Activites

• 2001/08/17 Final act published in Official Journal
• 2000/12/14 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
  • T5-0588/2000 summary

    The European Parliament adopted the report, by 179 votes to 2 with 2 abstentions, drafted by Mr Helmuth MARKOV (EUL/NGL, D) on the guidelines for innovative measures under the ERDF in the period 2000-2006. The European Parliament calls for the innovative measures to be incorporated into a common European regional policy geared towards sustainability, strengthening economic and social cohesion, increasing competitiveness and, in particular, creating skills-based, long-term and economically viable employment. Moreover, it supports the choice of the planned priority areas for the innovative measures, however, it proposes that priority areas 1 and 2 should be combined to form a common target for action and provide support for innovatory measures in the area sof energy efficiency, the dissemination of renewable energies and the practical application of climate protection measures in both business and the public sector as a new priority area 3 on the basis of Chapter B of the guidelines for the Structural Funds. The Parliament is convinced that the competitiveness of European businesses in a globalised economy can mainly be sustainably ensured through research, technological development and innovation. In addition, it welcomes the involvement of as many players as possible at regional level in relations of partnerships, and the close linking of the innovative measures aimed at raising technological levels with the other ERDF interventions, with a view to developing a strategic regional policy plan for each region concerned for the period 2000-2006 and calls for the involvement of the private sector at all levels of the process. It adds that, in accordance with the aims of eEurope, schools and training institutions should be incorporated in the themes of the guidelines. The Parliament notes with regret the approach chosen by the Commission for opting for programme-based rather than a project-based financing, to be implemented by the national and regional authorities. It also considers that the Commission should include innovative projects in its programming approach and calls for continued support for local and regional partnerships under the programme. According to the Parliament the budget of EUR 400 million for seven years is an absolute minimum and that the possibilities that offer themselves in the second half of the programme planning period under the flexibility instrument should therefore be used to the full. Lastly, the Parliament welcomes the fact that the Commission intends to include in the guidelines a 10-point catalogue of criteria for the selection of programmes for innovative measures with a view to carrying out objective, transparent evaluation and insists that clear audit lines and exit strategies are formulated alongside these measures. It also welcomes the fact that it is planned to include the regional programmes for innovative measures in the mid-term review of the interventions financed from the structural funds.�

• 2000/11/22 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A5-0354/2000
• 2000/11/13 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 2000/07/12 Non-legislative basic document published
  • N5-0572/2000 summary

    PURPOSE : to propose the guidelines for innovative measures under the ERDF in the period 2000-2006. CONTENT : having regard to the code of practice for the implementation of structural policies by the Commission agreed between the European Parliament and the Commission on 6 May 1999, the Commission is sending to the European Parliament as information the draft guidelines for innovative measures under the ERDF for the period 2000-2006. This Communication is part of the Union's framework for a strategy aiming to strengthen the competitiveness of the European economy and to implement the global objective of preparing the transition to a knowledge-based economy through the development of the information society. In order to enable all regions in the Union to catch up in terms of the development of the new economy, the Commission is proposing a new generation of innovative measures aiming to reduce the gap between regions with high technological development and regions undergoing structural conversion. The first objective of these innovative measures is to improve the quality of interventions of operational programmes co-financed by the ERDF for Objectives 1 and 2. The Commission identifies in this framework three priority action themes for the least developed regions in the Union: 1) a regional economy based on knowledge and technological innovation (e.g. the creation of cooperation networks between businesses or groups of businesses; research centres and universities; exchanges of personnel between research centres and businesses and SMEs; establishing innovative technological regional strategies; support the start-up of new businesses stemming from the world of information; contribution to the financial development of start-ups,...); 2) e-Europe: the information society at the service of regional development (e.g. creation of partnerships in the information society; improvement of numeric and mobile services for young people, the elderly and disabled; encouraging SMEs to include electronic commerce in their development strategy, provide public access points to the Internet including by radio/satellite in rural and remote regions,...); 3) the development of regional identity and sustainable development (e.g. support to micro-businesses from crafts sectors or traditional prodcution; development of cultural tourism and ecology,; support to new SMEs in the field of media and culture; development of new forms of proximity services; development of environmental management systems with recycling of waste and rational use of energy,...). The Commission calls for the active participation of regional authorities in the innovative measures by establishing a reinforced partnership at regional and local level, including the authorities responsible for Objectives 1 and 2 programmes in which the ERDF and the private sector participate. Furthermore, the Commission intends to improve the synergies with other Community policies contributing to strengthening the spirit of business and innovation at the regional level, as well as to faciltate exchanges between the regions through joint training and the disemmination of best practices. On the technical level, this new generation of measuresconsists of three strands: - the co-financing of regional innovative measures and pilot and demonstration projects which result from these; - accompanying measures: support for the exchange of experience and the creation of networks between regions; - the organisation of competitions for the identification and the development of best practices. In this context, the Commission proposes a programme approach rather than an individual project approach. The beneficiaries will be the regional authorities of regions which have an area or part of their region eligible for Objective 1 or 2. The regional innovative measures programme and the pilot projects shall cover the whole of the region. Lastly, the Communication outlines details on the selection criteria of projects, the financing provided (0.4% of the annual ERDF budget), as well as the list of eligible regions.�

Documents

• Non-legislative basic document published: N5-0572/2000
• Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A5-0354/2000
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T5-0588/2000

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)