European Funds - Progress report on March 18 and 19, 2024

This first monitoring committee for European funds for the year 2024 in Saint Martin took place in the presence of a delegation from the European Commission, representatives of the services of the Ministry of Labor (DGEFP) and the Ministry of Overseas Territories (DGOM).

Under the co-presidency of President Louis MUSSINGTON and Prefect Vincent BERTON and in the presence of the new Secretary General for Regional Affairs, Mr. Yves DAREAU, representing the Prefect of the Guadeloupe region, the monitoring committee met over two days, with a technical meeting and two project visits scheduled for March 18, and a plenary meeting with all members on March 19, in the presence of the Deputy of Saint Barthélémy and Saint Martin, Frantz Gumbs, the vice-president Michel PETIT, the territorial councilor and member of the executive council Martine BELDOR, as well as the President of the Interprofessional Consular Chamber of Saint-Martin, Angèle DORMOY.

The discussions mainly made it possible to draw up an initial assessment of the consumption of European funds in Saint-Martin over the period 2014-2020.

• For the Collectivité de Saint Martin, directly involved in the management of European funds as an intermediary body on the 2014-2020 programming, the assessment of the management of the ESF global grant remains very positive despite degraded working conditions following the passage of Hurricane Irma in 2017 and extremely difficult in the context of the health crisis. Indeed, in this closing period, the programming rate stands at more than 102% on the priority axes managed by way of global grant. The certification and payment rate amounted to nearly 70% of the €12M envelope as of January 31, 2024. Concretely, no fewer than 4,170 people, whether young (NEET or student), unemployed and or beneficiaries of minimum social benefits, were able to benefit from the 61 actions co-financed by the ESF on the priority axes managed by the Collectivité.
• Thanks to the additional credits made available with the creation of the REACT EU (Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the territories of Europe) axes within the ERDF-ESF State OP 2014-2020 in the last quarter of 2021, the Collectivité has committed to a proactive policy of reinforced support for young people in the area in the face of the devastating social consequences of the health crisis. The Collectivité has thus mobilized "exceptionally" the REACT EU ESF credits to the tune of €8 million over the years 2022-2023 in order to "boost" around ten schemes aimed at strengthening the level of qualification and employability of young people and job seekers in the area. It is worth mentioning in particular:
• - The “unprecedented” strengthening of mobility aid for students to compensate for the weakness of the post-baccalaureate training offer in the territory;
• - The organization of the 1st Student Orientation and Mobility Fair in Saint Martin in December 2022.
• - Operations to bring young people and the business world together, such as the “Jobs-holidays” and “Lend a hand” schemes; the latter specifically targeting young NEETs.
• All of the measures supported by the Collectivité were the subject of expenditure reporting to the DEETS Guadeloupe instructing services in 2023. These actions now show an overall completion rate of almost 85%.
• Technical and administrative difficulties have had a major impact on the effective launch of the programming of EAFRD credits in Saint Martin, and this until 2021. Today, it is appropriate to acknowledge the catch-up effort deployed over the last two years to consume the €3M envelope dedicated to the territory over the period 2014-2020. Under the chairmanship of Deputy Frantz GUMBS and thanks to the effort deployed by the management team, the LEADER LAG managed by the Collectivité is showing positive results as of February 29, 2024. Indeed, the EAFRD credits mobilized to date reach an amount of €2.8M, representing a programming rate of 95%. The project to upgrade and extend the slaughterhouse, which is so necessary for the development of agricultural sectors in Saint Martin, is benefiting in particular from exceptional support from the EAFRD to the tune of €1.5M.
• President Louis MUSSINGTON took this opportunity to salute all the management services for the work carried out in often difficult conditions.

The effective launch of the new ERDF and ESF+ programmes in our regions and in particular in Saint Martin has been significantly delayed in the context of successive crises experienced on a global scale, to the detriment of local project leaders who have no longer had access to these structural funds in Saint Martin since 2021.

At the start of 2024, it should be noted that the accumulated delay is being resolved thanks to the combined efforts of the management authorities of these programs and the teams of the Collectivité and the State here and in Guadeloupe.

The Collectivité, in its capacity as an intermediary body now managing two global ERDF and ESF+ subsidies totalling €33 million, launched four ERDF calls for projects totalling €8 million in January 2024, thereby enabling project leaders to regain access to ERDF co-financing to support their investment projects contributing to the recovery and development of an innovative and competitive local economy, particularly in the tourism sector.

In this context, the management services are working to strengthen the information and support systems for project leaders to better understand the management rules applicable to European funds over the 2021-2027 period. Two open days have already been organized by the European Funds Directorate of the Collectivité on February 5 and 6, allowing the instructor and management teams to welcome and offer personalized support to around fifty private project leaders.

The Collectivité will soon launch the first calls for projects under the ESF+ for a cumulative amount of €6.8 million at the end of March in order to allow local project leaders to mobilize these funds in favor of projects meeting the priorities of the national OP 21-27, namely "Promoting access to employment for young people and strengthening their employability, particularly through educational success" and "Improving skills and the education, training and guidance system in the territory".

At the time of the first discussions on the future management of European funds post 2027, the Collectivité of Saint Martin intends to create the conditions for its accession to the status of management authority for future programs dedicated to the territory.

With this in mind, the Collectivité intends to strengthen bilateral dialogue with all the Parisian and Brussels authorities with the aim of obtaining recognition of Saint Martin as a fully-fledged European region and the territorialisation of the management of European funds in Saint Martin over the post-2027 period.

Locally, the challenge obviously remains the continuation of the strengthening of the administrative capacities of the Collectivité over the 2021-2027 programming period, in particular by enabling the development of skills of the management services and support departments involved in the management of European funds.

With a forward-looking vision, work has already been launched internally at the start of 2024 in order to make the organizational adaptations to the current structure necessary for access to the status of management authority.