During the first debate on the future of the cohesion policy between the 28 at ministerial level in the context of the Cohesion Council on Friday 30 November, the vast majority of Member States supported the proposal of the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the EU to return to programming the funds financed over seven years with the possibility, if necessary, of reprogramming after five years linked to country-by-country recommendations.
As a reminder, in its proposal made in May (see EUROPE 12029), the Commission provided for mandatory programming after five years in 2025 to meet the new challenges not anticipated at the beginning of the programming period. This mid-term review would be based on the 2024 country-by-country recommendations made as part of the 'European Semester' budget process. The proposal was unanimously opposed by all Member States.
The Austrian Presidency therefore suggested returning to a seven-year programming period, with the possibility of reprogramming the funded projects if necessary. The Presidency's proposal was accepted by consensus among the Member States.
German proposal. Germany suggested that only 50% of the funds should be programmed for the last two years, the other 50% being programmed over seven years. The proposal has yet to be studied, explained the Austrian Minister of Tourism and Sustainable Development, Elisabeth Köstinger. The French emissaries would have met their German counterparts in the morning and France could support the proposal in principle, but not without some clarification. The same applies for Italy. Poland also supported the German proposal.
Partnerships
The Presidency's proposal to maintain mandatory partnership agreements (agreements between different political levels on how structural and investment funds are spent), but with the possibility of exemptions for small Member States with few structural and investment funds, seemed to find general support. The argument is that these partnership agreements generate too much bureaucracy for small states given the small amounts managed. The Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Crețu, stressed the need for partnership agreements to concern everyone.
Maritime cooperation
The proposal to review the current Interreg structure was supported by a majority of Member States. This means that cross-border cooperation at maritime level will be maintained, which should reassure many regions (see EUROPE 12122).
New conditionalities. France mentioned the possible introduction of a new conditionality to prevent some Member States from using structural and investment funds to support fiscal and social dumping policies. One source explains that Hungary has allegedly financed its corporate tax allowance with the help of ESI funds.
Delay in negotiations. Asked at a press conference by EUROPE about the risk of not reaching an agreement on the various cohesion policy regulations under her mandate, Ms Crețu was optimistic and said she would do everything possible to obtain an agreement, to avoid a delay in programming as in the current period. However, she acknowledged that the differences between Member States were greater than she originally thought. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens and Mathieu Solal)