EU to step up its scrutiny of funding programmes

Date: 21/01/1999

By Rory Watson

THE European Commission is due to approve a list of 90 EU programmes next week to be subjected to special in-depth evaluation over the coming year.

The initiative is part of the SEM 2000 (Sound and Efficient Management) measures introduced by the Anti-Fraud and Budget Commissioners Anita Gradin and Erkki Liikanen to instil a more rigorous financial and administrative culture in the institution and spread examples of good practice.

It was launched in 1997, well before the recent battle between the Commission and European Parliament over allegations of mismanagement and fraud, after officials found wide-ranging differences in the way Commission departments monitored individual projects.

Every directorate-general now conducts routine evaluation exercises to help manage its programmes. The coming year will see a further refinement as more checks are made before or at the start of projects rather than at the end.

Among the programmes put forward for assessment are the Leonardo youth training scheme, which has already been severely criticised by auditors, and the Socrates teacher and student exchange project.

External policies, especially humanitarian aid and assistance programmes in central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, also feature prominently on the list. Almost a dozen Phare and Tacis projects and three ECHO schemes have been selected for scrutiny.

Further initiatives carried out under the SEM 2000 series of measures.