Brussels, 01/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - At the end of rapid procedure, the European Parliament came out in support on Thursday 1 December in favour of increasing the rate of co-funding for member states experiencing economic difficulties.
Barely 4 months after the Commission proposal, MEPs have voted yes (536 vote for, 43 against, with 44 abstentions) to the legislation that will allow for 10 percentage points more in European money towards co-funding European structural fund projects. This means that countries affected by this project could obtain Union assistance that is worth up to 95% in the best scenarios. The countries mainly concerned by this measure are Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Romania, Latvia and Hungary.
It is under the guidance of the president of the parliamentary committee in charge of regional development, Danuta Hübner (EPP, Poland), that the report was rapidly approved. She welcomed this action, given the urgent nature of the situation and the need to, “reduce pressure on national budgets and promote investment through European regional policy that will help restore growth, encourage job creation and increase productivity”. The president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, welcomed the European Parliament's support for economic recovery in Europe, saying that this approach is an expression of the EU's solidarity and support towards member states that are to set measures in place to adjust to difficult economic situations. EU member states will adopt these texts on 12 December next. (MD/trans/fl)