The regions welcomed the agreement reached between the European Parliament and the EU Council, on Wednesday 2 December, on the umbrella regulation laying down common provisions on structural and investment funds, regretting, however, that macro-economic conditions, albeit weakened, remained in place and expressing concern at the blocking of the Recovery Plan by Poland and Hungary.
Committee of the Regions (CoR) President Apostolos Tzitzikostas welcomed the agreement on his Twitter account on the same day. “Now we can plan investments with simplified procedures and clarity on requirements”, he said. The President of the Committee of the Regions’ Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy (COTER), Isabelle Boudineau, for her part, welcomed the fact that the agreement will allow implementation starting 1 January 2021. However, the Commission was concerned about the Hungarian and Polish blockage of the Recovery Plan and the future Multiannual Financial Framework.
The President of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR), Cees Loggen, welcomed the fact that 30% of the funds are directed towards the fight against climate change. However, the CPMR regretted the maintenance of macro-conditionality, even if it is limited (see EUROPE 12614/11). “We have repeated time and again that this mechanism poses an unjust threat to regional and local authorities as well as beneficiaries, despite guarantees proposed in the new regulation”, said Eleni Marianou, the organisation’s Secretary General.
Furthermore, the CPMR welcomed the Interinstitutional Agreement on the Interreg regulation (see EUROPE 12615/16 ) and the fact that maritime cooperation is integrated into the framework of cross-border cooperation. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)