MEP and chair of the ‘Long-term Investment and Re-industrialisation of Europe’ Intergroup Dominique Riquet feels that stimulating investment at local level will require an increase by the EU of sources of financing for local communities, as he explained in an interview at the Council of Communities and Regions of Europe (CCRE) on Tuesday 11 April.
The MEP says that in order to encourage growth and support investment, local authorities should provide attractive public services and suitable job and housing solutions. This has been becoming more difficult since the start of the crisis because local authorities are seeing their direct income diminishing at the same time as cuts in monies from the central state. He explained that ever greater means are needed to invest but ever fewer resources are available.
The way Riquet sees it, the EU must increase the sources of financing for local communities and must also provide better information to the communities about existing opportunities under European financial instruments. In this regard, he feels it is necessary for the EU – in collaboration with the member states – to help public authorities set up and operationally and financially monitor dossiers, like what is foreseen for the Juncker Plan.
Riquet’s position may seem to go against the stream of current events since most regional and institutional actors are expecting a shrinking of the budget for European sources of financing, especially in the wake of Brexit (see EUROPE 11723).
Principally at national level. The MEP addressed the question of simplification of the use of Structural and Investment Funds, pointing out the role of the member states in ‘filtering’ the use of sources of EU financing. He feels that the local executive should be able to address the European level directly either by presenting their projects to the European Investment Bank (EIB) or through regional (national and crossborder) platforms for accessing finance.
The difference between investment and functioning expenditure. The MEP points out that one problem for local communities is presenting a balanced budget, unlike that of the state. He says that no distinction was made between financing through loans for investment expenditure and operational expenditure.
The future of the Cohesion Policy is starting to occupy the European institutional triangle. The General Affairs Council will be publishing a conclusions document on the future of Cohesion Policy on 25 April. EUROPE has already reported on the provisional content of the conclusions (see EUROPE 11768). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)