Voorzitter EESC Mario Sepi steunt maatregelen Commissie om beheer van Europese fondsen te vereenvoudigen (en)

Met dank overgenomen van Europees Economisch en Sociaal Comité (EESC) i, gepubliceerd op donderdag 23 juli 2009.

PRESS RELEASE No 103/2009

23 July 2009

Statement by president Mario Sepi on the European Commission's proposal for new measures simplifying the management of the European Funds

The Commission's proposals are in line with the requests and proposals already put forward by the EESC, which called for the EU to use all the tools at its disposal to tackle the serious and worsening social and jobs crisis and speed up economic recovery.

Key measures include allowing European Social Fund projects to receive 100% EU funding in 2009 and 2010, increasing the threshold above which approval from the Commission is required for environmental projects from €25 to €50 million and cutting red tape.

I am delighted to see that the Commission is focusing on the housing needs of communities faced with social exclusion, particularly Roma. In recent months, notably in its strategic document "Programme for Europe: proposals of civil society" of 24 March, the EESC has reiterated the need to address this problem.

The new package of measures will allow Member States with limited liquid assets to launch projects that would otherwise have ground to a halt, thus cushioning the impact of the crisis on recovery-oriented initiatives. The new proposals reflect our commitment to reinforce European social capital as a way of achieving social peace.

It is now up to Member States to take responsibility, act in the spirit of solidarity and make the most of the new opportunities.

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