14th annual report on the implementation of the structural funds.

Abstract

2GENERAL SUMMARYThe year 2002 saw the finalisation of programming, mainly for Objective 2 but also theCommunity Initiatives. Programme implementation reached a generally satisfactory cruisingspeed with a rate of execution comparable with the previous programming period.The first operations connected with the mid-term review were launched at the end of 2002 soas to be able to have the results of the evaluation in the second half of 2003.On 7 October 2002, a ministerial meeting organised by the Commission was the occasion forthe Member States to scrutinise the Commission’s concrete proposals for improving themanagement of the Structural Funds. These proposals were designed to meet repeatedrequests from the Member States for greater simplification in the management of theStructural Funds and to reduce the slowness of procedures at both national and Communitylevel, which had been largely the cause of a very slow start-up of programmes.The deadline for the submission of final payment requests for 1994-1999 programmes was 31March 2003. However, by the end of 2002, only few assistance packages had been closed.Similarly, the deadline of June 2002 for sending documentation enabling the closure ofprogrammes was met only in rare cases.