External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten has announced a major shake-up of the EU’s system for delivering external aid to tackle bureaucratic delays and waste

Date: 18/05/2000

The key changes involve streamlining approval procedures for projects, strengthening the Union's central body for approving programmes with extra staff, cutting down on the number of different agencies dealing with overseas projects in the Commission and scrapping defunct projects. Bureaucratic delays have pushed the backlog of unspent EU funds to more than €12 billion.