2nd February 2016 | Brussels (Belgium)
By decision of 10 July 2015 (C(2015) 4806 ), the Commission has set up a High Level Group of Independent Experts on Monitoring Simplification for Beneficiaries of the European Structural and Investment Funds. The task of the group of experts is to advise the Commision with regard to simplification and reduction of administrative burden for beneficiaries of the European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds. In particular the group will:
- Assess the uptake of simplification opportunities by Member States including Member States’ commitments to reduce the administrative burden for beneficiaries as set out in their partnership agreements covering the ESI Funds for 2014-2020, taking into account the specificities of the different ESI Funds.
- Analyse the implementation of simplification opportunities in Member States and regions, taking account of a study on the use of new provisions on simplification during the early implementation phase of the European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds and their impact on administrative burden and costs;
- Identify good practice in matters concerning the reduction of administrative burden on beneficiaries; and,
- Make recommendations to improve the uptake of simplification measures for 2014-2020, in particular in view of its mid-term review in 2016, and on the way forward for the post-2020 regulatory framework for ESI Funds.
The group consists of twelve members appointed in a personal capacity and is chaired by Former Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas.About the third meeting of the High level group This meeting will focus on access to funding for SMEs and financial instruments:
- Evidence on the topic of access to funding for SMEs (Rapporteur: Massimo Sabatini)
- Evidence on the topic of financial instruments (Rapporteur: Pawel Chor¹¿y).
- Discussion on synthesis report on e-cohesion and simplified costs and endorsement of conclusions and recommendations from the high level group.
For further information about the group and the meetings, please see http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/policy/how/improving-investment/high-level-group-simplification/
