Concerned about the direction of negotiations among Member States on the next Multiannual Financial Framework, the Executive Bureau of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) adopted a resolution on Wednesday, 6 November, in which it called for a sufficient budget for the post-2020 cohesion policy.
CEMR members are also concerned about creating a new Just Transition Fund (see EUROPE 12352/9), an initiative in itself, in their opinion, as long as this new fund is financed using additional budget allocations and not at the expense of the cohesion policy budget, which has already been slashed compared to the 2014–2020 budget.
Last but not least, CEMR has expressed that it is fully committed to the cardinal principle of the cohesion policy: partnership. CEMR believes that this principle should apply throughout the European Union.
On the EU Council’s side of things, exemptions to the principle of partnership would be considered for many Member States.
Interinstitutional negotiations on the common provisions regulation for structural and investment funds had stumbled on this point at the beginning of the year (see EUROPE 12212/15). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)