Structural funds are an important tool to strengthen the European cohesion and express solidarity in Europe still divided by the different performance of national and regional economies. We will support any effort to increase its flexibility so that it can respond readily to the up-to-date developments of the economy or security situation. We will also support any effort to decrease the bureaucratic burden associated with the processing of the applications for subventions (for example, based on the differentiation among applicants according to the real results of their applications in the past.)

The funds should be managed in a transparent and efficient way, the EU Commission should maintain a substantial control role in the shared management of the funds. A more important role of the EU Parliament should be considered in future.

It is fully legitimate to limit funding of the projects as a response to abuse of the funds and fraudulent use of the subsidies. However, we decline, as a step contradictory to the original sense of the structural funds, any effort to use the limitation of the access to the funds as a means of pressure to the receiver countries in connection to unrelated political issues.