On Friday, December 6, the annual evaluation meeting with representatives of the European Commission (EC) finished, where representatives from the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Agriculture provided information on the strategic direction of the implementation of European Union Structural Funds, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EU funds).
“The European Commission views Latvia as a positive example in the implementation of Cohesion policy EU investment projects. Latvia demonstrates careful initial strategic planning, how to use EU funds to bring significant economic and social changes - modernizing, reforming, developing priority sectors and addressing other issues in effective partnership with stakeholders and members of the public. Creating positive change, quality over quantity - this approach of Latvia is highly valued in the EU, ”says Armands Eberhards, Deputy State Secretary for EU Fund Issues at the Ministry of Finance.
It should be emphasized that 3.8 billion EUR of EU fund co-financing have already been directed to investment projects in Latvia, which is 85.1% of 4.4 billion EUR - the financing provided for the operational program in the planning period 2014-2020. Meanwhile projects with 532.3 million EUR of EU co-financing have been completed.
At the meeting, the EC emphasized its appreciation of Latvia's achievements in economic growth, while representatives of EC admitted that the pace of program implementation across Europe is currently too low, encouraging Latvia to accelerate project implementation, particularly in the areas of health, energy efficiency and environmental protection, and to pay more attention to achieving the research and innovation objectives.
During the meeting the responsible institutions and the Ministry of Finance informed about certain areas and projects that are given special attention in order to ensure faster and qualitative decision-making, including taking the steps necessary for successful implementation of the project. Such fields and projects include investments in the health sector, deinstitutionalisation, energy efficiency and rail infrastructure projects.
In addition to the negotiations on the implementation of the 2014-2020 planning period, The Ministry of Finance, in cooperation with the line ministries, has begun negotiations with the EC on the development of planning documents for 2021-2027 period. Within the framework of the negotiations, questions regarding Latvia's investment strategy and required investment projects in accordance with the policy objectives set in the Cohesion policy framework are discussed. As previously reported, Latvia's Cohesion policy investment strategy will be based on the priorities set out in the National Development Plan, while taking into account the EU Council recommendations and the guidelines published in the EU Semester process for the 2021-2027 planning period.
The annual evaluation meeting took place on December 5-6 this year, during which the EC assessed Latvia's strategic progress towards the EU 2020 objectives and the fulfilment of EU fund performance indicators. The meeting on December 6 was organized with the Ministry of Agriculture as the leading authority for EU Agriculture and Fisheries Support to jointly discuss the strategic aspects of EU investment implementation.
The joint meeting was chaired by Lena Andersson-Pench, Director for Territorial Cooperation, Macro-Regions and North-West Europe, Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy at the EC, and attended by Linda Sproģe, Deputy Head of Unit for Finland and the Baltic States, Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy at the EC, Muriel Guin, Head of Unit for Finland and the Baltic states, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion at the EC, Neda Skakelja, Head of Unit for Denmark, the Baltic states, Finland and Sweden, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development at the EC, and Alenka Kampl, Head of Unit, Structural Assistance for the Atlantic, North Sea, Baltic Sea and Outermost Regions, Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries at the EC.
