity especially in the southern regions, precisely where the funds of the Partnership Agreement are concentrated to counter territorial inequalities and greater are administrative difficulties.

You may also like

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More

Privacy & Cookies Policy