Brussels, 22/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - European Regional Policy Commissioner Johannes Hahn, who is aware of the polemic surrounding the Commission's legislative proposals for the future cohesion policy 2014-2020, has clarified his stance on the matter. This was in the presence of Elzbieta Bienkowska, Poland's Regional Development Minister, at a conference on the subject organised on Wednesday 22 November in Brussels by a Polish think tank, Demos Europa, Centre for European Strategy.
The commissioner said there have been extensive discussions on “thematic concentration” (i.e. investment aimed more than ever at limited number of growth-enhancing investment priorities linked to EUROPE 2020) in the Council and that many may perceive thematic concentration as being too rigid. He, however, would argue: “We cannot on the one hand make a strong commitment to the priorities of EUROPE 2020 and on the other hand spread our limited resources too thinly on a broad range of issues. (…) The time has come to focus on what needs to be done urgently to boost our competitiveness”.
Johannes Hahn also said that, as far as ex-post conditionalities are concerned, the regulation proposes clear provisions to reward programmes that perform well. This is not about programmes competing with one another, he said, but it is about making sure that programmes meet their targets and objectives, it is about rewarding good performance. Five percent of the allocations will be kept aside and allocated in 2019 on the basis of an in-depth review.
Hahn's tone is still reassuring when he tackles the subject of macro-economic conditionality, saying: “This option is very much a last resort measure when member states refuse to respond to the challenges of striving for healthy public finance. In these extreme cases, we do propose to suspend transfer of resources under EU structural policies”.
Addressing those who remain sceptical about real simplification of cohesion policy for the next programming period, Johannes Hahn stated that, by proposing a single overarching regulation that sets out common features and mechanisms for five funding instruments, “this is a bold step towards simpler access and better coordination”. Further simplification can be found in the daily management of the funds, he said, and flexibility has been introduced whether in the design of programmes or in combining different instruments. (MD/transl.jl)