National Perspective: Improved Efficiency of Cohesion Policy through Incentives and Conditionalities

Aleksandrs ANTONOVSDeputy State Secretary for the EU Funds

Ministry of Finance, LATVIA

Contents

• Reserve

• Efficiency

• Conditionalities

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Performance Reserve

Link between eligibility and results accompanied by reduction of cost controls

Introduction of performance reserve:- Unsuccessful experience of the 2 last periods- Skews strategic planning towards more easily achievable

results- Practically impossible to set fair starting points and

milestones for all priorities in all EU regions- Question of fairness of assessment procedure

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Efficiency: the Best Option

• MS and the EC agree on targets

• MS deliver results and get co-financing

• Clear methodology for financial corrections

• Experience of the World Bank and the ENPI

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Efficiency: the Plan B

• More and simpler simple costs would allow MS to concentrate on results rather than costs

• Horizontal Policies enforced outside the Cohesion Policy delivery

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Conditionalities

Only those directly linked to Cohesion Policy!

Increased role of ex-ante conditionalities:– Latvian and other MS experience– Legal clarity necessary!

Macroeconomic conditionalities:- Effect would be unproportionate among MS- Hitting a MS when it is already down- Question of fairness of assessment procedure / credibility?

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