Parliament has therefore rightly continued to point to the need to mobilize the Community financial instruments.

The Commission is also unable to support amendments that again call into question the objective of re-establishing a balance between new modes of transport and Community financial instruments.

Development effectiveness makes it appropriate to envisage specific activities aimed at ensuring adequate attention to gender issues across the mainstream of Community financial instruments, which should increasingly assume responsibility for these key questions.

The communication looked at all possible options, including the establishment of a separate fund, and concluded that the most effective approach would be to integrate the funding of Natura 2000 into existing Community financial instruments.

They will be the sole beneficiaries of the EUR 1 billion earmarked for the Community financial instruments and of the business and innovation support services, which will be provided through the European Union networks.

I can also tell you that my services are currently exploring ways in which the Community financial instruments – not only the ERDF, but also the European Development Fund – can be used to strengthen the wider neighbourhood policy.

But of course that does not mean that the different sections of a particular project could not be financed via the different Community financial instruments and that the Structural Fund and the Cohesion Fund could not be used for each of these sections!