Presenting the report on Wednesday (31 March), the Commission explained that the report was the first of its kind and that it hoped it would inject a new level of transparency into the notoriously complex regional policy bureaucracy.
The EU executive notes that "on average across the EU, more than 27% of funding for the 2007-2013 period has already been allocated to specific projects - amounting to an investment of more than €93 billion".
In other words, three quarters of the vast regional funds purse remain untapped halfway into the current programming period (2007-2013).
Questioned by journalists as to whether this figure indicated positive or negative overall trends, EU Regional Policy Commissioner Johannes Hahn was non-committal, claiming that this figure was broadly similar to the previous period.
Commission officials, speaking to EurActiv on condition of anonymity, were less diplomatic, stating that "of course we'd prefer this figure to be higher". They argued, however, that given the debilitating effects of the economic crisis, the figure could in fact have been much worse and must be considered in that light.
You still have time…but not much, warns Hahn
The report showed a very mixed performance across the EU 27. Net contributors to the EU budget such as Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands came out on top, with average rates of between 50 and 60%.
On the other hand, the main net recipient of regional funds, Poland, reported a comparatively low take-up rate of only 19%, seemingly at odds with recent claims by the country's regional affairs minister that "Poland's use of EU funding has been the most efficient of all new member states" (EurActiv 04/03/10).
Asked whether Poland could lose large chunks of its vast 67 billion euro allocation for the 2007-2013 period, Hahn coyly replied that "you still have time, but not a lot of it" to play catch-up.
The commission officials, again, were more forthright. "If you were below the EU average (27%), you have to make a far greater effort," they argued, adding that "some member states are going to have a very tough time absorbing the money available to them".
Earmarking works, claim commissioners
A second major conclusion emphasised by the Commission is that the EU's earmarking policy – targeting funds towards achieving specific EU strategic development goals – is working reasonably well.
In particular, progress has been positive in important areas such as research and development (R&D), innovation, lifelong learning and active labour market policies, policy priorities defined by the Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs, it noted.
But more should be done to accelerate project implementation in the rail sector, in key energy and environment investments, in the digital economy, and in support of social inclusion, according to the Commission.
The EU executive argued that member states should further target these priority areas, if necessary, by putting in place action plans to overcome delays in funding related projects.
