THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1304/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the European Social Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1081/2006, and in particular Article 14(1) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
With a view to simplifying the use of the European Social Fund ‘ESF’ and reducing the administrative burden for beneficiaries, it is appropriate to increase the scope of standard scales of unit costs (short: unit costs) and lump sums available for reimbursement to Member States. The standard scales of unit costs and lump sums for reimbursement to Member States should be established on the basis of data submitted by Member States or published by Eurostat and on the basis of methods commonly agreed, including the methods set out in Article 67(5) and Article 68b(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
(2)
Taking into account the significant disparities between Member States regarding the level of costs for a particular type of operation, the definition and amounts of standard scales of unit costs and lump sums may differ according to the type of operation and the Member State concerned in order to reflect their specificities.
(3)
France, Czechia, Malta, Italy, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Romania, Cyprus, Ireland and Portugal have submitted methods for either amending existing standard scales of unit costs, or defining additional standard scales of unit costs for reimbursement by the Commission concerning types of operation not yet covered by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2195.
(4)
Ireland and France have submitted a method for defining lump sums.
(5)
For the unit costs relating to operations supporting education and applicable to all Member States except Denmark, the amounts should be updated in line with latest available data from Eurostat. Furthermore, monthly rates should be introduced for operations of early childhood education and pre-primary education (ISCED level ED0, ED01 and ED02).
(6)
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2195 should therefore be amended accordingly,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: