Programming of the EU Structural Assistance for 2014–2020: a Search for Efficiency
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.24.5.5355Keywords:
Programming of the EU structural assistance, 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework, the EU Cohesion policy, financial instruments, Reform of the Cohesion PolicyAbstract
2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework and its legislative package are being drafted in the light of economic recession, when the EU assistance and its financial instruments in particular become sole or one of a few stable inflows to finance national initiatives. This environment strongly influences overall aim and scope of the redistributive assistance and the attempts to use it as efficient as it may be. The texts of Draft Regulations reflect the tendency by elaboration of a number of tools that should lead to better performance and effectiveness. However, the lengthy discussions concerning the text of the aforementioned Regulations indicate that different actors conceive efficiency and tools how it can be achieved by using the EU funding differently. The way how a Member State (MS) approaches the efficient use of the funding is another and it will be reflected in the Partnership Agreement and Operational Programme(s), which shall be accorded with the European Commission in advance to the start of use of the EU funds.
The aim of the article is to identify the potential of the tools that contribute to the efficiency and are used/ proposed to use in the EU funds’ planning process. Firstly, it is identified, which tools are proposed to be used by the EU by revising the novelties introduced in the Draft Regulations, and which are planned to be implemented in the process of planning the EU assistance for the years 2014-2020 in Lithuania. Secondly, the tools are grouped into separate clusters that distinguish by a different level of a potential to be implemented.
The article discusses the potential of instruments of multi-sectorial and converging intervention fields, result oriented cooperation, tools related to performance review and new forms of the initiatives that integrate and supplement the investments result, which are proposed by the EU co-legislators and result oriented cooperation, usability of the results, result and change orientation in monitoring, diversification of sources for national co-financing and consolidation of subsidiarity and regional development, which are used by the MS.
