Younous Omarjee (GUE/NGL, France), Chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Regional Development (REGI), says that the European Commission must put its money where its mouth is in order to help the outermost regions (ORs), which have been heavily affected by the pandemic, he told EUROPE, on Wednesday 14 October, at the end of the three-day Forum on the Outermost Regions.
“What we expect from the Commission is concrete: strategies (referring to the strategy for the ORs - see Europe 11631/17) are one thing, taking action is another”, explained the MEP, who recalled the urgency of implementing, for example, safeguard clauses in trade agreements for the ORs. In addition, the MEP insisted that the institution should do what needs to be done on State Aid, especially in renewing traditional fleets. “Many things are the responsibility of the States, but the Commission must act”.
For the MEP, the provisions introduced during the crisis are good (such as the ban on money transfers from the ORs to other regions or the increase in co-financing) and should be maintained. However, “new instruments” must be developed, he said, as the situation on the ground evolves. “The ORs have paid the heaviest price during the crisis because of their initial fragility and their dependence on just a few economic pillars, starting with tourism”, he said.
In addition, the MEP insisted that the EU Council should take up the European Parliament’s proposals, in particular to set aside 1% under the Just Transition Fund for the ORs and 1% for islands (see EUROPE 12562/20), with a view to the negotiations which will open in November.
Above all, for Mr Omarjee, it is absolutely necessary not to cut the budget lines in the POSEI scheme (see EUROPE 12576/17), the ‘Programme of options specifically relating to remoteness and insularity’.
During the forum, there were many requests from the ORs side: continuation of the CRII and CRII+ instruments, in-depth adaptation of the EU Solidarity Fund and reinforcement of horizontal programmes, such as the rescEU programme. It is also necessary to take into account the specific problems of each OR. The Canary Islands have reportedly requested a review of the strategy on the ORs.
For its part, the European Commission, represented by Elisa Ferreira (Cohesion and Reform), Thierry Breton (Internal Market) and Virginijus Sinkevičius (Environment), reiterated its full commitment to the ORs and recalled that it was preparing an in-depth study on the situation of the ORs, which should be presented sometime next year. It will then be decided on what the next steps to take will be, but the partnership strategy remains the key (see EUROPE 12453/29).
One source explains that Article 349 of the TFEU, which enshrines the specific situation of the ORs, allows sufficient flexibility, as demonstrated by the initiatives taken in the framework of CRII and CRII+ or REACT-EU, to respond to the needs of the ORs. The Commission’s objective remains to promote growth and employment and this is still in line with the strategy. A revision would therefore not automatically be necessary. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)