BETA


2015/0160(COD) European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), European Social Fund (ESF), Cohesion Fund (CF), and European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF): specific measures for Greece

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead REGI MIHAYLOVA Iskra (icon: ALDE ALDE) LEWER Andrew (icon: ECR ECR)
Committee Opinion PECH
Committee Opinion EMPL HÄNDEL Thomas (icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL)
Committee Opinion BUDG
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
TFEU 177-p1

Events

2015/10/20
   ES_PARLIAMENT - Contribution
Documents
2015/10/15
   Final act published in Official Journal
Details

PURPOSE: to assist Greece to optimise the use it makes of the European structural and investment funds and to improve the situation regarding lack of liquidity in order to stimulate jobs and growth.

LEGISLATIVE ACT : Regulation (EU) 2015/1839 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards specific measures for Greece.

CONTENT: Greece has been affected by the consequences of the financial crisis in a unique manner. The crisis has led to persistently negative gross domestic product growth rates in Greece over a number of years, which, in turn, has caused serious liquidity shortages and a lack of public funds available for the public investment needed to foster a sustainable recovery.

This amending Regulation is an exceptional measure, the aim of which is to provide a solution for the lack of liquidity and of public funds in Greece for investment under programmes supported by the European Regional Development Fund , the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Cohesion Fund and by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).

Specifically, the amendments made to Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 aim to:

1) ensure that Greece has sufficient financial means to start the implementation of 2014-2020 programmes supported by the Funds and the EMFF in 2015 and 2016 : to this end, the Regulation increases the level of the initial pre-financing paid to its operational programmes under the Investment for growth and jobs goal and to programmes supported by the EMFF through the payment of an additional initial pre-financing amount of 3.5% of the amount of support from the Funds and the EMFF for the entire programming period to operational programmes in Greece each year in 2015 and 2016.

The additional initial pre-financing shall not apply to programmes under the European territorial cooperation goal nor to the specific allocation for the Youth Employment Initiative.

To ensure that the additional initial pre-financing amount is effectively used, the additional initial pre-financing amount should be repaid to the Commission if it is not followed by an adequate level of payment applications submitted to the Commission within a certain deadline;

2) improve the effective use of available funding under cohesion policy for the financing of operations under operational programmes for the Convergence and Regional competitiveness and employment objectives supported by the Funds which were adopted for the 2007-2013 period in Greece: for this purpose, the Regulation sets out a maximum EU co-financing rate of 100 % to the eligible expenditure indicated for Greek operational programmes for the Convergence and Regional competitiveness and employment objectives

ENTRY INTO FORCE : 16.10.2015.

2015/10/14
   CSL - Draft final act
Documents
2015/10/14
   CSL - Final act signed
2015/10/14
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament
2015/10/08
   ESC - Economic and Social Committee: opinion, report
Documents
2015/10/08
   EP/CSL - Act adopted by Council after Parliament's 1st reading
2015/10/06
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2015/10/06
   EP - Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
Details

The European Parliament adopted by 586 votes to 87, with 21 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund as regards specific measures for Greece.

Parliament considered that the proposed amending Regulation is an exceptional measure, aimed at providing immediate support to Greece by enabling it to access and use before the end of 2015 Union funding for cohesion policy still available from the 2007-2013 programming period, and therefore its adoption is urgent.

The position adopted by the Parliament at first reading following the ordinary legislative procedure provides the following:

in order to ensure that Greece has sufficient financial means to start the implementation of 2014-2020 programmes supported by the Funds and the EMFF in 2015 and 2016, it is appropriate to increase the level of the initial pre-financing paid to its operational programmes under the Investment for growth and jobs goal and to programmes supported by the EMFF through the payment of an additional initial pre-financing amount of 3.5% of the amount of support from the Funds and the EMFF for the entire programming period shall be paid to operational programmes in Greece each year in 2015 and 2016; in order to improve the effective use of available funding for the financing of operations under operational programmes for the Convergence and Regional competitiveness and employment objectives supported by the Funds which were adopted for the 2007-2013 period in Greece, the maximum co-financing rates should be increased and the ceiling for payments to programmes at the end of the programming period raised .

Documents
2015/10/05
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2015/09/23
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading
Details

The Committee on Regional Development adopted the report by Iskra MIHAYLOVA (ADLE, BG) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund as regards specific measures for Greece.

The Committee recommended the European Parliament to adopt its position at first reading, taking over the Commission proposal .

The proposed amending Regulation is an exceptional measure, aimed at providing immediate support to Greece by enabling it to access and use before the end of 2015 Union funding for cohesion policy still available from the 2007-2013 programming period. Therefore, Members consider that its adoption is urgent.

