B3-1726/93

Resolution on the conclusions of the mission of inquiry of the Committee on Budgetary Control into the management and monitoring of the Structural Funds in Italy

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the conclusions reached by the delegation from the Committee on Budgetary Control responsible for the mission of inquiry (PE 207.230),

-having regard to the replies given by the Commission,

A.whereas legislative, administrative, judicial, financial and budgetary control measures need to be taken in response to the delegation's conclusions and discussions,

1.Calls on the Commission to provide the structural programme planning instruments (CSF and operational programmes) with a permanent structure, and to avoid the piecemeal approach which has so far characterized the actions of the Funds, by concentrating on a limited number of strategic targets and measures and by quantifying objectives so as to enable genuine assessments of socio-economic and environmental impact to be made;

2.Calls on the Commission to press for the establishment, in all Member States and regions, of judicial means in order to be able to ensure that priorities are properly set for planning expenditure of Structural Fund appropriations;

3.Takes the view that there is still negligible verification that the spending of Structural Fund monies is sustainable; the Commission should offer support to regions in order to be able to establish that this criterion is met;

4.Calls on the Commission to ensure that greater technical assistance is provided for the implementation of the programme planning instruments, notably through the 'assistance and monitoring' sub-programmes, so as to provide national authorities (central and regional) with the know-how needed in order to meet the priorities and comply with Community rules;

5.Considers that the necessary measures should be taken to reduce delays in payments to the Italian 'revolving fund' and to introduce a mechanism in Italy ensuring that the payments of the national contribution and the Community contribution are executed simultaneously by that fund;

6.Is furthermore of the opinion that such a fund should be set up in other countries, too, in order to be able to verify the additionality of national funding more effectively;

7.Calls on the Commission to take the measures needed to strengthen the operation of the monitoring committees, both as regards their operational capacity (creation of permanent secretariats, technical assistance) and the scope of their functions (e.g. mandatory involvement in national or regional decision-making processes and a clearer definition of their duties in the operational programmes, particularly compliance with the priorities laid down in the programmes and with national law and Community regulations);

8.Takes the view that financial control of actual expenditure and the extent to which it is justified is currently inadequate;

9.Considers that the Italian authorities should be encouraged in their efforts to pass legislation aimed at improving the monitoring of the legitimacy and management of projects at national and regional level; wonders whether these initiatives are sufficient, however, and calls on the Commission to investigate the nature of monitoring in other Member States, too, and, if necessary, to make recommendations to strengthen monitoring;

10.Calls on the Commission to bring together its specific inquiries in a single fraud squad unit, with sub-units in other directorates-general, and asks the Commission to include structural policy as one of the priorities for this unit;

11.Considers that the measures taken by the Italian authorities to strengthen the fraud squad units of the Customs Service Corps constitute an important example of cooperation between a Member State and the Community and should be supported, with a view to giving these units the same powers as the tax inspection units;

12.Calls on the Commission to take measures to provide the Italian judicial authorities, in this case those in Abruzzi, with the necessary technical assistance to ensure the protection of the Community's interests as regards compliance with its priorities and legislation, e.g. by acting as a witness or by providing the necessary information; where it is strategically desirable, the Commission must not hesitate to bring a civil action either;

13.Calls on the Commission to provide technical and financial support for training and awareness campaigns for those working in the legal profession and the judiciary in the Member States (in Italy, in this case), carried out by associations of legal experts for the protection of Community finances;

14.Requests the Commission to draw up a programme of work for missions of inquiry in all Member States that receive aid from the Structural Funds, so as to enable a comparative analysis to be made similar to that carried out by Parliament;

15.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the following Italian authorities: the Presidents of the two Houses of Parliament, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, the Treasury Minister, the Minister responsible for Community Affairs, the President of the Court of Auditors, the Presidents of the Regional Government Executive, the Regional Council and the Control Committee of the Abruzzi, and the Public Prosecutor's Office of L'Aquila.