Practical advice for managing authorities about financial instrument reporting requirements have been provided recently through a new type of advisory service from fi‑compass.

In our online learning seminar, European Commission experts explained how to fulfil the mandatory reporting obligations required under Article 46 of the Common Provisions Regulation (No 1303/2013, CPR), using video presentations and a series of step‑by‑step instructions based on the annotated reporting template.

Managing authorities were invited to submit their questions about the reporting requirements and template sections in advance of the seminar. This helped to address a wide range of queries from Member States on different topics related to reporting.

Fisheries financial instruments will be given prominence during an EU conference in October that is considering the future of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. A dedicated workshop on financial instruments has been organised in Estonia on October 13 as part of the 'Beyond 2020: Supporting Europe's Coastal Communities' conference. 

Our fi‑compass publications library includes a case study from the London Green Fund (LGF). It explains how this financial instrument used the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to successfully support much‑needed investments in environmental infrastructure.

This ERDF financial instrument contributes directly to reducing carbon emissions and it received international recognition earlier this year when its urban development achievements were discussed at the C40 Financing Sustainable Cities Forum. The story behind this success was told by the LGF fund managers and the Greater London Authority (GLA), the ERDF Intermediate Body.

Simon White from the GLA explained how the financial instrument was primarily driven by targets for minimising carbon emissions and waste within the city's urban regeneration plan, saying: "There were lots of projects that needed to be delivered, and there were lots of finance that needed to be secured to enable those to happen."

A solution to this challenge involved a shift in approach to develop a fund that used the ERDF as investment finance to support infrastructure projects.

Estonia, currently holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU, hosted our sixth EAFRD fi‑compass macro‑regional conference on financial instruments for agriculture and rural businesses, supported by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). In total, 85 participants from 17 different Member States attended the conference on 12 July 2017 in Tallinn.