High Level Group on Simplification sets its sights on Cohesion Policy after 2020

Today the High Level Group on Simplification and Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Crețu receive representatives of the Council, the Committee of the Regions, the European Parliament, the Court of Auditors and the European Economic and Social Committee, to reflect on the future of Cohesion Policy after 2020. The High Level Group will establish a roadmap for 2017, with the objective of having a set of recommendations by the summer. “We have entered a new phase in our reflection on the policy, where we are now defining and testing options for the future. Our joint task for the months to come is to think, thoroughly, on how we can make post-2020 Cohesion Policy simpler, more efficient and more flexible,” said Commissioner Crețu. This morning the members of the High Level Group discussed ways for a simpler yet solid audit system. The five reports of the High Level Group – on e-governance, on simpler ways to reimburse expenditure, on better access to EU funding for SMEs, on financial instruments and, more recently, on tackling “gold-plating” – are available online.