Use of financial mechanisms and strengthening administrative capacity to be discussed for new EU funds programming period

On 30-31 March an informal meeting of Directors General responsible for Cohesion Policy will take place in Riga. Participants of the meeting will discuss the use of financial mechanisms in Cohesion Policy, as well as the building of administrative capacity in the planning, implementation and monitoring of the European Union funds.

In view of the increasing role of financial mechanisms in the achieving of Cohesion Policy goals, it is planned to discuss their updating and more intensive use in the new 2014-2020 EU funds programming period, as well as to analyse the obstacles and problems that Member States face when using these mechanisms.

Without good management it is impossible to achieve long-term goals of Cohesion Policy. Thus, the other topical issue of the meeting will be the strengthening of administrative capacity in the new EU funds programming period at EU, national and regional level. This aims to achieve more successful implementation of the policy, as it is done in close cooperation among the Member States and the European Commission (EC).

Despite various challenges, a number of EU Member States, including Latvia, have already planned how to strengthen the capacity in the new EU funds programming period to reduce administrative burden, improve regulation and e-Government according to recently reformed Cohesion Policy requirements.

This meeting will prepare discussions for the informal meeting of ministers responsible for Cohesion Policy, which will take place in Riga, on 9 June 2015.

Representatives of all EU Member States and the EC, the European Investment Bank and other EU-level partners will take part in the informal meeting of Directors General responsible for Cohesion Policy. The meeting will be moderated by Deputy State Secretary at the Ministry of Finance (MoF) on EU Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund Issues Armands Eberhards, Director of the EU Funds Strategy Department Edgars Šadris and other representatives from the MoF as the EU funds Managing Authority.