Brussels, 13/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - The Greens have made no attempt to conceal their disappointment after the vote on the cohesion package in the European Parliament (EP) regional development committee (REGI), in which they abstained. The Committee of the Regions (CoR), on the other hand, has welcomed the approach adopted by MEPs, acknowledging the role of local authorities and removing macro-economic conditionality.
Greens bitter. The Greens Group in the EP was not at all happy with the turn of events which led them to abstain in the final vote. Elisabeth Schroedter (Germany) was bitter, calling the vote on the package “a missed opportunity for properly reforming and modernising the EU's structural funds”. She regretted that MEPs had “succeeded in dismantling a relatively positive proposal from the Commission … for supporting innovation and sustainable development in Europe's regions”. Her colleague Karima Delli (France) took the same line: “the two major parties of the Left and the Right, the S&D, and the EPP, joint rapporteurs on the text, muzzled the debate to the disadvantage of innovation and dialogue with the other political groups. It was this deterioration of collaborative governance, coupled with the lack of new proposals to bring greater simplification and greater consideration of environmental factors, which pushed us to abstain in the final vote”. Nevertheless, she fully approved the removal of macro-economic conditionality. This was a source of satisfaction shared by the CoR.
CoR happy. The CoR, too, has long argued that the effect of macro-economic conditionality would be to make the regions suffer the consequences of poor management of public finances at national level. The Committee also welcomes the other courageous advances made by the EP, the ending of the performance reserve for the most dynamic regions. The CoR felt that setting aside 5% of funding ran counter to the philosophy of cohesion policy. The Committee is happy that the role of local authorities has been fully recognised, particularly through strengthening of partnership contracts. The CoR believes that it had managed to persuade the Parliament over transition regions since MEPs voted for them to be retained in the Commission proposal.
Transition regions. For many French MEPs this was a key point: “After difficult negotiations, we managed to get a category for 'transition regions' which will receive European aid better tailored to the challenges they have to face”, said French EPP MEPs Alain Cadec, Brice Hortefeux, Marie-Thérèse Sanchez-Schmid and Maurice Ponga. The French Socialist delegation was more explicit on the reasons for the French contentment: “Creation of a 'transition regions' category will mean that a dozen French regions will receive further funding in these times of crisis”, said Patrice Tirolien. (MD/transl.rt)