Documents
2015/09/17
   EP - Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
2015/09/16
   EP - Committee opinion
Documents
2015/09/15
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2015/09/15
   EP - Specific opinion
Documents
2015/09/07
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
2015/09/03
   EP - Responsible Committee
2015/09/03
   EP - Committee Opinion
2015/07/17
   EC - Legislative proposal published
Details

PURPOSE: to ensure that Greece has sufficient financial means to start the implementation of 2014-2020 programmes supported by the European Regional Development Fund (EARDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund 8(CF), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

BACKGROUND: Greece has been affected by the consequences of the financial crisis in a unique manner. It has led to persistently negative GDP growth rates in Greece over a number of years, which, in turn, has caused serious liquidity shortages and a lack of public funds available for the public investment needed to foster a sustainable recovery. This has created an exceptional situation which needs to be addressed with specific measures.

However, it is vital that the lack of liquidity and of public funds in Greece do not hinder investment under programmes supported by the European Regional Development Fund , the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund (the Funds) and by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund ( EMFF ).

In its Communication entitled " A new start for Jobs and Growth in Greece ", the Commission proposed measures to ensure that the available EU funding from the Funds and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), is effectively used for investments on the ground and reaches beneficiaries as rapidly as possible.

CONTENT: as an exceptional measure and given the unique situation this has created in Greece, the Commission proposes to amend Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 on the common provisions on the European Structural and European Investment Funds as follows:

in order to ensure that Greece has sufficient financial means to start the implementation of 2014-2020 programmes supported by the Funds and the EMFF in 2015 and 2016, the Commission proposes to increase the level of the initial pre-financing paid to its operational programmes under the Investment for Growth and Jobs Goal and to programmes supported by the EMFF through the payment of an additional initial prefinancing amount in those years to give an immediate boost to investment; in order to improve the effective use of available cohesion policy funding for the financing of operations under programmes adopted for the 2007-2013 period, it proposes to increase the maximum co-financing rates and to raise the ceiling for payments to programmes at the end of the programming period .

In concrete terms, it is proposed to amend Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 to allow for the ceiling for the cumulative total of pre-financing and interim payments to be 100% and to increase the co-financing rate for 2007-2013 operational programmes for the Convergence and the Regional competitiveness and employment objectives in Greece to 100%.

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS: the proposed consists of frontloading payment appropriations and is budgetary neutral over the 2014-2020 period.

The additional payment appropriations necessary to cover the immediate consequence of an increase of 2007-2013 co-financing rates and removal of the ceiling for payments are EUR 500 million in 2015 and EUR 500 million for the additional initial pre-financing in 2015.

These additional payment appropriations can potentially be covered by payment appropriations foreseen for interim payments for the 2014-2020 programmes depending on the progress of submission of interim payment applications in 2015.

The additional pre-financing of EUR 500 million for 2016 was however not foreseen in the draft budget 2016 . Nor was the impact in 2016 of the increase in the maximum co-financing rates and in the ceiling for payments for 2007-2013 programmes.

The Commission is therefore likely to propose to cover the additional payment needs through an amending letter to the 2016 draft . The estimated impact on 2017 will be included in the next budgetary procedure.

2015/07/15
   EC - Document attached to the procedure
Details

PURPOSE: to mobilise the EU budget to provide a new start for jobs and growth in Greece.

BACKGROUND: at the Euro Summit of 12 July 2015, the Commission was asked to help support job and growth creation in Greece in the next three to five years. It tasked the Commission to work closely with the Greek authorities to mobilise up to EUR 35 billion (under various EU programmes) to fund investment and economic activity, including in SMEs. The decisions reached at the Euro Summit on 12 July 2015 testify to the willingness of the Euro area to support Greece provided it takes the necessary steps to restore trust and credibility and return to sustainability.

EU funding has been the primary source of public investment in Greece during the crisis. The support and relief from which Greece has benefitted in recent years and will receive in coming years from the EU, Member States, other international parties and private investors amounts to more than EUR 400 billion. This represents more than 230% of Greek GDP in 2014.

The situation remains difficult in Greece at this point in time . Tight financial conditions, uncertainty about the overall economic situation, hesitations about priorities and remaining administrative bottlenecks are disrupting the investment plans of many actors, and putting into question the ability of the authorities to make good and full use of the available EU funding.

