External Evaluation of the Common Implementing Regulation : (2014 – mid 2017) ; Final Report

The evaluation of the Common Implementing Regulation (CIR) has been part of a process of parallel evaluations of External Financing Instruments (EFIs) under the current Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2014 -2020 and the 11th European Development Fund (EDF). The evaluations will feed into the Mid-term review report (MTR) required in the CIR regulation under Article 17. The objectives of all EFI evaluations, including the one on the CIR, is to a) provide the relevant external relations services of the European Union and the wider public with an assessment of the EFIs, including complementarities and synergies among them; and b) inform the programming and implementation of the current EFIs, as well as the next generation of the EFIs. The CIR lays down common rules for all EFIs, including the EDF. The CIR is a single transversal Regulation that is consistent with Financial Regulations and comitology rules. This evaluation assesses whether the CIR was and remains fit for the purposes for which it was designed: harmonisation and simplification of implementation, the need for additional flexibility, enhanced coherence and consistency and an increased likelihood of the efficient use of available resources to optimise the impact of the EU’s external action.