Verbatim report of proceedings

Tuesday, 10 May 2016 - Strasbourg

New territorial development tools in cohesion policy 2014-2020 (A8-0032/2016 - Ruža Tomašić)

  Therese Comodini Cachia (PPE), in writing. ‒ There is a learning curve that several Member States are going through based on the experience of implementing LEADER and EQUAL in particular, in previous funding periods. Progress has been registered on the LEADER approach which has led to an exponential increase in Local Action Groups, providing opportunities for community organisations within rural areas to improve the quality of life of the population. However, at the same time, a quicker pace of establishment of these Groups by the Member States is needed since there are several locality organisations which are seeking support.

In this regard, it is important for procedures and conditions of implementation to be simplified, not least through the establishment of the High Level Group of Independent Experts on Monitoring Simplification for Beneficiaries of the European Structural and Investment Funds and the Commission’s efforts in the field of Better Regulation.

This would maximise the potential of LAGs to reflect a bottom-up approach adopted in decision making.