Brussels, 11/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - Following the vote on Wednesday 11 July on the cohesion package (see EUROPE 10885) it was smiles all round. The Greens and the EPP appear relieved by the initial agreements reached on the regulation relating to common provisions for the five structural funds and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGCC).
Speaking on behalf of the EPP, the rapporteur on the general regulation, Lambert Van Nistelrooij (Netherlands) indicated that “thanks to our proposals, this cohesion policy will shift toward supporting genuine growth in the regions”. He added that “there is no longer any question of spending money on the construction of buildings and roads. Creating green and 'smart' jobs is much more important as a means to find a way out of the crisis”. His French colleague, Marie-Thérèse Sanchez-Schmid, added that, “in these times of crisis, structural funds are the final large-scale public investments in the future of Europe. It is now up to the states and regions to take over, without complicating or politicising these funds”.
The Greens were fairly pleased, too, and Karima Delli (France) said that “the new regulations for cohesion policy will enhance cross-cutting fund action as a means of developing a joint response to the many different local needs, particularly in urban areas”. She is also hoping that member states and the local and regional authorities will swiftly implement the reform and develop better “delegation of management and local initiatives”.
The Greens are also pleased with the greening of the funds, both the ERDF with investment in the energy transition by means of renewable energies and the cohesion fund. Nikos Chrysogelos (Greece) appreciated the fact that these fund priorities were going towards “energy saving in buildings, promoting renewable energies and environmental projects, regenerating ecosystems and urban and derelict land renewal”.
The local authorities were also positive about the vote. The Committee of the Regions (CoR) welcomed the committee vote, as did the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) . CoR President Ramon Luis Valcarcel insisted that the plenary vote take place after the summer “as it becomes more and more urgent to finalise the partnership agreement and operational programmes”. Nonetheless, the CoR and CEMR, like the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe (CPMR) (see EUROPE 10885), are calling on MEPs to stand firm on the points that are still being negotiated, namely thematic concentration and the performance and proportionate ex ante conditions framework. Representatives from the local authorities are still unanimously rejecting the macro-economic conditions. (MD/transl.fl)