Kick-off meeting of the High Level Group on Simplification on easier access to the European Structural and Investment Funds

Today the High Level Group on Simplification, launched by the Commission in July, held its first meeting in Brussels. The chairman of the Group, former Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas and the newly-appointed members met with European Commission Vice-President in charge of the EU Budget Kristalina Georgieva and Commissioners Corina Crețu and Marianne Thyssen in charge of Regional Policy and Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, respectively. In line with the initiative “EU budget focused on results” and with the Commission’s efforts in the field of Better Regulation, the Group’s purpose is to reduce the administrative burden for beneficiaries to access and use the five European Structural and Investment Funds. The High Level Group will also focus on the post-2020 framework and its final report will be one of the cornerstones of the Commission’s reflection on the future of Cohesion Policy. A press release is available here. More information on how the Commission helps Member States improve their management of EU funds and on Regional Policy is available online.