Brussels, 20/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - An important step was taken in the negotiations regarding reform of Cohesion Policy for 2014-2020, in the form of an initial informal agreement between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU on Tuesday 18 December. This agreement focuses on an initial negotiating block of around 20 articles pertaining to the partnership principle, which should be guaranteed in the programming of structural funds. The author of the report, Lambert Van Nistelrooij (EPP, Netherlands), who headed the negotiations said that, “the regions and the local authorities will have more influence in the partnership agreement drafted between EU member states and the European Commission for the period 2014-2020”. He noted that, “in times of crisis, some member states chose to use European funds to fill in the holes in their national budgets. Therefore the European Parliament has chosen to set up a code of conduct. This code of conduct prevents EU regional policy from being renationalised”. This code of conduct was approved by the negotiators and sets out guidelines for applying the partnership principle. The agreement also ensures flexibility that both the Council and the European Parliament hold dear, during the programming of structural funds.
With this initial agreement, Constanze Krehl (S&D, Germany) explained that there was an absolute necessity to provide “the actors on the ground - member states, the regional and local authorities and all partners - with security, stability and clarity about the rules governing the programming for European funds”. They will subsequently be able to begin preparations for programming funds and avoiding delays in 2014. The two European institutions also decided to rename the five structural fund instruments (the European regional development funds, the European social fund, the cohesion fund, the European agricultural fund for rural development and the European maritime and fisheries fund) the “Structural and Investment Funds”.
Although this agreement on the first negotiating block is an important step, a lot still needs to be done: 16 other negotiating blocks still need to be approved. The next block examined in the trialogue under the Irish presidency is expected to focus on the thematic concentration or the common strategic framework. (MD/transl.fl)