Statement of Apostolos Tzitzikostas, President of the European Committee of the Regions and Governor of the region of Central Macedonia, Greece

Le Comité européen des régions (CdR) se félicite de l’accord provisoire sur les règles relatives au Fonds européen de développement régional et au Fonds de cohésion, lesquels consacreront plus de 240 milliards d’euros à la réduction des disparités et à la promotion de la croissance durable dans toutes les régions de l’Union. Les principales demandes formulées de longue date par les collectivités locales et régionales ont été prises en compte, concernant notamment le renforcement de la dimension territoriale, l’accentuation du développement durable et la situation particulière des régions ultrapériphériques.

The #CohesionAlliance partners met online on 26 November to discuss the current state of the trilogue negotiations of the cohesion policy package with representatives from the European Parliament, the European Commission and the German Council Presidency. The partner organisations representing cities, regions and regional assemblies voiced their concern about macroeconomic conditionality, the risk of centralisation and the full implementation of cohesion and REACT EU programmes over the upcoming years and urged for cohesion as a fundamental value.

The members of the commission for territorial cohesion and EU budget (COTER) discussed the future of cross-border cooperation including their participation in the Cross Border Citizens' Alliance and adopted the draft opinion on cross-border public services prepared by rapporteur Pavel Branda (ECR/CZ). During their meeting members agreed that a minimum of cross-border cooperation needs to be guaranteed in times of crisis.