Special Report No.14/98 on the closure of the forms of ERDF assistance together with the European Commission’s replies

Summary:

As part of its Annual Report concerning the financial year 1996, the Court examined the closure of measures jointly financed by the European Regional Development Fund covering the period prior to the 1988 reform of the Structural Funds and the 1989-1993 programming period. The Court recommended, in particular, a more active closure policy in respect of the measures and greater strictness in granting deferrals of commitment and payment deadlines in the Member States. In the light of the anomalies it observed, the Court emphasised the need for inspection systems which would make it possible genuinely to check the reliability of the declarations of expenditure submitted by the Member States.