An important number of projects for cohesion policy are currently at risk of not being completed . Moreover, if the Greek authorities do not make full use of the EU funding which is still available under the 2007-2013 financing period by the end of 2015, an amount of nearly EUR 2 billion for cohesion policy, this unused funding would be lost. Moreover, for Greece to benefit from EU funding, it is also essential that basic legal requirements, in terms of respect of EU rules, sound financial management of the funds and accounting, are fully respected.

CONTENT: the purpose of this Communication is to outline a renewed approach to the substantial means available from the EU budget to serve as a new start for jobs and growth in Greece. This Communication will complement the comprehensive set of reforms and commitments which Greece is in the process of implementing and which will underpin a stability support programme for Greece under the Treaty establishing a European Stability Mechanism.

Mobilisation of EUR 35 million from the EU budget : with the support of the Commission, Greece is expected to be able to receive more than EUR 35 billion from the EU budget over the 2014-2020 financing period.

EUR 20 billion from the European Structural and Investment Funds could be mobilised to create jobs and sustainable growth, and Greek farmers should continue to benefit from direct payments of over EUR 15 billion .

Exceptional measures : Greece currently enjoys preferential treatment given its very specific circumstances. Greek programmes financed with the EU funds under 2007-2013 programming period receive a higher proportion of EU financing – and hence Greece is required to co-finance less – than many other countries.

Lately, the lack of availability of public funds has made it difficult for local and regional as well as national authorities to take forward much needed investments .

As an exceptional measure and in light of the unique situation of Greece, the Commission:

proposes to improve immediate liquidity so that investments can still be funded in the 2007-2013 programming period. These will include early release of the last 5% of remaining EU payments normally retained until the closure of the programmes and applying a 100% co-financing rate for the 2007-2013 period. This would translate into immediate additional liquidity of some EUR 500 million and a saving for the Greek budget of around EUR 2 billion. This money will be available to immediately resume financing for investments supporting growth and job; proposes to increase the rate of initial pre-financing for programmes for 2014-2020 in Greece by 7 percentage points . This extra pre-financing can make an additional EUR 1 billion available to be used only for the launch of the projects co-financed under the cohesion policy.

All these measures will be implemented within the country allocations agreed in the current multi-financial framework for 2014-2020.

Technical support : Greece will also continue to benefit from technical support for reforms and implementation from the Commission's new Structural Reform Support Service , which began its work on 1 July and builds on the valuable experience of the Task Force for Greece and other technical assistance provided to Member States.

If requested by Greece, the Commission is ready to continue its support in designing and/or implementing structural and institutional reforms within this new technical assistance framework. One immediate task would be to support Greece in maximising its absorption of EU funds , ensuring the fastest possible take-off of investment and ensuring that sound financial management requirements and relevant deadlines are met. Within the EU Funds under the 2014-2020 programming period, nearly half a billion euro is available for technical assistance in the area of cohesion policy.

The Commission is also setting up a pilot Technical Assistance Trust-Fund of EUR 1.5 million , which is expected to be managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The Investment Plan for Europe can play a crucial role for jobs and growth in Greece. The new European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI) will benefit commercially viable investment projects in Greece.

Documents

Activities

Votes

A8-0260/2015 - Iskra Mihaylova - Am 1 #

2015/10/06 Outcome: -: 582, +: 90, 0: 24
LU CY EE MT EL LV SI LT AT IE HR DK SK FI PT SE NL BG GB BE HU CZ FR IT RO PL ES DE
Total
4
6
5
6
20
8
8
10
18
10
11
11
12
12
18
19
25
17
59
19
20
21
72
70
30
47
49
88
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A8-0260/2015 - Iskra Mihaylova - Am 2 #

2015/10/06 Outcome: -: 569, +: 114, 0: 12
LU EE CY MT LV SI SK LT FI AT IE HR NL BE SE DK EL PT HU CZ GB BG IT RO FR PL ES DE
Total
4
5
6
6
8
8
12
10
12
18
10
11
25
19
19
11
20
17
20
21
59
17
70
30
72
47
49
88
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A8-0260/2015 - Iskra Mihaylova - Résolution législative #

2015/10/06 Outcome: +: 586, -: 87, 0: 21
IT ES DE PL FR RO HU PT BG EL NL GB SE CZ BE FI IE HR AT LT LV SI SK CY MT EE DK LU
Total
70
48
88
47
72
30
19
18
17
20
25
59
19
21
19
12
10
11
18
10
8
8
12
6
6
5
11
4
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History

