EU Budget 2021-2027: cuts to
regional funds will weaken Europe's future, warns EU-wide coalition
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#CohesionAlliance:
European Commission's EU long-term budget proposals set to cut cohesion
policy by up to 10% and indicate worrying signals of centralisation
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Cohesion policy is the EU's most
powerful investment tool and currently accounts for one-third of the EU
budget but cuts proposed by the European Commission for the years 2021-2017
would reduce its share from 34% to 29%. Such reduction risks deepening
divides in Europe and making Europe's future weaker according to the EU-wide #CohesionAlliance.
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The European Commission proposal
for the EU long term budget – or Multiannual Financial
Framework – which sets the EU's expenditure
ceilings for the period after 2020, attracted serious concern among the #CohesionAlliance
supporters. The EU-wide coalition was 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 - in October last year and since then has
attracted around 5000 individual signatories, 115 regions, 80 cities, 50
associations of regional and local authorities, 40 Members of the European
Parliament and 30 sectorial associations representing more than 90% of the
EU's population.
In the proposal unveiled on 2 May, the
Commission proposed reducing funding, a separation of the European Social
Fund from the other cohesion funds, the introduction of new conditionalities
and links to macro-economic governance, alongside potentially centralising
investment decisions. These proposals are in clear contrast with the Alliance's
declaration
that calls for a stronger EU cohesion policy after 2020, covering all
regions, preserving the role of cities and regions in delivering the policy,
better integrating the different funds and tools, and not submitted to new
conditionalities.
"Cohesion
policy risks being fragmented and centralised. The proposal to cut cohesion
funding downsizes the only EU policy that brings true European added-value to
regions and cities. Excluding regional and local communities from having a
direct say on EU investment plan and decisions, coupled with separating tools
and cuts to regional policy, risks seriously undermining the cohesion of
Europe over the next decade", said the President of the European
Committee of the Regions, Karl-Heinz
Lambertz.
While appreciating the overall size of the
EU budget - given the financial impact of Brexit - and the introduction of
new own resources, the President of CPMR and of Portugal's Regional
Autonomous Government of the Azores, Vasco
Alves Cordeiro, stressed that: “The Commission's EU budget proposals meet
neither the expectations nor the needs of the European Union. The proposed
budget cuts to key policies for our regions, including Cohesion Policy and
the Common Fisheries Policy, are very worrying and will only drive the EU
further away from its citizens”.
The vital role of cohesion policy was
stressed by the President of EUROCITIES and Mayor of Ghent in Belgium Daniël Termont: "Cohesion policy should remain a strong
pillar in the EU budget. It should reach all cities in the EU and empower
them to act locally for a more inclusive, prosperous, democratic and
sustainable Europe. I call on all European leaders to financially strengthen
this policy and use it as a firm basis for a genuine partnership between the
EU and its cities."
AEBR's President Oliver Paasch, Minister-President
of the German-speaking Community of Belgium, said: "Cohesion Policy should keep, at least, the weight it has in the
current period both in terms of architecture and financing, addressing all EU
territories and keeping local and regional authorities involved as much as
possible in the definition or regulations, the setting of priorities and its
relationship with other EU policies."
CALRE President, Ana Luís, president of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous
Region of The Azores, pointed out that: "The EU's proposal for the
next multiannual financial framework is a clear disappointment, especially
for those who defend, as CALRE does, a more cohesive Europe and closer to its
regions, namely by virtue of a significant reduction of the financial
envelope for Cohesion Policy. It is true that initial expectations were not
very high, however it was expected that the EU would truly assume its role as
the driving force behind integration and present a proposal which,
notwithstanding realistic, would also be ambitious and serve as a good basis
for the discussions with the European Parliament and the Member States in the
Council".
The president of the Emilia-Romagna Region
and CEMR president, Stefano Bonacini,
declared: "By cutting cohesion
policy the Commission is seriously letting down Europe's towns and regions.
Even on the basis of 2018 prices, this will represent a loss of 41 billion
EUR for local and regional governments for the 2020-2027 period. On top of
this, much more clarification is still needed regarding the future programmes
and issues such as co-financing of cohesion projects. What does the
Commission mean by saying it will increase national co-financing? Will all
regions still be able to receive funding? What does the "rule of
law" clause mean for local and regional governments? But every cloud has
a silver lining. We are pleased that simplification and flexibility will be
two pillars of the next cohesion policy, as towns and regions have long
called for. Moreover, the Commission's decision to include climate,
digitalisation, transport or innovation as priorities is definitely a step
forward. However, it still needs to say whether towns and regions will have
direct access to this funding. "
The AER President, and President of the Region
Västra Götaland in Sweden, Magnus
Berntsson said: "While the
Commission’s proposal to simplify the cohesion policy framework is welcomed,
the proposed EU cohesion budget is less ambitious than we hoped. The proposed
cuts to cohesion policy show a lack of commitment to scale up a budget that
works towards economic, social and territorial cohesion across the EU. The
proposal to take out the European Social Fund of the Cohesion heading also
worries us. Such decisions are likely to undermine the ability of the Union
to achieve sustainable, inclusive and smart growth outcomes in the future. We
are still waiting to see what these proposed numbers will look like, but
whatever the outcome, we will work hard with our member regions to use this
budget in a way that helps the regions of Europe to stay strong and grow
stronger."
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.
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