EU Funds Monitoring Committee approves a number of project application evaluation criteria
On June 15-16, in Ventspils the off-site meeting of the European Union Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund (EU funds) Monitoring Committee took place. The Monitoring Committee is a collegial body involved in the EU funds management targeted at ensuring monitoring of effectiveness and quality of operational programmes. The Monitoring Committee is the largest Latvian forum, which takes important decisions related to EU funds acquisition strategy, planning, management and control systems and discusses issues related to monitoring of EU funds implementation, including responding flexibly to the economic situation changes and crises. According to the Council Regulation laying down general provisions on EU funds implementation, meetings of the Monitoring Committee are held twice a year.
The Monitoring Committee in respect of the European Social Fund (ESF) acquisition decided on the proposed amendments to the project application evaluation criteria for the third round of the sub-activity “Support for training of employees to promote the competitiveness of businesses – support for training organized in partnership” with available EU funds of 1.1 million lats, as a result of which it will be possible to provide support for training of micro and small businesses on information and communication technologies. Also the criteria for a new sub-activity “Support for job creation” with EU funds of 3 million lats were approved. Within the sub-activity it is planned to support businesses that create at least 50 new jobs and invest at least 5 million euros (3.5 million lats).
Within the operational programme “Entrepreneurship and Innovations” a number of project application evaluation criteria were approved for the second round of the activity “High value-added investments” – giving more points to projects which are in an advanced development stage and are more likely to receive bank financing. Support within the activity is planned for businesses to purchase equipment, construct and reconstruct buildings and structures associated with new business start-up or expansion of existing business, diversification of production with new products or significant changes in manufacturing processes. Serious discussions were about the sustainability of the support provided to cluster projects up to now, however to promote merging of production capacity of Latvian enterprises, specialization in certain areas and development of common products and technologies, and since the Ministry of Economics promised to introduce provisions in the CoM Regulation which allows to control final beneficiaries and to control that the same companies do not receive support all the time for the same thing, an activity “Cluster programme” was approved.
Within the operational programme “Infrastructure and services” project application evaluation criteria were approved for the activity “Provision of equal access to electronic communication services throughout the country (development of broadband network)”, which is planned to provide the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) funding to establish high quality electronic communication networks which will contribute to development of broadband access and will provide both residents and businesses and public authorities with fast and quality access to public information, public administration services and will develop demand for e-services. Project implementation will contribute significantly to information society development. Also criteria were approved for a new sub-activity “Measures to increase efficiency of corporate heating systems”, which is to provide the Cohesion Fund funding for reconstruction and construction of heating sources in order to use renewable energy resources and to ensure transformation or modernization of the production process by installing new or replacing existing heat production equipment.
During the discussion on the situation with EU funds acquisition, the rise in project prices as a result of price fluctuations was also discussed. The Monitoring Committee supported a horizontal approach to a particularly strong evaluation whether the rise in prices is really objectively justified, and the Committee agreed that the Cabinet decision of 2008 remains in force stating that unjustified increase in prices is not financed from public resources.
Within the framework of the off-site meeting there were visits to project implementation sites, and meeting participants had the opportunity to get acquainted with several projects implemented in Ventspils with investments from the European Union (EU) funds – factory “Dendrolight”, a port ferry terminal, renovated schools and kindergartens, a lift bridge across the Venta and other objects.
It is planned that the next EU Funds Monitoring Committee meeting will be held in September.
