Brussels, 02/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 1 April, Commissioner Johannes Hahn, looking back over the past five years work before the European Parliament's regional development committee, welcomed the “enormous achievements” had been made.
The evaluation of the collaboration between Hahn and MEPs over the course of this Parliament is mainly positive with regard to the promises made by the commissioner at his first hearing in 2007.
Hahn highlighted the new macro-regional strategies currently being outlined (for the Alps and Adriatic-Ionian basin) and reform of the EU solidarity fund, which can now help countries or regions that have suffered from natural disasters more quickly. Above all, cohesion policy has been adapted so as to be able to confront crises more effectively. The commissioner affirmed that “the most difficult is behind us, structural funds and regional policy played their part” and emphasised that 600,000 jobs had been created thanks to European funding. The work on cohesion policy reform has effectively been accomplished and the regional development committee is as delighted about this as is Commissioner Hahn.
The co-rapporteur on this reform, Lambert Van Nistelrooij (EPP, Netherlands), asserted that the Parliamentary committee has bequeathed a “legacy” with this “new style” cohesion policy, particularly through the synergies possible between member states. The other rapporteurs on this cohesion policy dossier, Constanze Krehl (S&D, Germany) and Elisabeth Schroedter (Greens/EFA, Germany), did, however, highlight the problem of the reduced budget for cohesion policy. François Alfonsi (Greens/EFA, France) criticised the principle of “macro-economic conditions” applied to all funds and on which the Council has remained inflexible. Several MEPs questioned the way in which reform would be applied by the member states and underlined the danger of excessive bureaucracy being created. (MD)