Mrs. Mihaylova, Chair of the Committee of Regional Development

I had the pleasure to interview MEP Mrs. Mihaylova, and one of the most influential women in the area of Regional Development in Europe. I was surprised and happily impressed on how much she knew about the importance of project management to implement the vision and policies of the European leaders successfully. She is also a firm believer of the need for simplification and reducing the administrative burden for maximizing the impact of projects, as a whole – in our world, more agile practices.

1. Dear Mrs. Mihaylova, you are a strong supporter of the objectives of the EU in the field of education, science, and innovations; all of them essential for developing a robust, healthy and sustainable economy in Europe. How can we ensure that the objectives, and benefits, are achieved?

Today more than ever, European Union is facing unforeseen challenges like Brexit, migration crisis, terrorism and security concerns, geopolitical challenges, as well as climate change. However, at the same time, “Europe is now visibly regaining its strength” – economic growth is gathering pace, at above 2% this year, surpassing the growth rates of USA and Japan over the last two years, as explained by EC President J.-Cl. Juncker in his State of the Union address on 13 September. Almost 8 million jobs were created thanks to ESI Funds, EFSI, the Youth Guarantee, as well as thanks to the joint actions of European institutions. Therefore, we need a suitable policy mix that ensures sustainable public finances and instead encourages more investment to support innovation, science, education, and competitiveness in a globalized economy.

I would like to stress that we have achieved significant successes in the field of regional policy. I would like to mention that Cohesion policy funding, which counts for one third of the EU budget, is considered the primary instrument of the EU aimed at boosting the competitiveness and growth of European regions, tackling climate change and energy dependence, while at the same time contributing to developing a strong, healthy and sustainable economy in Europe. For many countries and regions, EU funding represents a critical and stable source of investment in jobs and growth. Every region in the European Union benefits from Cohesion Policy. It is estimated to generate 0.2 – 5.9% of additional regional GDP by 2023, with different effects in different EU regions, according to the ex-post evaluation 2007-2013 final report of the European Commission. One euro of investment is expected to generate about EUR 2,7 of additional GDP by 2023.

Building on the experience of previous funding periods, it is necessary to determine the strengths and weaknesses of current cohesion policy and to identify ways to increase its effectiveness, taking into account the newly arisen challenges and crises. This requires effective measures and structural reforms in traditional European policies, as well as establishing an appropriate policy mix, better integration, and coordination between different policies, territorial cooperation, multilevel governance and place-based approach.

New possibilities for cooperation and coordination using different funding sources should be used and further explored – the European Structural and Investment Funds, the European Fund for Strategic Investment, other financial instruments and Community programmes like Horizon 2020, COSME, ERASMUS, etc. Moreover, the alignment of funding calls for specialized knowledge, capacities, and competences, research, and innovations which, as a “consequence”, leads towards new opportunities.

With a constrained budget, it is imperative that the future Cohesion Policy focuses on areas where joint action is most needed, i.e., those actions with a high European value added, such as to promote growth and competitiveness, contribution to climate change adaptation and resource efficiency.

Cohesion Policy needs to be more flexible by allowing operational investing priorities to target specific challenges as they emerge, such as migration, natural disasters, changes in demographics. It should allow easier access to funds, by reducing bureaucracy and shifting priorities to the actual impact of projects. And it should be more connected, by strengthening the links to other EU policies. Stronger priority should be given to territorial cooperation, to build on the extensive experience already acquired all over Europe and foster new partnerships, which encourage innovation and constant improvements in regional public administrations.


2. Do you believe that sound project management practices are essential for the EU regional cohesion policy to succeed?

I do believe that sound project management practices are essential for the EU regional cohesion policy. Learning from doing and strong competencies are obligatory for improving performance and achieving impact and results. Monitoring tools are also an essential part of implementing a project because they allow project leaders to measure the pace and progress of improvement. Well-organised, well-structured, and easily understood processes are useful for all involved in the project development and implementation. Thus, the importance of simplicity and clarity should not be underestimated.

Simplification should be the first underlying priority for the Structural and Investment Funds management also post 2020, as simplifying access to the EU Funds and reducing administrative burden. This will contribute for maximizing the impact of projects, as a whole. In addition, monitoring and controls systems should be improved and optimized. In this context, I would like to mention the achievements of the High-Level Group on Simplification set up by the European Commission, suggesting measures and actions to be undertaken post 2020, as well as currently reflected in the proposal for the Financial Regulation 2014-2020 and its subordinate acts (the so-called Omnibus dossier). The REGI Committee at the European Parliament, which I chair, has just started the inter-institutional negotiations thereon.

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