Brussels, 27/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - Socialists and progressives at the European Parliament and the Committee of the Regions have set out their views on cohesion policy. In a ten-point programme, their manifesto for the upcoming negotiations at EU level is set out for the updating of cohesion policy for the 2014-2020 programming period. They argue for strong cohesion without macroeconomic strings attached.
Hannes Swoboda of Austria, leader of the S&D Group at the European Parliament, said the common agenda would send a clear message to the EU and national leaders alike because a European growth agenda is not possible without a strong European cohesion policy as the major public investment tool in the EU and a significant contribution to further investment. Socialists and progressives at the EP and the CoR do not want any macroeconomic strings to be attached or funding automatically withheld while awaiting details of performance. They call for an appropriate cohesion budget of at least the same size as the current programming period and a regulation setting out common measures to ensure coherence among the structural funds, the common agricultural policy and the common fisheries policy. They like the idea of simplification and focusing on specific themes and are keen for the cohesion policy to make a tangible contribution to achieving the EU 2020 strategy targets. The way they see it, all the regions should be eligible for cohesion fund cash on the basis of partnership through a “territorial” approach covering both the urban and the rural dimension. To this end, the regions should be placed at the heart of cohesion policy investment. Karl-Heinz Lambertz, head of the PES at the CoR, said: “Setting an EU growth agenda is far more than economics. It's about financing public investment in cities and regions and giving people hope.” (MD/transl.fl)