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

activities
  • date: 2015-07-17T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0365/COM_COM(2015)0365_EN.pdf title: COM(2015)0365 type: Legislative proposal published celexid: CELEX:52015PC0365:EN body: EC commission: DG: url: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/regional_policy/index_en.htm title: Regional and Urban Policy Commissioner: CREȚU Corina type: Legislative proposal published
  • date: 2015-09-07T00:00:00 body: EP type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Budgets committee: BUDG body: EP responsible: False committee: EMPL date: 2015-09-03T00:00:00 committee_full: Employment and Social Affairs rapporteur: group: GUE/NGL name: HÄNDEL Thomas body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Fisheries committee: PECH body: EP shadows: group: ECR name: LEWER Andrew responsible: True committee: REGI date: 2015-09-03T00:00:00 committee_full: Regional Development rapporteur: group: ALDE name: MIHAYLOVA Iskra
  • date: 2015-09-17T00:00:00 body: EP type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Budgets committee: BUDG body: EP responsible: False committee: EMPL date: 2015-09-03T00:00:00 committee_full: Employment and Social Affairs rapporteur: group: GUE/NGL name: HÄNDEL Thomas body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Fisheries committee: PECH body: EP shadows: group: ECR name: LEWER Andrew responsible: True committee: REGI date: 2015-09-03T00:00:00 committee_full: Regional Development rapporteur: group: ALDE name: MIHAYLOVA Iskra
  • body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2015-0260&language=EN type: Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading title: A8-0260/2015 type: Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Budgets committee: BUDG body: EP responsible: False committee: EMPL date: 2015-09-03T00:00:00 committee_full: Employment and Social Affairs rapporteur: group: GUE/NGL name: HÄNDEL Thomas body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Fisheries committee: PECH body: EP shadows: group: ECR name: LEWER Andrew responsible: True committee: REGI date: 2015-09-03T00:00:00 committee_full: Regional Development rapporteur: group: ALDE name: MIHAYLOVA Iskra date: 2015-09-23T00:00:00
  • date: 2015-10-05T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20151005&type=CRE type: Debate in Parliament title: Debate in Parliament body: EP type: Debate in Parliament
  • date: 2015-10-06T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2015-0332 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading title: T8-0332/2015 body: EP type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
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docs
  • date: 2015-07-15T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0400/COM_COM(2015)0400_EN.pdf title: COM(2015)0400 url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!DocNumber&lg=EN&type_doc=COMfinal&an_doc=2015&nu_doc=0400 title: EUR-Lex summary: PURPOSE: to mobilise the EU budget to provide a new start for jobs and growth in Greece. BACKGROUND: at the Euro Summit of 12 July 2015, the Commission was asked to help support job and growth creation in Greece in the next three to five years. It tasked the Commission to work closely with the Greek authorities to mobilise up to EUR 35 billion (under various EU programmes) to fund investment and economic activity, including in SMEs. The decisions reached at the Euro Summit on 12 July 2015 testify to the willingness of the Euro area to support Greece provided it takes the necessary steps to restore trust and credibility and return to sustainability. EU funding has been the primary source of public investment in Greece during the crisis. The support and relief from which Greece has benefitted in recent years and will receive in coming years from the EU, Member States, other international parties and private investors amounts to more than EUR 400 billion. This represents more than 230% of Greek GDP in 2014. The situation remains difficult in Greece at this point in time . Tight financial conditions, uncertainty about the overall economic situation, hesitations about priorities and remaining administrative bottlenecks are disrupting the investment plans of many actors, and putting into question the ability of the authorities to make good and full use of the available EU funding. An important number of projects for cohesion policy are currently at risk of not being completed . Moreover, if the Greek authorities do not make full use of the EU funding which is still available under the 2007-2013 financing period by the end of 2015, an amount of nearly EUR 2 billion for cohesion policy, this unused funding would be lost. Moreover, for Greece to benefit from EU funding, it is also essential that basic legal requirements, in terms of respect of EU rules, sound financial management of the funds and accounting, are fully respected. CONTENT: the purpose of this Communication is to outline a renewed approach to the substantial means available from the EU budget to serve as a new start for jobs and growth in Greece. This Communication will complement the comprehensive set of reforms and commitments which Greece is in the process of implementing and which will underpin a stability support programme for Greece under the Treaty establishing a European Stability Mechanism. Mobilisation of EUR 35 million from the EU budget : with the support of the Commission, Greece is expected to be able to receive more than EUR 35 billion from the EU budget over the 2014-2020 financing period. EUR 20 billion from the European Structural and Investment Funds could be mobilised to create jobs and sustainable growth, and Greek farmers should continue to benefit from direct payments of over EUR 15 billion . Exceptional measures : Greece currently enjoys preferential treatment given its very specific circumstances. Greek programmes financed with the EU funds under 2007-2013 programming period receive a higher proportion of EU financing – and hence Greece is required to co-finance less – than many other countries. Lately, the lack of availability of public funds has made it difficult for local and regional as well as national authorities to take forward much needed investments . As an exceptional measure and in light of the unique situation of Greece, the Commission: proposes to improve immediate liquidity so that investments can still be funded in the 2007-2013 programming period. These will include early release of the last 5% of remaining EU payments normally retained until the closure of the programmes and applying a 100% co-financing rate for the 2007-2013 period. This would translate into immediate additional liquidity of some EUR 500 million and a saving for the Greek budget of around EUR 2 billion. This money will be available to immediately resume