Conference on Good Governance for Cohesion Policy

Background: EU cohesion policy, good governance and administrative capacity

30 years after its creation, EU cohesion policy stands as both the embodiment of European solidarity and the most important investment tool of the EU. €325 billion will be invested in Europe’s regions over the period 2014-2020.

One element that plays a particularly important role in the success of these investments is the quality of public administrations. As emphasised in the 7th Cohesion Report, improvements in the quality of institutions have been among the most consistent factors underlying economic growth and resilience across the EU.

Boosting administrative capacity has been identified as one of the key priorities by Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Creţu. A number of initiatives have been launched to support Member States’ authorities to make the best use of cohesion policy funds and address implementation challenges.

Boosting administrative capacity has been identified as one of the key priorities by Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Creţu. A number of initiatives have been launched to support Member States’ authorities to make the best use of cohesion policy funds and address implementation challenges.

The conference fulfilled the following objectives

• Showcase selected capacity building initiatives undertaken by the Commission and Member States in this programming period, with a special focus on the strengthening of institutions delivering cohesion policy;
• Discuss how good governance and administrative capacity should be promoted through the European Structural and Investment Funds post-2020;
• Exchange experience with and gather inspiration from the relevant work of other international organisations, academia and civil society representatives.

Structure and main themes

The keynote address was given by Deputy Secretary-General of OECD Mari Kiviniemi. The Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Karmenu Vella opened the conference. Speakers and participants, coming from all over Europe, included Tomislav Donchev, Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Raši, Slovak Deputy Prime Minister for Investments and Information, Pedro Marques, Portuguese Minister of Planning and Infrastructure, Jerzy Kwieciński, Polish Minister for Investment and Development, as well as President of the Committee of the Regions Karl-Heinz Lambertz and MEP Constanze Krehl.

Opening session – 9.45

Recording

In the 3 parallel sessions from 11.30 to 13.00, concrete capacity building initiatives was presented and served as inspiration for debate.

• Parallel session A - how to increase transparency and citizen engagement as part of good governance in public spending.
  Recording
• Parallel session B - how to build up a professional and efficient EU funds administration; special attention on staff skills and administrative simplification.
  Recording
• Parallel session C - how to develop a comprehensive and pro-active approach to administrative reinforcement, in view of cohesion policy post-2020.
  Recording

Afternoon plenary session started at 14.30 with a keynote presentation from London School of Economics Professor Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, followed by a high-level political debate on good governance and administrative capacity building for cohesion policy post-2020.

Key messages from the conference

1. Administrative capacity building and good governance matter! Good governance is of key importance to get the best possible value for our money, it contributes to growth and jobs, and will have spill over effects that go wider than the management of EU funds. Enhancing administrative capacity is important in all regions, but even more in regions with low growth and low income.
2. There are no quick fixes or easy solutions; administrative capacity building is long-term work to promote and facilitate good governance. But: change is possible, it doesn’t necessarily require a lot of money, but rather will, conviction and guidance. One size does not fit all; actions must depend on the country and region. All levels and all stakeholders must be involved.
3. Need for knowledge and support. During the conference, five programmes selected to take part in a new pilot project on administrative capacity building were announced. The five programmes in Greece, Poland, Spain, Croatia and Bulgaria will receive tailored support from the Commission and the OECD to improve their management of EU funded programmes. In addition to support from the commission, also peer learning and sharing of experiences are important for improving performance. More strategic and comprehensive use of existing tools and technical assistance, which should be made available to other actors such as beneficiaries, partners, civil society etc.
4. Keep it simple. Simpler rules will reduce the administrative burden on the member states and make it easier to implement and manage the funds. This is strongly reflected in the newly proposed framework for cohesion policy post 2020. The aim is less focus on processes and procedures, and more focus on strategic priorities and results.

Target audience

The event brought together decision-makers and experts involved in cohesion policy from national, regional and EU levels, representatives of international organisations and academia

Agenda and Presentation

Follow us on Twitter
@RegioAdmCap
@EU_Regional
#CohesionPolicy