A new report by the European Court of Auditors on the use of Simplified Cost Options (SCOs) for rural development projects concludes that SCOs reduce the administrative burden for both beneficiaries and national authorities, and should be more widely used.

The report reveals that SCOs only constitute a small part of the 2014-2020 spending due to the diverse nature of rural development projects. SCOs can keep project costs under control, as long as they are set at the right level and based on a fair, equitable and verifiable methodology.