According to the
proposals
recently presented by the European Commission, cohesion policy will
remain the EU's most powerful investment tool over the years 2021-2017,
covering all regions and involve local partners in the full respect of
the key principles of multilevel governance. These basic elements
mirror the
main requests formulated
in the #CohesionAlliance, an EU-wide coalition launched by the leading
associations of regions and cities -
the Association of European Border Regions
(AEBR), the
Assembly of European Regions
(AER), the
Conference of European Regional Legislative Assemblies
(CALRE), the
Council of European Municipalities and Regions
(CEMR), the
Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe
(CPMR) and EUROCITIES -
and the
European Committee of the Regions
, that has attracted around 5500 individual signatories, 115 regions,
80 cities, 50 associations of regional and local authorities, 40
Members of the European Parliament and 30 sectoral associations
representing more than 90% of the EU's population.
Over the coming months, the alliance will focus on reducing the
proposed 10% cuts and ensuring that the proposed stronger link between
cohesion policy and the European Semester, coupled with certain
simplification measures, does not end up excluding local actors from
key decisions on investment's planning and implementation.
"
The strong mobilisation in Brussels and in the member states
allowed the CohesionAlliance to achieve first important results.
We welcome
the European Commission's proposals to strengthen the impact of
cohesion policy, in particular in the many regions suffering
industrial decline. It is of the utmost importance that the new
provisions clearly state the need for Member States to properly
involve regional and local partners in the preparation and
implementation of programmes. But a centralisation trend is still
threatening the very essence of EU cohesion policy, as in the case
of the rules linking it to the coordination of macro-economic
policies under the European semester. We will work hard and
cooperate with the European Parliament to make sure that the
positive starting point provided by the Commission will be improved
in the interest of all EU citizens",
said the President of the European Committee of the Regions, Karl-Heinz Lambertz.
The CPMR is concerned about the fragmentation of Cohesion policy, the
elimination of maritime cross-border programmes, and the introduction
of possibilities to transfer Cohesion policy funds to other EU
instruments outside of Cohesion policy. The CPMR is also worried that
the ESF will be a standalone fund in the budget with its own
objectives, as this could lead to it losing its territorial dimension.
CPMR President, Vasco Cordeiro, said
: “First, the Commission proposed on 2 May to cut Cohesion policy
by 10% in real terms. Now the Cohesion policy proposal
substantially reduces the contribution EU funding makes to
co-financing. This means a double reduction of the policy’s funds
and a double burden for Regions and Member States working to
achieve social, economic and territorial cohesion."
According to the President of EUROCITIES and Mayor of Ghent in Belgium Daniël Termont: "
Cohesion policy must play a strong role in bringing the EU closer
to the citizens, but we don't see this in the new proposals. We
need a much stronger emphasis on partnerships with cities in
shaping programme priorities. Also, we firmly oppose the proposals
to isolate ESF. To tackle urban challenges it is vital that ESF and
ERDF work together more, not less. This is the only way these funds
will help us deliver results where it matters to citizens."
The AER President and President of the Region Västra Götaland in
Sweden, Magnus Berntsson, said:
“We welcome the Commission’s proposal of a cohesion policy for all
regions, keeping the three categories of regions. The partnership
principle and multi-level governance approach and the commitment to
simpler and more flexible rules to access and manage cohesion funds
are also welcomed. However, we are disappointed that the European
Social Fund is excluded from cohesion funds under the Commission’s
proposal. We also have serious concerns about the possibility for
Member States to transfer part of their cohesion policy resources
to the new InvestEU fund.
And we cannot accept that the proposed link with the European
Semester may allow to divert funds away from cohesion policy and
its objectives into top-down incentives to structural reforms.
The moves to centralise EU funds are unacceptable. The significant
question is whether this will enable the framework to more
effectively deliver on the economic, social and territorial
cohesion objective of the Union. We fear it won’t.”
AEBR's President Oliver Paasch, Minister-President of
the German-speaking Community of Belgium, has stressed “
the good cooperation within the Cohesion Alliance which made
possible to keep Cohesion Policy for all European regions
distributed in the current three categories. We also welcome the
compromise for an authentic simplification and flexibility of
regulations, as well as the commitment to keep a strong support to
territorial cooperation, in particular cross-border, as a main
instrument for European integration from the bottom. However, we
miss maritime cross-border programmes and hope that this
cooperation will be kept under an appropriate and perhaps more
efficient instrument, as a number of European regions depend from
this to keep on strengthening their links with their neighbours.
This can also be said about cross-border programmes at the external
borders of the EU and, particularly, within neighbourhood
countries. We are also worried about the growing trend towards
centralisation, instead of promoting a more efficient participation
of local and regional authorities in the whole programming cycle.
The exclusion of Social Fund from Cohesion Policy and other
fragmentation signs are also a matter of concern due to its
unpredictability, as well as the lack of focus on delivery on the
ground with a growing (and worrying) concentration on the
macro-level. We must be aware of this when concretizing structural
funds
.”
CALRE President, Ana Luís, president of the
Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of The Azores, pointed
out that
: "Europe of the future must be a Europe that works for the
convergence between its several regions and for that the funds made
available to them must be those that allow them to converge. Only
this way will there be a strong and cohesive Europe".
Background note
Worth over €350 billion between 2014 and 2020, cohesion policy –
implemented through
the European Structural and Investment Funds
– is the EU's main investment tool that works to reduce regional
disparities, create jobs, open new business opportunities and address
major global issues such as climate change and migration. It is the
only EU policy that covers all of Europe's local communities, involving
local stakeholders to deliver growth strategies led by shared EU goals.
The #CohesionAlliance is a coalition of those who believe that EU
cohesion policy must continue to be a pillar of the EU's future. The
Alliance was created through cooperation between the leading European
associations of cities and regions and the European Committee of the
Regions. It demands that the EU budget after 2020 makes cohesion policy
stronger, more effective, visible and available for every region in the
European Union. From national, regional and local governments to SMEs,
NGOs, schools, universities, cultural organisations, anyone who
believes in EU cohesion policy is welcome to join the #CohesionAlliance
by signing the
declaration
.