The members of the European Parliament committee on regional development have expressed concern about budget cuts foreseen in cohesion policy beyond 2020, but also about the new budgetary breakdown between funds and between member states. They were addressing an extraordinary session attended by the relevant commissioner, Corina Cretu, on Thursday 31 May (see EUROPE 12029).
Jan Olbrycht (EPP, Poland) was the most critical. He knocked the announcements made by the budget commissioner, Günther Oettinger, who constantly spoke of 7% budget cuts when these are 10% in real terms. Furthermore, Olbrycht expressed fears about the cuts planned for the cohesion fund, speaking of a drop of 46%.
Olbrycht also asked whether the reduction of the cohesion fund allocation corresponded to a reduction in the number of less developed regions. In addition, he voiced alarm at the cuts of up to 24% foreseen for certain member states, such as Poland and Hungary.
On this point, Dimitrios Papadimoulis (GUE/NGL, Greece) fears conflict between the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the southern countries, in order to rebalance national envelopes.
On the whole, most MEPs regret the budget cuts planned by the Commission. Among them are Constanze Krehl (S&D, Germany), Monika Vana (Greens/EFA, Austria) and Matthijs van Miltenburg (ALDE, Netherlands).
Cretu also bemoaned the reduction, acknowledging that, in real terms, the cuts proposed are around 10%. In her view, “the worst has been avoided” as the cuts planned one year ago were up to 50%. The commissioner noted that the number of less developed regions remains unchanged.
The commissioner gave an explanation regarding the breakdown between member states. She reiterated in substance that the cohesion fund was intended for the regions most in need and that it had been created to support, in particular, the development and modernisation of infrastructure in Central and Eastern Europe as of 2004.
The situation of these member states has clearly improved since then, such as in Poland. In other countries, on the other hand, the situation has deteriorated, such as in Greece or Cyprus, two countries that came under macro-economic bailout plans.
The commissioner also explained that it was necessary to take into account the intensity of aid per capita, which allows better account to be taken of demographic developments in the regions.
Safety net
According to one source, the Commission has planned the setting in place of a safety net to prevent certain member states from falling too hard. That net was fixed at -24% compared to the current allocation. Without the safety net, Hungary would have lost over 30% of its allocation, she explained.
Aid intensity per capita would be more representative. Thus, Hungary would receive some €250 per capita over the period 2021-2027, like Poland which is at a slightly lower level, compared with around just €13 for the Netherlands. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)