Synthesis Report - European Commission - Europa

Synthesis Report Ex-post Evaluation of the ERDF 2000-2006
Expenditure in Objective 2 regions was slightly less relative to the funding allocated (87%) and in
Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands, it amounted to only some 80-82% of the allocation, implying
that there might be some problems in spending all the funds available in these countries.
Table 1.16 Expenditure from the ERDF in relation to the budget allocated, 2000-2006
Expenditure as % allocated
Objective 1 Objective 2
AT 89.0 88.4
BE 88.4 82.2
DE 92.0 89.5
DK 88.3
ES 87.5 81.1
FI 94.3 95.2
FR 86.1 90.0
GR 89.6
IE 93.0
IT 87.4 90.6
LU 91.8
NL 95.0 79.8
PT 88.6
SE 88.3 95.4
UK 86.8 83.6
EU15 88.7 87.2
CY 80.4
CZ 85.5 75.7
EE 87.5
HU 97.8
LT 97.2
LV 89.9
MT 83.5
PL 84.4
SI 90.7
SK 81.1 85.4
EU10 87.4 79.2
EU25 88.6 87.1
Note: Expenditure as at end-2008
Source: Calculations based on DG Regio data
In the EU10 countries, expenditure in Objective 1 regions at the end of 2008 was virtually the
same in relation to the amount allocated as in the EU15, with the proportion falling much below
85% only in Malta and Slovakia, signalling perhaps a problem of absorption in the latter in
particular. In Objective 2 regions, however, expenditure at end-2008 was only around 80% of
allocation in Cyprus and only just over 75% in the Czech Republic, again indicating a possible
problem of absorbing all the funding available. Nevertheless, overall, there is only limited sign of
the absorption problems which were widely feared before these countries began to receive ERDF
support.
The division of expenditure between broad policy areas, as at the end of 2008, was much the
same, in most Member States as the division of funding initially allocated. There were only few
areas in which expenditure diverged significantly from what was planned. In particular:
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