While it welcomes the pivotal role assigned to cohesion policy in its preliminary analysis of the European Commission's recovery plan, published on Friday 5 June, the Conference of Peripheral and Maritime Regions (CPMR) questioned the actual territorial dimension of the measures announced.
Firstly, the CPMR particularly welcomes the significant increase in the Just Transition Fund and the planned budget for REACT-EU (see EUROPE B12495), but notes that the revised proposal suggests slight cuts for the ERDF (-1.7%) and the ESF (-2.8%), compared to the initial proposal in 2018.
From the CPMR’s perspective, the crux of the problem is the criteria for allocating REACT-EU funds, as they contradict the Commission's desire to level out the territorial disparities that have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis. The report notes that the distribution key for the allocation of funding is based on national data (contrary to the ‘Berlin formula’ which relies on numerous NUTS2 level indicators).
Most importantly, financial resources are not distributed according to either categories of regions or territorial criteria, so that judgments are made at national level alone, which gives rise to fears of trade-offs that are more likely to be political than they are to be objective. There is a risk of disruption to regional programmes, as the regulation goes so far as to suggest the possibility of setting up a new dedicated national programme. In this instance, the CPMR emphasises the need for funding to be in line with the partnership principle.
Embedding governance of the Recovery and Resilience Facility within the ‘European Semester’ budgetary process framework will make it difficult for regions to make their voice heard. The CPMR believes that the “European Semester” needs to be reviewed to incorporate a partnership approach, similar to the approach taken in cohesion policy.
Similarly, the CPMR is concerned that the great flexibility in the transfer of funds could lead to transfers that benefit centrally managed instruments.
To consult the report, go to: https://bit.ly/3cFH6aR (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)