PURPOSE: simplify the financial rules applicable to
the general budget of the Union as regards the allocation of EU
funds to the Member States and other beneficiaries.
PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament
and of the Council.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European
Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative
procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.
BACKGROUND: the proliferation of rules both at
general and at sectoral level, their heterogeneity and their
complexity due to the fact that they follow the architecture of
the programme and multiple layers of controls, have all slowed down
the implementation of EU funds, making it costly and prone to
errors.
Whilst a first step towards more coherent and simpler
financial rules was achieved in 2012 with the proposals for the
programmes covered by the MFF 2014-2020, the Commission considers
that there is room for further simplification. This is
confirmed by the experience gained since 2014 and by the work of
the High Level Group of independent experts on monitoring
simplification for beneficiaries of the European Structural and
Investment Funds. (ESI Funds).
The Commission wishes to continue efforts to
remove bottlenecks, ensure synergies and complementarities
between ESI Funds and the other EU funds and improve efficiency of
delivery and control requirements. The simplification of the
Union's financial rules should also help to reduce the costs and
time involved in the implementation of EU funds, as well as the
number of errors. It should also increase the impact of
policies and improve their results on the ground.
CONTENT: the proposal forms an integral part of the
mid-term review/revision of the multiannual financial framework
(MFF) 2014-2020. It consists of an ambitious revision of the
general financial rules accompanied by corresponding changes to the
sectorial financial rules set out in 15 legislative acts
concerning multiannual programmes.
The main thrusts of the simplification proposed by the
Commission are:
- easier access for recipients of EU
funds: measures relate to grants
(removal of the non-cumulative award check for low-value grants and
of the non-profit principle; simpler rules for "contribution in
kind" valuation; recognition of volunteer work; grant awards
without calls for proposal under specific conditions) and
simplified forms of grants;
- encourage reliance as far as possible on one single
audit, assessment or authorisation (conformity to State aids for instance), when the
audit, assessment or authorisation meets the necessary conditions
to be taken into account in the EU system;
- allowing the application of only one set of
rules to hybrid actions or in the case of combination of
measures or instruments;
- more effective use of financial
instruments, reducing burdensome
requirements related to publication of individual data of final
recipients or to the exclusion criteria;
- the establishment of several ways to increase
budgetary flexibility, through the
creation of a "flexibility cushion" for unforeseen needs and
new crises in the external actions geographic instruments budget, a
more effective activation of the Solidarity Fund and the
Globalisation Adjustment Fund and the extension of trust
funds to internal policies and the creation of an EU crisis
reserve based on the reuse of decommitted
appropriations;
- a stronger focus on results through lump sums,
prizes, payment based on output and results rather than on
reimbursement of costs, payment against conditions to be fulfilled.
Reports are regrouped around the draft budget and the
integrated financial reporting package, in order to increase
efficiency and transparency both towards the general public and the
budgetary authority;
- a simpler and leaner Union
administration, in particular through
agreements or delegations between institutions or bodies with a
view to pooling the execution of administrative appropriations in
the European Offices or in the executive agencies;
- greater participation of citizens who could be consulted on the implementation of the
Union budget by the Commission, the Member States and any other
entity implementing the Union budget.
With regard to agricultural provisions in
particular, the proposal aims, inter alia, at:
- ensuring legal certainty and harmonised and
non-discriminatory implementation of support to young
farmers; it is provided that the "date of setting up" is the
date when the setting up process begins by means of an action to be
performed by the applicant, and that the application for support is
to be submitted within 24 months from that date;
- clarifying the rules on the joint setting up of young
farmers and the thresholds for access to aid;
- providing that start-up support granted to young
farmers under Article 19 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 may also
be provided in the form of financial instruments;
- providing for the possibility for Member States, in
duly justified cases, to support farmers through sector-specific
income stabilisation tools, in particular for sectors
experiencing severe income drops;
- establishing that when the investment is linked to
emergency measures following natural disasters, catastrophic
events, adverse climatic events or a sudden and significant change
in the socio-economic situation of the Member State or region,
expenses incurred after the occurrence event in question would be
eligible;
- reducing the administrative burden of implementing the
three criteria to be met in order to be considered an active
farmer;
- authorising the Commission to adopt delegated acts to
continue to provide voluntary coupled support until 2020 on
the basis of production units for which such support has been
granted during a previous reference period.