Planning and Timely Implementation of Structural Funds Interventions Katarína Mathernová Director, DG Regional Policy European Commission 24 November 2005 Brussels

Focus of the Presentation Institutional capacity and efficient government as related to the effective use of EU Structural funds Planning and implementation challenges with particular emphasis on – The next financing period – Convergence countries/regions, especially the new Member States

: Unprecedented Challenges New MS Financial flows averaging around 3.5% GDP p.a. Step increase Need for strong institutional capacity from the start Cannot afford not getting it right Ireland : 0.9% of GDP and : 1.9% of GDP Gradual increase Institutions built overtime Time for fine-tuning and adjustments overtime

Basic Preconditions to Successful Implementation Integration of SF inflows with national economic and budgetary planning is vital Strategic approach to programming, based on economic needs of the MS and its regions Need for strong central counterpart in each MS (signalling function; political clout to make difficult reallocation decisions on n+2)

Partnership, Planning and Communication Developing and perfecting the overall strategy is important but not sufficient Delivery structures play an important role in successful implementation of programmes (and financial absorption) Centralised vs. decentralised system IRL: Centralised, but balanced by a broad and genuine consultations with key domestic stakeholders Three important components: partnership, planning and communication

Partnerships Between the MS and the EC ( who shares the same goals ) Among central government ministries and departments With regional authorities and municipalities With social partners and With private stakeholders Effective coordination is key Broad and early consultation with stakeholders important

Planning Strategic priorities vs. dividing the cake Early political agreement on the content and process of planning procedures – important to strengthen the ability of key officials to deliver on the chosen strategy Ex-ante evaluation – a good tool to ensure that operational elements of programmes consistent with objectives Delivery structures and capacity Project pipeline Flexible programming – pick early winners (high spending elements early in each OP)

Planning for Implementation Once programmes agreed upon, project implementation starts Project pipeline Only strong and well developed priority projects should go first Preparation of works (project documentation) needs to be ready to avoid current time lags between project approval and commencement of works ( selection and tendering procedures) Ex ante and ongoing evaluation

Communication Among government agencies involved in various OPs Vis-a-vis final beneficiaries – often good schemes fail due to the lack of communication where procedures for accessing funds are too complex Wider public, where transparency and credibility of selection procedures is critical

Tools to assist JASPERS – a joint initiative of EC, EIB and EBRD – To assist the new MS with project preparation in the programming and planning stages – A new entity with about 60 staff in Lux and regional offices – Annual action plans per country – Concentration on large projects, but not exclusively – Voluntary instrument for MS Technical assistance in the CF and ERDF

To sum up... The next period – a great opportunity but also a big challenge The step increase in resources will require strong institutional capacity and coordination P-P-C But keep in mind...financial absorption is not an end in itself! What matters is physical investments and good quality projects that contribute to economic development and real convergence of the new MS and their regions with the rest of the EU.