Brussels, 06/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - European Commission President José Manuel Barroso has shared his concerns with the regions regarding the lack of an agreement on the next EU budget. There is a risk that there will be delays in implementing cohesion policy next year. He gave evidence of this during his meeting with the presidents of the European regional associations and the Committee of the Regions as part of structural dialogue between the EU and local authorities on Thursday 6 June.
Barroso called on the Parliament and Council to “agree swiftly on the future budget so that vital investment can start flowing to the member states and their regions as from 2014”. President of the Committee of the Regions Ramon Luis Valcarcel Siso therefore trusts an agreement will be reached “as soon as possible”, so that the regions may benefit from these crucial resources in order to overcome the crisis.
This meeting with Barroso also provided an opportunity for local authorities to influence the Commission's work programme for 2014 and the upcoming State of the Union address (in September 2013). Barroso said that the role of cities and regions is crucial in terms of achieving common targets, but the regions want more. The CoR president says it is time to have serious reflection about how the EU can truly boost the power of its regions and cities and bring the authorities closer to citizens. The president of the CPMR, who also attended the meeting, said there was a mismatch between the participation of regions in public spending in Europe and their role in “ongoing developments on reinforced European economic governance. A more inclusive model of the European semester would have long lasting results on the ground”. The Council of European Municipalities and Regions said that unused structural funds could be used to tackle youth unemployment. The other associations attending the summit were the Association des Frontières Européennes, Conference of the European Regional Legislative Parliament, Eurocities and the Assembly of European Regions. (MD/transl.jl/fl)