mr president i would like to congratulate mrs carvalho for this very comprehensive report
she draws attention to major concerns within the field of european research the question of the complexity of the rules for the beneficiaries and the very heavy administrative burden
in april this year the commission adopted a communication on this subject presenting a long list of short- and long-term options for simplification
this triggered a very important interinstitutional debate
the commission is very grateful that parliament has dealt with this matter with such priority
the commission is also very grateful that the report supports the majority of the proposals and even contains some of parliament's own which are very interesting
similar support was given by the council and on the basis of this very broad interinstitutional consensus we should now turn to action
we are fully committed to achieving simplification and adhering to the simplification principles as stated in your report simplicity transparency legal certainty consistency excellence and as mr audy said a more trust-based approach towards our research institutions is of course an important guideline for managing the activities
some of the proposals in your report and in the council conclusions can be implemented within the current framework
the commission's services are now reaching out for solutions which can be swiftly implemented
we are considering solutions for broadening the acceptance of average cost methodologies and for a more flexible approach on interest on pre-financing and a lump sum option for the personnel costs of owner-managers of smes
we also take very seriously the concerns on inconsistent interpretation of rules and procedures by the different services when implementing the fp seven
we are working intensely on implementing measures that ensure a more uniform interpretation and application of the rules
we will also work on further reducing delays in providing grants and payments
we must not forget that the more profound changes do require a revision of the financial regulation and its implementing rules
only then can we really remove some of the big constraints
the current control strategy for research expenditure has been designed to detect and correct errors so as to bring the residual error level down to below two
the commission agrees that this is costly and puts a great administrative burden both on the beneficiaries and on the commission
so a higher tolerable risk of errors as supported in your report could allow the commission to modulate the control effort to optimise cost effectiveness and to balance the need for effective control with establishing a more trust-based relationship with researchers
thank you very much for the report and to everybody who has been involved with it
it has cleared the ground for very good and important work in the future
