The European Social Fund (ESF) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) make the payments. Both funds belong to the European Union’s Structural Funds for development.
| Procedure of Payment by the Structural Funds |
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According to Regulation 1260 of the E.U, the payment can be made in the form of intermediate payments or of payment of the final credit balance. Both kinds of payments concern true expenses and must correspond to payments made by the final beneficiaries. They must be accompanied by receipted invoices or accounting records of an equal value.
When the Member States and, consequently, the Operational Program assume an obligation for the first time, they receive a payment by the Payment Authority on behalf of the European
With the intermediate payments the European Commission pays the expenses that have been realized in the context of the Funds and have been certified by the Payment Authority. These payments are dependent on the Operational Program and on the measures that are included in the financing plan of the Planning Supplement. There are certain terms and conditions for the provision of these payments:
- The Planning Supplement must be submitted to the Commission
- The last Annual Implementation Report must be communicated to the Commission
- The Intermediate Evaluation must be communicated to the Commission
- The decisions of the Managerial Authority and of the O.P’s Supervisory Commission must respect the overall amount of the Funds’ participation. This amount is distributed to the relevant Priority Axes.
- In the case the Commission has made recommendations, certain measures must be taken. If a member state decides not to take any measures, it must justify its decision.
- No payments must be suspended
The intermediate payments are realized 3-4 times a year.
The payment of the credit balance is made if:
- The Payment Authority has submitted to the Commission a certified declaration of expenses that have been truly made
- The Final Implementation report has been submitted to the Commission and has been approved
- The member state has sent to the Commission the declaration stated in article 38.
| European Social Fund (ESF) |
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The European Social Fund (E.S.F) is a Structural Fund of the Community which participates in the financing of the following: a) programs of professional training and professional orientation, b) initiatives supporting permanent employment, c) innovative actions aiming at the boost of employment and professional training, d) actions directed (addressed) to the employees of the companies and e) programs of professional orientation and of counseling to the unemployed.
For the last 40 years the ESF has been the main tool of the European Union in its effort to make its policy for employment a fruitful and constructive one. Through the ESF the E.U provides economic support for training, orientation, counseling, development of employment and many other actions. The ESF contributes to the implementation of the EQUAL initiative, to the combat of any kind of discrimination and inequalities at the work place.
In the period 2000-2006, the European Social Fund has invested almost 60 billion euros for the upgrading and transformation of the European labor market according (in accordance with) the European strategy for employment. In addition, more than 50% of the financing is channeled to the less developed regions.
Furthermore, the ESF supports innovative measures for the promotion of new approaches and for the identification of the best practices, which can lead to an improved application of the interventions that it supports. The actions that get the financing are better known as measures of “article 6” and include pilot projects, exchange of experiences and information activities.
During the period 2000-2006, the European Union has dedicated 0,40% of the budget of the ECB for projects that promote the development and the dissemination of new forms for the organization of the market, the preparation of the ground for the transition towards an economy and society based on knowledge, the identification of new approaches in emerging sectors and the adaptation of obsolete employment practices to the new reality.
| European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) |
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The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) was created in 1975, for the financial support of regional development programs for the benefit of the disadvantaged regions. Its purpose is to reduce the socioeconomic inequalities among the regions of the Union.
The objective of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is to promote the economic and social cohesion through the reduction of regional inequalities and to participate in the development and restructuring of the regions. At the same time it assures interaction with the interventions of the other structural funds.
In order to reduce the inequalities among the regions and to support the highly disadvantaged areas, islands and rural areas, the ERDF contributes to the harmonious, balanced and continuous development of economic activities, to the increase of the employment, to the protection of the environment and to the protection of women.
The ERDF particularly supports the development of a productive environment, research and technological development, the development of the information society, the protection and improvement of the environment, the equality between men and women in employment and the national, transnational and trans-regional cooperation.
The innovative actions of the period 2000-2006 covered three priority issues:
- The regional economy, which is based on knowledge and technological innovation: support of the disadvantaged regions in order to raise their technological level.
- The information society at the service of regional development (e Europe-regio)
- The regional identity and the continuous development: support of the regional cohesion and competitiveness through an integrated approach of the economic, environmental and social activities.