The Commissioner for Cohesion Policy and Reform, Elisa Ferreira, urged ministers to speed up the programming of cohesion policy for 2021-2027, at a General Affairs Council dedicated to cohesion policy on Thursday 18 November.
“I urged everyone today to make every effort to sharply accelerate the programming process and pave the way for rapid implementation of projects on the ground”, the Commissioner told a press conference. During the question-and-answer session, Mrs Ferreira said that there was still €150 billion to be spent under the 2014-2020 cohesion policy.
In particular, she stressed the importance of strengthening administrative capacity at central and regional levels. She added that partnerships should be expanded as much as possible, pointing to the risk of “going too fast” by ignoring many of the actors on the ground. In view of the sums involved, bearing in mind that they are now partly backed by common debt, it is also necessary to ensure programmes of the highest quality.
Responding to EUROPE, she added that any conflict between the implementation of the European Recovery Plan and cohesion policy, including the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), should be avoided.
The Slovenian Minister for Development and Cohesion Policy, Zvonko Černač, agreed, but added that there is “no need to rush but also no need to wait”, according to the Slovene-to-English interpretation.
The Minister estimated that the finalisation of programming could take place in the course of next year. In turn, he stressed the importance of combining the available European instruments as intelligently as possible: the cohesion funds and the REACT-EU initiative backed by the European Recovery Plan.
On the Just Transition Fund, a source of concern within the European Commission (see EUROPE 12833/10), Mrs Ferreira said that the level of advancement for the development of the funds varied greatly from one Member State to another. She added that the European Commission is in close dialogue with the Member States to make rapid progress with the implementation of the Fund, which has a shorter implementation period than the Structural and Investment Funds.
Link between the ‘European Semester’ and cohesion policy
During the in camera exchange, several Member States, mainly net contributors (Finland, Sweden and Denmark, in particular), called for a stronger link between the ‘European Semester’ budget process and cohesion policy, to ensure greater coherence in action at European level, according to two diplomatic sources.
The Netherlands emphasised that cohesion policy is primarily a structural instrument and not an instrument for responding to crisis situations. Other Member States, mainly net beneficiaries, have stressed the importance of the new flexibilities introduced, in particular for transfers of funds between regions.
Reviewing the cohesion funds rather than creating a Social Climate Fund
Although not a cohesion policy fund, the Social Climate Fund has been explicitly questioned by several Member States, including Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands. For these Member States, what this Fund provides for can be achieved through existing instruments, in particular the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). However, there is still the budgetary issue; the allocation for cohesion policy would have to be increased.
Approval of San Marino’s integration into EUSAIR
The Ministers also approved conclusions on the inclusion of the Republic of San Marino in the European Union Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region (EUSAIR) (see EUROPE 12834/8). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)