financing for investments supporting growth and job; proposes to increase the rate of initial pre-financing for programmes for 2014-2020 in Greece by 7 percentage points . This extra pre-financing can make an additional EUR 1 billion available to be used only for the launch of the projects co-financed under the cohesion policy. All these measures will be implemented within the country allocations agreed in the current multi-financial framework for 2014-2020. Technical support : Greece will also continue to benefit from technical support for reforms and implementation from the Commission's new Structural Reform Support Service , which began its work on 1 July and builds on the valuable experience of the Task Force for Greece and other technical assistance provided to Member States. If requested by Greece, the Commission is ready to continue its support in designing and/or implementing structural and institutional reforms within this new technical assistance framework. One immediate task would be to support Greece in maximising its absorption of EU funds , ensuring the fastest possible take-off of investment and ensuring that sound financial management requirements and relevant deadlines are met. Within the EU Funds under the 2014-2020 programming period, nearly half a billion euro is available for technical assistance in the area of cohesion policy. The Commission is also setting up a pilot Technical Assistance Trust-Fund of EUR 1.5 million , which is expected to be managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The Investment Plan for Europe can play a crucial role for jobs and growth in Greece. The new European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI) will benefit commercially viable investment projects in Greece. type: Document attached to the procedure body: EC
  • date: 2015-09-15T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE567.648 title: PE567.648 type: Committee draft report body: EP
  • date: 2015-09-15T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE567.649 title: PE567.649 committee: BUDG type: Specific opinion body: EP
  • date: 2015-09-16T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE567.665&secondRef=01 title: PE567.665 committee: EMPL type: Committee opinion body: EP
  • date: 2015-10-08T00:00:00 docs: url: https://dm.eesc.europa.eu/EESCDocumentSearch/Pages/redresults.aspx?k=(documenttype:AC)(documentnumber:4723)(documentyear:2015)(documentlanguage:EN) title: CES4723/2015 type: Economic and Social Committee: opinion, report body: ESC
  • date: 2015-10-14T00:00:00 docs: url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=ADV&RESULTSET=1&DOC_ID=[%n4]%2F15&DOC_LANCD=EN&ROWSPP=25&NRROWS=500&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC title: 00050/2015/LEX type: Draft final act body: CSL
  • date: 2015-10-20T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.connefof.europarl.europa.eu/connefof/app/exp/COM(2015)0365 title: COM(2015)0365 type: Contribution body: ES_PARLIAMENT
events
  • date: 2015-07-17T00:00:00 type: Legislative proposal published body: EC docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0365/COM_COM(2015)0365_EN.pdf title: COM(2015)0365 url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!DocNumber&lg=FR&type_doc=COMfinal&an_doc=2015&nu_doc=0365 title: EUR-Lex summary: PURPOSE: to ensure that Greece has sufficient financial means to start the implementation of 2014-2020 programmes supported by the European Regional Development Fund (EARDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund 8(CF), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council. BACKGROUND: Greece has been affected by the consequences of the financial crisis in a unique manner. It has led to persistently negative GDP growth rates in Greece over a number of years, which, in turn, has caused serious liquidity shortages and a lack of public funds available for the public investment needed to foster a sustainable recovery. This has created an exceptional situation which needs to be addressed with specific measures. However, it is vital that the lack of liquidity and of public funds in Greece do not hinder investment under programmes supported by the European Regional Development Fund , the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund (the Funds) and by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund ( EMFF ). In its Communication entitled " A new start for Jobs and Growth in Greece ", the Commission proposed measures to ensure that the available EU funding from the Funds and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), is effectively used for investments on the ground and reaches beneficiaries as rapidly as possible. CONTENT: as an exceptional measure and given the unique situation this has created in Greece, the Commission proposes to amend Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 on the common provisions on the European Structural and European Investment Funds as follows: in order to ensure that Greece has sufficient financial means to start the implementation of 2014-2020 programmes supported by the Funds and the EMFF in 2015 and 2016, the Commission proposes to increase the level of the initial pre-financing paid to its operational programmes under the Investment for Growth and Jobs Goal and to programmes supported by the EMFF through the payment of an additional initial prefinancing amount in those years to give an immediate boost to investment; in order to improve the effective use of available cohesion policy funding for the financing of operations under programmes adopted for the 2007-2013 period, it proposes to increase the maximum co-financing rates and to raise the ceiling for payments to programmes at the end of the programming period . In concrete terms, it is proposed to amend Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 to allow for the ceiling for the cumulative total of pre-financing and interim payments to be 100% and to increase the co-financing rate for 2007-2013 operational programmes for the Convergence and the Regional competitiveness and employment objectives in Greece to 100%. BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS: the proposed consists of frontloading payment appropriations and is budgetary neutral over the 2014-2020 period. The additional payment appropriations necessary to cover the immediate consequence of an increase of 2007-2013 co-financing rates and removal of the ceiling for payments are EUR 500 million in 2015 and EUR 500 million for the additional initial pre-financing in 2015. These additional payment appropriations can potentially be covered by payment appropriations foreseen for interim payments for the 2014-2020 programmes depending on the progress of submission of interim payment applications in 2015. The additional pre-financing of EUR 500 million for 2016 was however not foreseen in the draft budget 2016 . Nor was the impact in 2016 of the increase in the maximum co-financing rates and in the ceiling for payments for 2007-2013 programmes. The Commission is therefore likely to propose to cover the additional payment needs through an amending letter to the 2016 draft . The estimated impact on 2017 will be included in the next budgetary procedure.
