The European Committee of the Regions warmly welcomes the adoption of
the European Parliament
report on the Common Provision Regulations
(CPR) for EU funds under shared management, during the plenary session
held on 13 February in Strasbourg. The report converges with the key
points of
CoR opinion
prepared by the President of the CoR PES Group Catiuscia Marini (IT/PES), President of the Umbria
Region, and by the President of the CoR EPP Group Michael Schneider, State Secretary, Representative of
the Land of Saxony-Anhalt to the Federal Government.
As highlighted by the CoR President, Karl-Heinz Lambertz, "
Both EU political assemblies demand the respect of the principles
of partnership and multilevel governance, insist that the
preparation and implementation of the investment plans should take
place at the appropriate territorial level, and oppose any
suspension of funds punishing regions and cities as a consequence
of decisions taken by national governments
".
According to Ms Marini, "
Today's vote is a breakthrough for cities and regions, as the
report takes on board our demands for a strong cohesion policy,
that remains available to all regions and is managed in partnership
with local actors
.
The vote also confirms our ambition to make cohesion policy the key
tool to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and fight against
inequality and climate change at all levels across the EU. We call
now on the Member States to do their part. Any delay on the next EU
budget would be lethal for local and regional authorities that
desperately need cohesion funds to bring forward investment that
have a real impact on the lives of citizens.
"
In a context where many expect cuts to cohesion policy after 2020, the
EP report calls for capping the reduction of funds also at regional
level, a key request of the CoR, recalled by Mr Schneider: "
The European Parliament sends a clear message for a strong and
effective Cohesion Policy, which supports investments in our cities
and regions also in the next programming period. I congratulate
Andrey Novakov and Constanze Krehl on the adoption of their report
. In particular,
I welcome the agreement on the 'safety net' which guarantees
sustainable continued funding for our regions. This is a good step
towards the final agreement on the regulations in time and avoiding
delays in the use of the funds starting in 2021
."
With regards to the provisions obliging the Commission to freeze
structural funds in Member States who fail to comply with the EU's
budgetary and fiscal discipline, the Parliament vote, after years of
discussions, goes now towards a deletion that was urged by the CoR
since 2013, when the rule was introduced. "
Excessive deficit procedures that freeze EU investment on reducing
disparities and supporting weakest communities would leave citizens
out in the cold at the very moment when they are demanding support
from the EU",
commented the President Lambertz, adding that: "
By changing its approach to this issue and increasing the
flexibility of the Stability and Growth Pact to boost cohesion
policy investment, the
European Parliament shows to be closer to the European people and
their hope to have more solidarity within the EU
".
As for the matching funds that national and regional authorities must
make available to activate cohesion policy's financial support – the so
called "co-financing rates" –, the EP report is mostly in line with the
CoR opinion, demanding to lower the minimum financial effort requested
to Member States and regions, in comparison with the Commission's
proposal
tabled in May.
Full convergence also on reintroducing the European Agricultural Fund
for Rural Development into the CPR, to better integrate it with the
other cohesion funds; securing financial allocation for the whole
2021-2027 period; and keeping the 'n+3' rule - which sets a maximum 3
year deadline between the formal commitment of funds for a project and
the moment payments are actually operated – instead of switching to
'n+2' as proposed by the Commission.
Note for editors
The main points of convergence between the European Parliament position
adopted today and the Committee demands are the following:
· reference to the appropriate territorial level for administering the
programmes;
· the need for taking the latest available statistical data for NUTS 2
regions;
· reference to the Code of Conduct for Partnership and multilevel
governance;
· the inclusion of integrated approaches to address demographic or
natural challenges in the Partnership Agreements (and also the
operational programmes);
· the clarification that enabling conditions should only apply to the
extent to which they contribute to the objectives of the Funds;
-
the proposal to maintain the 7 year programming period;
-
the increase of pre-financing rates;
-
maintaining the n+3 rule;
-
the establishment of a regional safety-net and
-
the increase of the co-financing rates.
Contact:
Pierluigi Boda (IT, EN)
Tel: +32 2 282 2461
Mobile: +32 473 85 17 43
pierluigi.boda@cor.europa.eu