Brussels, 15/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - Deputy Prime Minister of Slovakia Peter Pellegrini, who has responsibility for investment and the information society, has said that he would rather not see any major changes to cohesion policy for the period after 2020, preferring to have improvements brought to the policy.
Pellegrini was speaking during a debate with MEPs on the European Parliament's regional development committee on Wednesday 13 July. He felt that there had to be greater transparency in cohesion policy and the best possible way found to combine financial instruments and structural and investment (ESI) funds.
Financial instruments will not be able to replace cohesion funds, he opined, echoing the fears of Lambert van Nistelrooij (EPP, Netherlands). Public investment could not be based on that form of financing alone, he argued. This is a position which, one may be sure, will be welcomed by the regions, which are expecting financial instruments to have a much greater role in the new cohesion policy (EUROPE 11591).
Setting out the priorities of the Slovak Presidency, Pellegrini argued that cohesion policy should remain the European Union's principal investment policy, thereby putting himself at odds with Germany. MEP and former French minister Jean Arthuis (ALDE) has also suggested that less importance should be given to this policy (EUROPE 11494).
Pellegrini also said that he wanted to end the distrust that reigns within the European institutions towards the regions and cities, in reference, here, to the issue of cumbersome audits and controls. This will be one of the priority areas of the Slovak Presidency in the area of EU regional policy, he stated. The lack of confidence is the reasons behind the complexity of the funds, he said. This is a view shared by Siim Kallas, chair of the high-level group on simplification (EUROPE 11571).
Still with regard to the future of cohesion policy, the minister shared the point of view expressed by Constanze Krehl (S&D, Germany) on the lack of communication that blights cohesion policy. In his mind, the outcome of the UK referendum that will lead to Brexit should provide the impetus for an overhaul of how European policies are communicated. This is a symptomatic problem, he feels, since cohesion policy delivers tangible results yet citizens have a very poor perception of it. Communication must be centred on results and must be expressed in clear terms, he said, suggesting that cohesion policy is not easily understood by citizens. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)