Following the 19th Annual Report on Implementation of  the structural funds (2007) - COM(2008) 659 final presented in accordance with Article 45(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds 356 Meuros were decommitment from Structural Funds in 2007.

The annual report covers the activities linked to Structural Funds 2000-2006 assistance during 2007. This year was the eighth year of implementation linked to the 2000-2006 programming period in which the sound and efficient management of Structural Funds programmes and projects continued. Altogether 659 programmes were managed in 2007.

European Regional Development Fund - ERDF

In terms of budgetary execution, 2007 was an exceptional year. The overall execution rate of ERDF payment appropriations reached 99.9 %, while the level of payment appropriations was higher than ever, at 17.4 billion for 2000-2006 programmes. For Objectives 1 and 2 and the Community Initiatives, full implementation of payment appropriations has been reached. Moreover, Objective 1 programmes have shown a higher demand for reimbursements than initially forecast thus offsetting advance payments to the new programmes whose adoption took place late in December 2007 or was postponed to 2008.
At the end of 2007, commitments from previous years on which payments were still to be made (RAL) totalled EUR 27.7 billion compared with EUR 45.8 billion in 2006.

European Social Fund - ESF

The overall execution rate of ESF payment appropriations reached 99.9 %, while the level of payment appropriations was higher than last year.
ESF total commitments related to 2007-13 operational programmes amounted to EUR 10.486 million (99.88 %). The remaining credits (EUR 13 163 237) not committed in 2007 correspond to the French OP "Martinique Region" which was not expected to be adopted in 2007. The cumulative payment credits consumption reached EUR 1 513 million which corresponds to 99.87% of the annual payment credits (EUR 1 515 million). The difference (EUR 1 957 184.6) corresponds to the advance payment for the French OP "Martinique Region" and will be paid in 2008.

European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund - EAGGF

The total amount paid in 2007 was EUR 3.4 billion. The financial execution rate of the EAGGF payment appropriations for rural development programmes for the period 2000-2006 was fully achieved at 100 %.
As rural development operational programmes are not part of the Structural Funds in the new programming period 2007-2013, there is a slight decrease in the overall amount paid in 2007 compared with the previous year (i.e. EUR 3.6 billion). In order to realise full financial execution, some internal transfers were made, mostly from the new European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). In 2007, there are no commitments for rural development programmes related to the 2000-2006 period.
At the end of 2007, commitments from previous years on which payments were still to be made (RAL) totalled EUR 3.9 billion, compared with EUR 7.3 billion in 2006.

Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance - FIFG

The budgetary implementation in 2007 was highly satisfactory. 97.5% of payment appropriations were executed. The payment rate reached 96.44% in Objective 1 regions and 99.96% in regions outside Objective 1.
The total RAL for the FIFG at the end of the year 2007 reached EUR 811 million (compared to EUR 1 336 million in 2006).