Brussels, 21/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - Local authorities in Europe have joined forces to put pressure on EU leaders in the run-up to a European summit that will be decisive for the next multiannual financial framework (MFF) 2014-2020. They are striving to have Cohesion Policy spared the cuts that are little by little becoming apparent in the next European Union budget.
Joint statement. Cities, local and regional authorities have come together to send a clear, unequivocal message: the Commission budget proposal is the only one that has any value in their view. The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR), Eurocities and the Assembly of European Regions (AER) published a joint statement on Tuesday 20 November, two days before the extraordinary Council meeting at which the next EU budget is to be agreed. The document states that the four main European associations of local and regional government are deeply concerned about the impact a reduction in the European Union budget would have on the future of cohesion policy. They therefore call on national governments to maintain the cohesion budget at €339 billion, as proposed by the European Commission in July 2012. If cuts have to be implemented, then the associations stress that “under no circumstances should a potential reduction of the upcoming multiannual financial framework have a disproportionate impact on the future cohesion policy”.
Committee of the Regions on the same page. The Committee of the Regions (CoR) has not been left behind in bringing pressure to bear on decision-makers who meet in Brussels at the end of the week. It restates its firm opposition to any and all reduction in cohesion spending in the 2014-2020 budget. CoR Vice-President Mercedes Bresso, who is also the consultative body's rapporteur on the MFF, argues that the key role played by cohesion should be duly acknowledged through appropriate funding and she says that, if member states' contributions were reduced, then “own resources would have to have a much larger role to play”. CoR President Ramon Luis Valcarel emphasises that the cohesion budget is the very investment instrument that can overcome the crisis and says of the rising cuts in the MFF: “If this trend goes on, Europe's strategy for growth and jobs risk to be seriously compromised and the weakening of our main stimulus measures for growth could delegitimise the efforts for financial consolidation while harming economic recovery”. (MD/transl.fl)