In a press release published on Tuesday 12 June, the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) expressed concern about the limited resources allocated to the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for the peripheral regions.
The CPMR regrets that only 2% of the EU budget forecast for the next multiannual financial framework is dedicated to the CEF, despite the significant infrastructure requirements of the peripheral regions. This calculation excludes the budget dedicated to military mobility, explains the CPMR.
The organisation also considers it problematic that emphasis is put on the cross-border regions, which could effectively restrict access to the CEF for non-border regions. In this regard, it is requesting that the ports be considered as cross-border entities and are therefore eligible beneficiaries to a co-financing rate of up to 50%, despite the fact that the regulation is only proposing 30% in its current format.
The CPMR is also concerned that the European Commission is strengthening the direct management of the CEF.
The Secretary-General of the CPMR, Eleni Marianou, called on the European Parliament to recalibrate the proposal presented by the European Commission on 6 June (see EUROPE 12035), in order to better take into account the requirements of the peripheral and maritime regions. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)