Brussels, 09/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - The new cohesion policy is now on track and received general approval during the 6th Cohesion Forum. It is now widely understood as one aspect of economic governance but the relationship still appears to be in need of an adjustment.
During the second day of the 6th Cohesion Forum, the presidents of the European institutions all praised the structural funds, particularly the recalibration, of how they are used in order to ensure better results. The question of economic governance, however, was never far from the minds of decision-makers and participants (see EUROPE 11150). José Manuel Barroso said that the European Semester provided an opportunity for regional and local authorities to become better rooted in the new cycle of economic governance. This view is perhaps not shared by the main stakeholders. The president of the Committee of the Regions, Michel Lebrun, noted that the regions' investment capacity should not be penalised by adverse economic rules. He said: “The rigidity of fiscal policies has affected the availability of funds for public investment from 2011 onward. This situation is not likely to change as fast as we all wish, without initiatives to mobilise resources for new, targeted investments”. Even European Commissioner for Regional Development Johannes Hahn suggested that cohesion policy did not receive the attention that it deserved in the Triangle of economic governance. He pointed out that it complemented it. He concluded that, “after all, fiscal consolidation and structural reforms, necessary as they may be, do not bring growth. But investment does and cohesion policy does exactly that: invests in regions and in people to generate growth and create jobs”. (MD)