| dc.description.abstract | As required by Article 45(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999, this report sets out to give an overview of the implementation of the Structural Funds (2000-2006) in 2010. 2010 was the eleventh year in which Structural Funds programmes and projects for the 2000-2006 programming period were implemented. Altogether 226 Objective 1 and Objective 2, 47 Objective 3, 12 Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) (outside Objective 1), 81 INTERREG, 71 URBAN, 27 EQUAL, 73 LEADER+ and 181 Innovative Action programmes were managed in 2010. Even though no further commitments could be made in 2010, sums were disbursed in respect of 2000-2006 Structural Funds assistance. Implementation of the 2010 budget was excellent. In terms of payment appropriations, 100.0% of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) , 97.0% of the European Social Fund (ESF), 30.7% of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF)-Guidance budget available at the end of 2010 (after a reduction of EUR 13.9 million — see section 2.1.3 below) and 100.0% of FIFGresources were used (compared to 100.0% ERDF, 97.0% ESF, 97.9% EAGGF and 69.5% FIFG in 2009). The low budget execution of EAGGF-Guidance in 2010 was due to the fact that 112 out of a total of 152 programmes had already reached the 95 % ceiling for interim payments at the beginning of the year. In these cases, no further payments were possible in 2010 until closure (see section 2.1.3 below). The Commission proposed in September 2010 the transfer of another EUR 345.4 million of payment appropriations, but this transfer was ultimately not accomplished. In 2010, the closure process started for most 2000-2006 ERDF operational programmes. Most of the related closure documents were submitted by Member States in September 2010. The general framework for the closure of 2000-2006 Structural Funds assistance was set out in Commission Decision C(2006)3424 in 2006, amended by Commission Decisions C(2008)1362 and C(2009)960. In view of the financial crisis and the recovery package proposed by the Commission, an extension of six (or twelve) months has been granted on a programme-by-programme basis for those Member States which opted for it. This flexibility allowed Member States and regions to maximise the absorption of the allocated funds by addressing unexpected programme implementation challenges and, consequently, achieve the objectives of the programmes. For those programmes that an extension of the eligibility period was granted, the deadline for the submission of the closure documents was also extended to September 2010. Some Greek and Cross-border programmes were granted a 12-month extension. |