  • date: 2015-09-07T00:00:00 type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2015-09-17T00:00:00 type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2015-09-23T00:00:00 type: Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2015-0260&language=EN title: A8-0260/2015 summary: The Committee on Regional Development adopted the report by Iskra MIHAYLOVA (ADLE, BG) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund as regards specific measures for Greece. The Committee recommended the European Parliament to adopt its position at first reading, taking over the Commission proposal . The proposed amending Regulation is an exceptional measure, aimed at providing immediate support to Greece by enabling it to access and use before the end of 2015 Union funding for cohesion policy still available from the 2007-2013 programming period. Therefore, Members consider that its adoption is urgent.
  • date: 2015-10-05T00:00:00 type: Debate in Parliament body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20151005&type=CRE title: Debate in Parliament
  • date: 2015-10-06T00:00:00 type: Results of vote in Parliament body: EP docs: url: https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=26160&l=en title: Results of vote in Parliament
  • date: 2015-10-06T00:00:00 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2015-0332 title: T8-0332/2015 summary: The European Parliament adopted by 586 votes to 87, with 21 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund as regards specific measures for Greece. Parliament considered that the proposed amending Regulation is an exceptional measure, aimed at providing immediate support to Greece by enabling it to access and use before the end of 2015 Union funding for cohesion policy still available from the 2007-2013 programming period, and therefore its adoption is urgent. The position adopted by the Parliament at first reading following the ordinary legislative procedure provides the following: in order to ensure that Greece has sufficient financial means to start the implementation of 2014-2020 programmes supported by the Funds and the EMFF in 2015 and 2016, it is appropriate to increase the level of the initial pre-financing paid to its operational programmes under the Investment for growth and jobs goal and to programmes supported by the EMFF through the payment of an additional initial pre-financing amount of 3.5% of the amount of support from the Funds and the EMFF for the entire programming period shall be paid to operational programmes in Greece each year in 2015 and 2016; in order to improve the effective use of available funding for the financing of operations under operational programmes for the Convergence and Regional competitiveness and employment objectives supported by the Funds which were adopted for the 2007-2013 period in Greece, the maximum co-financing rates should be increased and the ceiling for payments to programmes at the end of the programming period raised .
  • date: 2015-10-08T00:00:00 type: Act adopted by Council after Parliament's 1st reading body: EP/CSL
  • date: 2015-10-14T00:00:00 type: Final act signed body: CSL
  • date: 2015-10-14T00:00:00 type: End of procedure in Parliament body: EP
  • date: 2015-10-15T00:00:00 type: Final act published in Official Journal summary: PURPOSE: to assist Greece to optimise the use it makes of the European structural and investment funds and to improve the situation regarding lack of liquidity in order to stimulate jobs and growth. LEGISLATIVE ACT : Regulation (EU) 2015/1839 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards specific measures for Greece. CONTENT: Greece has been affected by the consequences of the financial crisis in a unique manner. The crisis has led to persistently negative gross domestic product growth rates in Greece over a number of years, which, in turn, has caused serious liquidity shortages and a lack of public funds available for the public investment needed to foster a sustainable recovery. This amending Regulation is an exceptional measure, the aim of which is to provide a solution for the lack of liquidity and of public funds in Greece for investment under programmes supported by the European Regional Development Fund , the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Cohesion Fund and by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). Specifically, the amendments made to Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 aim to: 1) ensure that Greece has sufficient financial means to start the implementation of 2014-2020 programmes supported by the Funds and the EMFF in 2015 and 2016 : to this end, the Regulation increases the level of the initial pre-financing paid to its operational programmes under the Investment for growth and jobs goal and to programmes supported by the EMFF through the payment of an additional initial pre-financing amount of 3.5% of the amount of support from the Funds and the EMFF for the entire programming period to operational programmes in Greece each year in 2015 and 2016. The additional initial pre-financing shall not apply to programmes under the European territorial cooperation goal nor to the specific allocation for the Youth Employment Initiative. To ensure that the additional initial pre-financing amount is effectively used, the additional initial pre-financing amount should be repaid to the Commission if it is not followed by an adequate level of payment applications submitted to the Commission within a certain deadline; 2) improve the effective use of available funding under cohesion policy for the financing of operations under operational programmes for the Convergence and Regional competitiveness and employment objectives supported by the Funds which were adopted for the 2007-2013 period in Greece: for this purpose, the Regulation sets out a maximum EU co-financing rate of 100 % to the eligible expenditure indicated for Greek operational programmes for the Convergence and Regional competitiveness and employment objectives ENTRY INTO FORCE : 16.10.2015. docs: title: Regulation 2015/1839 url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=EN&numdoc=32015R1839 title: OJ L 270 15.10.2015, p. 0001 url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L:2015:270:TOC
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  • PURPOSE: to assist Greece to optimise the use it makes of the European structural and investment funds and to improve the situation regarding lack of liquidity in order to stimulate jobs and growth.

