The current financial and economic crisis has created major challenges for the Union. Whilst important actions to counterbalance the negative effects of the crisis have already been taken, including amendments of the legislative framework, the impact of the financial crisis on the real economy, the labour market and the citizens is only now being widely felt. The pressure on national financial resources is increasing and further steps should be taken to alleviate that pressure through the maximum and optimal use of the Union funding.
(2)
In order to facilitate the management of Union funding, to help accelerate the investments in the Member States and regions and to increase the impact of the funding on the economy it is necessary to simplify further the rules governing cohesion policy.
(3)
Given the differences between the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund and the objectives with regard to the definition of the environment, it is appropriate, for reasons of coherence and consistency, to apply a single threshold for the purpose of the definition of a major project. Given the importance of the investments in the environment, including those under the threshold provided for in this Regulation, the Member States should ensure appropriate monitoring of all such investments and inform the Commission in the annual implementation reports on operational programmes.
(4)
It is also necessary to allow a major project to be covered by more than one operational programme in order to enable the implementation of such a major project covering different regions and objectives. This is of particular relevance in the case of investments with national or Union importance.
(5)
It is necessary to make available financial engineering instruments in the measures for energy efficiency and renewable energy taking into account the importance of those measures in the Union and national priorities.
(6)
In order to facilitate the adaptation of operational programmes to respond to the current financial and economic crisis, the Member States should provide an analysis justifying the revision of an operational programme instead of an evaluation.
(7)
In line with the principle of sound financial management and the applicable national rules, revenues generated by operations should be taken into account when the public contribution is calculated. It is necessary to simplify the monitoring of revenues in order to align it with the overall programming cycle.
(8)
For reasons of legal certainty it is necessary to clarify that expenditure becomes eligible from the date of the submission to the Commission of a request for revision of an operational programme only where it falls under a new category of expenditure added at the moment of the revision of that operational programme.
(9)
The scope of the provisions on the durability of operations should be clarified. It is appropriate, in particular, to limit the application of those provisions, in so far as they concern actions falling within the scope of assistance from the European Social Fund (ESF), to actions falling under the State aid rules with an obligation to maintain investment. Furthermore, it is necessary to exclude the application of those provisions to operations which, after completion, undergo a substantial modification as a result of the cessation of productive activity due to a non-fraudulent bankruptcy.
(10)
It is necessary to clarify and simplify the information required for annual reporting on the financial implementation of an operational programme. It is therefore appropriate to align the financial information required in the annual report on implementation of an operational programme with information provided in the statement of expenditure and to clarify the definition of financial indicators.
(11)
In order to simplify the payment of advances to beneficiaries of State aid and to limit the financial risks associated with such a payment, the scope of the admissible guarantees should be redefined.
(12)
Due to exceptional circumstances and given the serious and unprecedented impact of the current economic and financial crisis on the budgets of the Member States, an additional pre-financing instalment for 2010 is needed for the Member States worst hit by the crisis in order to allow for a regular cash flow and to facilitate payments to beneficiaries during the implementation of programmes.
(13)
The requirements for statements of expenditure concerning financial engineering instruments should be simplified. In particular, management fees in addition to management costs should be considered as eligible expenditure.
(14)
For reasons of consistency, it is appropriate that Member States re-use the amounts corrected on an operation included in a partial closure in the case of irregularities detected by the Member States themselves.
(15)
It is appropriate to extend the deadline for the calculation of the automatic decommitment of the annual budget commitment related to the 2007 total annual contribution so as to improve the absorption of funds committed for certain operational programmes. Such flexibility is necessary due to the slower than expected start-up and late approval of programmes.
(16)
On the basis of experience it is appropriate to apply the reduction of amounts subject to the automatic decommitment rule by the amounts concerned for a major project from the date of the submission to the Commission of the application for a major project that fulfils all the requirements of this Regulation.
(17)
In order to allow Member States to benefit from the simplification measures during the whole programming period and to ensure equal treatment, it is necessary to apply certain amendments retroactively.
(18)
Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on the European Regional Development Fund (3) was amended by Regulation (EC) No 397/2009 (4) which introduced the eligibility rules for expenditure on energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy in existing housing in all Member States. Therefore it is appropriate to apply the amendments related to energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy from the date of the entry into force of Regulation (EC) No 397/2009.
(19)
Once an application for a major project that fulfils all the requirements of this Regulation has been submitted, the amounts covered by the application should be protected from automatic decommitment. Such protection should apply to all major project applications submitted from the beginning of the programming period and should apply retroactively, especially in view of the current financial crisis.
(20)
As the unprecedented crisis affecting international financial markets necessitates a rapid response in order to counter the effects on the economy as a whole, other amendments should enter into force on the day following that of the publication of this Regulation in the Official Journal of the European Union.
(21)
Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (5) should therefore be amended accordingly.
(22)
Following, inter alia, the change in the decision-making process resulting from the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, amendments provided for by this Regulation have not been introduced in time to prevent the application of Article 93(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 as amended by Regulation (EC) No 284/2009 (6). Pursuant to Article 11 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (7) (the Financial Regulation), decommitments made by the Commission would therefore result in cancelling appropriations for the financial year 2007, which should be spread over the financial years 2008 to 2013 in accordance with the rules introduced by this Regulation. It is therefore appropriate, as a transitional measure, to allow for the reconstitution, as necessary, of the relevant appropriations for the purposes of implementing the decommitment rules as amended by this Regulation,
