The European Commission’s director-general for regional and urban policy, Marc Lemaître, although not very satisfied with the situation, was reassuring about the real consequences of the slow implementation of the EU’s post-2020 cohesion policy, during an exchange with the European Parliament’s Regional Development Committee (REGI) on Monday 15 November. However, he was much more concerned about the situation of the Just Transition Fund.
The European official was less alarmist than MEPs about the delay in approving the partnership agreements (only the Greek one has been approved, and the German and Austrian ones are in the process of being approved), as well as the programming (80% will be submitted in 2022) (see EUROPE 12738/16).
This delay is explained, according to Mr Lemaître, by: – the late adoption of the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework; – the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the work of national and regional authorities, but also of the European Commission; and – the adoption and implementation of the REACT-EU initiative and the Next Generation EU Recovery Plan.
However, the Director General saw the “glass as half full”. “In the course of this year, the [2014-2020] cohesion policy has provided more support than ever before in its history”, he said, insisting that there is still €150 billion of this programming period to be disbursed in the next 2 years.
Furthermore, in the new programming cycle, projects will be eligible from 1 January 2021. Thus, if projects could not be financed from the remainder of the 2014-2020 period, Member States could submit expenditure for reimbursement immediately after the approved projects. Thus, the uncommitted amounts for 2021 will be spread over the period from 2022 to 2025.
“For the Member States, this is a strong incentive not to be too quick”, commented Mr Lemaître.
Finally, in his view, this delay may be potentially beneficial for the quality of programming, as it allows time for all actors to take the measure of the new climate objectives included in the ‘Fit for 55’ package, which aims to reduce greenhouse gases by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990, but also of the structural impact of the pandemic.
MEPs expressed strong concerns about the particularly long delay (see EUROPE 12774/13). REGI Committee Chairman Younous Omarjee expressed concern that the cohesion funds would compete with the European Recovery Plan and ultimately lead to two-speed European policies.
“Worrying” situation for the Just Transition Fund
Mr Lemaître was much more concerned about the implementation of the Just Transition Fund. “I have a concern, a very serious concern, and I will share it with you without any filter: it is about our new instrument called the Just Transition Fund. The clock is ticking much faster on the Just Transition Fund” than the other cohesion funds, he noted.
Half of the fund is financed by the European Recovery Plan, which has a deadline for disbursements of 2026, as opposed to the end of the decade for the other cohesion policy funds. The European official said that both the development of the territorial transition plans and the programming are progressing, but at a “slower pace” than for the other regional policy funds.
For Mr Lemaître, it is also a question of validating the governance proposed by this tool. If, by 2024, it is not proven that this instrument is effective, “some” Member States could question the governance proposed by this type of tool. Especially at a time when the European Recovery Plan is being rolled out at national level with a vengeance.
In conclusion, the senior official called on MEPs to relay his message to the national authorities. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)