The 2013 Management Plan of the Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) highlights the plans of the European Commission to strengthen the administrative capacities in the Member States with the aim of increasing the absorption rate of Structural and Cohesion Funds and ensuring the quality of spending. For example, the European Commission will continue to support EU countries in re-programming their funds. In regions where weak capacities are a major obstacle 'intervention may need to go beyond the traditional scope of assistance in shared management'. In addition, the newly set-up Competence Centres will provide advice on institutional building.

According to the DG REGIO Management Plan its priorities for 2013 are:

• Greater integration of Cohesion Policy within EU governance mechanisms and reinforced results orientation;
• Preparing for the 2014-2020 period;
• Implementation of regional investment programmes;
• Coordinating specific EU territorial policies;
• Improve efficiency and quality of key internal processes.

Detailed information available here.

Why we need Action teams? Levels of youth unemployment are reaching very high levels in some Member States (see the table below) and this can have long term consequences with young Europeans becoming alienated from the world of work. This is why European leaders meeting in Brussels on 30 January 2012 (informal European Council) agreed to a strong drive to combat youth unemployment delivering quickly on two concrete objectives. First, we must do everything to help young people get in to work, education or training.