    LEGISLATIVE ACT : Regulation (EU) 2015/1839 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards specific measures for Greece.

    CONTENT: Greece has been affected by the consequences of the financial crisis in a unique manner. The crisis has led to persistently negative gross domestic product growth rates in Greece over a number of years, which, in turn, has caused serious liquidity shortages and a lack of public funds available for the public investment needed to foster a sustainable recovery. 

    This amending Regulation is an exceptional measure, the aim of which is to provide a solution for the lack of liquidity and of public funds in Greece for investment under programmes supported by the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Cohesion Fund and by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).

    Specifically, the amendments made to Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 aim to:

    1) ensure that Greece has sufficient financial means to start the implementation of 2014-2020 programmes supported by the Funds and the EMFF in 2015 and 2016: to this end, the Regulation increases the level of the initial pre-financing paid to its operational programmes under the Investment for growth and jobs goal and to programmes supported by the EMFF through the payment of an additional initial pre-financing amount of 3.5% of the amount of support from the Funds and the EMFF for the entire programming period to operational programmes in Greece each year in 2015 and 2016.

    The additional initial pre-financing shall not apply to programmes under the European territorial cooperation goal nor to the specific allocation for the Youth Employment Initiative.

    To ensure that the additional initial pre-financing amount is effectively used, the additional initial pre-financing amount should be repaid to the Commission if it is not followed by an adequate level of payment applications submitted to the Commission within a certain deadline;

    2) improve the effective use of available funding under cohesion policy for the financing of operations under operational programmes for the Convergence and Regional competitiveness and employment objectives supported by the Funds which were adopted for the 2007-2013 period in Greece: for this purpose, the Regulation sets out a maximum EU co-financing rate of 100 % to the eligible expenditure indicated for Greek operational programmes for the Convergence and Regional competitiveness and employment objectives 

    ENTRY INTO FORCE : 16.10.2015.

