Brussels, 12/04/2012 (Agence Europe) - Parliamentarians from the EPP Group are determined to defend the concept of European regional cooperation and the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC).
Funding on increase. During the public hearing organised by the EPP Group on Wednesday 11 April, Marie-Thérèse Sanchez-Schmid (France) was eager to point out that territorial cooperation involved “almost 196,000,000 European citizens, or 40% of the population living in border regions”. She appealed for the EU budget to be reassessed and said that “the Commission is proposing the allocation of €11.7 billion for 2014 - 2020, which only represents 3.48% of the overall envelope for cohesion policy. We have to be more ambitious! Putting European territorial cooperation back at the heart of the debate on financial perspectives is crucial.” The Parliament is also currently examining revision of legislation on territorial cooperation and the EGTC.
EGTC, an essential tool. The rapporteur on the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation regulation, Joachim Zeller (EPP, Germany) said: “In face of the current revision of cohesion policy, we have to strengthen and better promote this instrument at local, regional, national and also EU level in order to boost territorial co-operation across European borders. The proposed improvements will lead to more legal certainty and a smooth functioning of existing EGTCs as well as enhanced access and attractiveness for possible partners.” The Committee of the Regions (CoR) is also working with the Parliament, so that the profile and effectiveness of the tool are enhanced and so that the Commission proposed improvements can enter into force more quickly. The CoR is therefore appealing for faster legislative procedures but the Council is proving slow to take things in hand. (MD/transl.fl)