Brussels, 07/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - The negotiations that are well into the final straight on cohesion policy reform slipped into the opening session of the Open Days, the celebration of cities and regions, on Monday 7 October. A technical trilogue is scheduled for Tuesday 8 October, another for Thursday 10, and it is possible that further meetings will take place next week to conclude the package before the next financial planning period from 2014 to 2020.
At the opening, Regional Development Commissioner Johannes Hahn confirmed that agreement was within touching distance and that all the European institutions were fully aware that a decision had to be reaching “now”. He told the representatives of public and regional authorities in Brussels this week for the Open Days that efforts were not being spared in helping the institutions come to agreement. What is needed is the cornerstone to sanction this work, he said, the main hitch still being macroeconomic conditionality.
Committee of the Regions (CoR) President Ramon Luis Valcarcel repeated the CoR's opposition to this, and he said it would be prepared to refer the matter to the Court of Justice of the EU. With regard to the performance reserve, which is a further stumbling block in the talks, the CoR president offered an alternative proposal drafted by his members for a flexibility reserve which would allow money that has been set aside to be invested in innovative projects.
European Commission President José Manuel Barroso highlighted the importance of regional policy for stimulating investment. He also stressed the importance of making good use of the money, something the new partnership agreements should help achieve. He is of the view that there is a need for ownership to be taken of EU-funded projects and for these projects to be firmly anchored locally, hence the need to go into the cities and regions. (MD/transl.fl)