While the need to target aid on the regions in the candidate countries is generally uncontested, the Objective 1 regions in the existing fifteen Member States - that would otherwise lose their priority status as their relative prosperity increases in an enlarged EU - should not experience a cut-off of aid, especially where this is due to the statistical effect of enlargement.

Another challenge with regard to the reform of structural policy is between, on the one hand, the national and regional authorities who typically wish to reduce the administrative overhead involved in managing European interventions, and, on the other hand, European institutions such as the Council, the Parliament, and the European Court of Auditors that seek a reinforcement of controls on the use of European taxpayers’ money. Meanwhile, the Commission is convinced that question of the simplification of European programmes merits additional examination, in an effort to identify mechanisms capable of reconciling the further decentralisation of responsibilities with greater incentives towards efficiency and sound management.