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procedure/final
url
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=EN&numdoc=32015R1839
title
Regulation 2015/1839
activities/0/commission/0
DG
Commissioner
CREȚU Corina
activities/1
date
2015-09-07T00:00:00
body
EP
type
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
committees
activities/2
date
2015-09-17T00:00:00
body
EP
type
Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
committees
activities/3
body
EP
docs
url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2015-0260&language=EN type: Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading title: A8-0260/2015
type
Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading
committees
date
2015-09-23T00:00:00
activities/4
date
2015-10-05T00:00:00
docs
url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20151005&type=CRE type: Debate in Parliament title: Debate in Parliament
body
EP
type
Debate in Parliament
activities/5
date
2015-10-06T00:00:00
docs
url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2015-0332 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading title: T8-0332/2015
body
EP
type
Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
committees/1/date
2015-09-03T00:00:00
committees/1/rapporteur
  • group: GUE/NGL name: HÄNDEL Thomas
committees/3/date
2015-09-03T00:00:00
committees/3/rapporteur
  • group: ALDE name: MIHAYLOVA Iskra
committees/3/shadows
  • group: ECR name: LEWER Andrew
other/0
body
EC
dg
commissioner
CREȚU Corina
procedure/Mandatory consultation of other institutions
Economic and Social Committee Committee of the Regions
procedure/Modified legal basis
Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament EP 150
procedure/dossier_of_the_committee
REGI/8/03952
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Preparatory phase in Parliament
New
Provisional agreement between Parliament and Council on final act
activities/0/docs/0/text
  • PURPOSE: to ensure that Greece has sufficient financial means to start the implementation of 2014-2020 programmes supported by the European Regional Development Fund (EARDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund 8(CF), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).

    PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

    ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

    BACKGROUND: Greece has been affected by the consequences of the financial crisis in a unique manner. It has led to persistently negative GDP growth rates in Greece over a number of years, which, in turn, has caused serious liquidity shortages and a lack of public funds available for the public investment needed to foster a sustainable recovery. This has created an exceptional situation which needs to be addressed with specific measures.

    However, it is vital that the lack of liquidity and of public funds in Greece do not hinder investment under programmes supported by the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund (the Funds) and by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). 

    In its Communication entitled "A new start for Jobs and Growth in Greece", the Commission proposed measures to ensure that the available EU funding from the Funds and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), is effectively used for investments on the ground and reaches beneficiaries as rapidly as possible.

    CONTENT: as an exceptional measure and given the unique situation this has created in Greece, the Commission proposes to amend Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 on the common provisions on the European Structural and European Investment Funds as follows:

    • in order to ensure that Greece has sufficient financial means to start the implementation of 2014-2020 programmes supported by the Funds and the EMFF in 2015 and 2016, the Commission proposes to increase the level of the initial pre-financing paid to its operational programmes under the Investment for Growth and Jobs Goal and to programmes supported by the EMFF through the payment of an additional initial prefinancing amount in those years to give an immediate boost to investment;
    • in order to improve the effective use of available cohesion policy funding for the financing of operations under programmes adopted for the 2007-2013 period, it proposes to increase the maximum co-financing rates and to raise the ceiling for payments to programmes at the end of the programming period.

    In concrete terms, it is proposed to amend Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 to allow for the ceiling for the cumulative total of pre-financing and interim payments to be 100% and to increase the co-financing rate for 2007-2013 operational programmes for the Convergence and the Regional competitiveness and employment objectives in Greece to 100%.

    BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS: the proposed consists of frontloading payment appropriations and is budgetary neutral over the 2014-2020 period.

    The additional payment appropriations necessary to cover the immediate consequence of an increase of 2007-2013 co-financing rates and removal of the ceiling for payments are EUR 500 million in 2015 and EUR 500 million for the additional initial pre-financing in 2015.

    These additional payment appropriations can potentially be covered by payment appropriations foreseen for interim payments for the 2014-2020 programmes depending on the progress of submission of interim payment applications in 2015.

    The additional pre-financing of EUR 500 million for 2016 was however not foreseen in the draft budget 2016. Nor was the impact in 2016 of the increase in the maximum co-financing rates and in the ceiling for payments for 2007-2013 programmes.

    The Commission is therefore likely to propose to cover the additional payment needs through an amending letter to the 2016 draft. The estimated impact on 2017 will be included in the next budgetary procedure.

activities
  • date: 2015-07-17T00:00:00 docs: url: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!DocNumber&lg=FR&type_doc=COMfinal&an_doc=2015&nu_doc=0365 type: Legislative proposal published title: COM(2015)0365 body: EC type: Legislative proposal published commission:
committees
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Budgets committee: BUDG
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Employment and Social Affairs committee: EMPL
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Fisheries committee: PECH
  • body: EP responsible: True committee_full: Regional Development committee: REGI
links
other
    procedure
    geographical_area
    Greece
    reference
    2015/0160(COD)
    instrument
    Regulation
    legal_basis
    Treaty on the Functioning of the EU TFEU 177-p1
    stage_reached
    Preparatory phase in Parliament
    summary
    Amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013
    subtype
    Legislation
    title
    European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), European Social Fund (ESF), Cohesion Fund (CF), and European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF): specific measures for Greece
    type
    COD - Ordinary legislative procedure (ex-codecision procedure)
    subject