On Tuesday 23 July, MEPs on the European Parliament's Committee on Regional Development (REGI) have shown themselves to be rather concerned before the Finnish Minister for Economic Affairs, Katri Kulmuni, about the ambitions, including budgetary ambitions, of the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU.
Although Ms Kulmuni assured that the Finnish Presidency was fully committed to a “balanced agreement” for the budget of the next multiannual financial framework (MFF) in her opening remarks, MEPs did not seem convinced. The harshest criticisms came from Southern and Eastern European MEPs, who did not fail to recall Finland's harsh positions as a net contributor.
For example, the former co-rapporteur of the Common Provisions Regulation, Andrey Novakov (EPP, Bulgaria), questioned the virtual absence of a reference to cohesion policy in the Presidency's programme.
It is true that cohesion is only the subject of one paragraph at the end of the programme. And what’s more, a paragraph, as Mr Novakov notes, which explicitly mentions the reduction of funds in line with regional progress.
This is a non-starter for MEP Tamás Deutsch (EPP, Hungary), who considers that such an approach amounts to sanctioning virtuous and efficient regions that have made substantial progress during the last mandate.
Spain's Cristina Maestre Martín de Almagro (S&D), for her part, recalled the challenge of depopulation in many parts of her country. Francesca Donato (ID, Italy), in turn, recalled how the regions of southern Italy, especially Sicily, are the most deprived, also dealing with the effects of climate change.
The Chairman of the Committee himself, Younous Omarjee (GUE/NGL, France), deplored the absence of a General Affairs Council entirely dedicated to cohesion and the absence of an informal meeting on the matter in the Finnish Presidency's programme.
Make progress, not a deal
Ms Kulmuni remained vague about the level of budgetary ambition of the Finnish Presidency, reiterating that she will seek a “balanced” agreement between new and old priorities. She stressed the Presidency's willingness to move quickly in the MFF negotiations and said she was ready to open negotiations on the Common Provisions Regulation as early as September, if the European Parliament is also ready.
In this regard, she explained that it is precisely because the Finnish Presidency wants to make progress on the trilogues (interinstitutional negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council) that it has not scheduled an informal meeting. If progress in trilogues is genuine, the Finnish Presidency will convene a General Affairs Council dedicated to cohesion policy.
It should be noted that throughout the meeting, Ms Kulmuni spoke of moving the negotiations forward, but never indicated that she was aiming for an agreement.
Arctic region. In addition, Ms Kulmuni highlighted the need to invest in the Arctic region in order to profit economically. Some MEPs, annoyed by some comments, were concerned about the very nature of this “economic exploitation” and its environmental impact, such as Niklas Nienass (Greens/EFA, Germany), while others insisted on the need to take into account all peripheral and island regions, such as Raffaele Fitto (ECR, Italy). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)