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The European Committee of the Regions calls for the inclusion of an island clause in EU cohesion policies for the period after 2020  

The 362 islands in the EU face permanent structural difficulties specific to them which entail additional costs for their businesses and which affect their development prospects. The majority of these island regions did not experience economic convergence in the 2000s and their situation has actually deteriorated since, inter alia because of the financial crisis and a lack of innovation. In the light of this, the European Committee of the Regions, represented by Marie-Antoinette Maupertuis, executive member of the Corsican regional authority, calls for the island regions, and in particular their businesses, to benefit from specific measures and more relevant criteria for Structural Fund eligibility in the future European cohesion policy (2020-2027).

 

At the request of the Maltese EU presidency, the European Committee of the Regions on 12 May adopted an opinion that seeks to identify potential solutions for promoting entrepreneurship and boosting islands' economic, social and territorial development. In addition to the various costs linked to their geographical situation, islands have poorly diversified economies with a high proportion of very small, small and medium-sized enterprises and a significant number of entrepreneurs who are juggling several jobs.

 

The CoR stresses that the EU’s cohesion policy it is the most appropriate policy for tackling development gaps between islands and other European regions. However, island regions do not enjoy a special status in the current cohesion policy. The CoR therefore calls on the European legislative authorities to go beyond the mere recognition of the structural handicaps affecting islands, by including an island clause in the future cohesion policy. This includes, inter alia, the introduction of new indicators to measure the socio-economic situation for determining the allocation of Structural Fund resources; the criteria must take account of the accessibility and competitiveness of islands in certain sectors (blue economy, green energy and sustainable tourism in particular).

 

When presenting her opinion to the CoR plenary session, Marie-Antoinette Maupertuis (FR/European Alliance) said: " Island region entrepreneurs and citizens have to face structural constraints linked to their geographical situation, which result in additional costs that affect their growth and development prospects.  We ask that islands receive special attention in EU cohesion policy in the period after 2020 to compensate for the economic effects of their natural and geographical constraints. They must be enabled to play the single market game and to transform their constraints into strengths. ” The rapporteur thus calls for the "real application" of Article 174 TFEU, which provides that islands, among other regions, require special attention from the EU because of their geographical, demographic and social handicaps.

 

Tonino Picula (HR/PES) , MEP and vice-president of the European Parliament intergroup on seas, rivers, islands and coastal areas, welcomed the Committee of the Regions' opinion and supported its findings and recommendations: "Current cohesion policy fails to provide the necessary support to island regions. Major reforms must be adopted in the future cohesion policy after 2020. The European Parliament does not just want the word ‘islands’ to appear more frequently in the texts. It wants a suitable, specific policy that will produce tangible results for islands".

 

The CoR also calls for the establishment of a system of operating assistance for island businesses to offset the additional costs of islands. This aid should be authorised and exempted in the same way as for the outermost regions and sparsely populated areas. In the same vein, the Committee also proposes greater flexibility for the de minimis rule (which exempts the State from having to notify the European Commission of aid granted to businesses where the amount is below a certain threshold) in the case of islands, and for public-procurement stipulations.

 

The European Commission is also encouraged to prepare a specific innovation programme for island economies. The establishment of such a programme would compensate for the disadvantage that island businesses face relative to businesses on the mainland in the competition for project tenders, given that they face significantly higher costs and greater constraints.

 

Notes to editors:

 

There are 362 islands with over 50 inhabitants in the EU, representing a total of 17.7 million people (including 3.7 million in the outermost regions). The per capita GDP of islands amounted to around 79.2 % of the EU average in 2010, and many islands remain in the less developed region category.

 

Island regions have specific geographical, economic, demographic and social characteristics associated with their unique challenges: small size (land area, population, economy), small local market and difficulty in achieving economies of scale, high transport costs, underdeveloped industrial relations, and lack of entrepreneurial know-how, infrastructure and business services (compared with mainland regions).

 

Article 174 of the European treaty states that island regions warrant particular attention from the EU, which must aim to reduce disparities between the levels of development of the various regions within and between Member States.

 

The Structural Funds in Corsica

 

Over the period 2014-2020, EUR 275 million will be invested in support for projects in Corsica. Cohesion policy has financed many projects in Corsica: bridges, an educational and research centre, the Ajaccio apprentices centre, university laboratories through the ERDF funds and waste-to-energy projects. Corsican agriculture also receives EUR 145 million from the EAFRD for area aid, equipment, modernisation, water works and support for the environmental and energy transition.

 

Draft CoR opinion on Entrepreneurship on Islands: contributing towards territorial cohesion (the opinion, as amended, will shortly be available on our site)

Committee of the Regions photo gallery

 

Contact:
Nathalie Vandelle
Tel. +32 2 2822499
nathalie.vandelle@cor.europa.eu

 

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