The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Wednesday 6 April that called for a faster implementation of the 2021–2027 Cohesion Policy.
This resolution follows the debate over the implementation of the new Cohesion Policy that was held during the last plenary session in Strasbourg (see EUROPE 12906/13). MEPs have called on both the European Commission and Member States to adopt the Cohesion Policy partnership agreements and programmes as soon as possible, without compromising their overall objectives.
Above all, they are urging Member States to view Cohesion Policy and the ‘Recovery and Resilience Facility’ (RRF) as a “budgetary tandem”, instead of prioritising the implementation of National Recovery Plans at the expense of Cohesion Policy programming.
They are also requesting that the Commission presents an emergency plan to reduce the risks of under-implementing and decommitment to Cohesion Policy by presenting a legislative proposal at the mid-term review of the implementation of Cohesion Policy. A corresponding revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework may be necessary, according to the resolution.
Parliamentarians are welcoming the CARE and CARE+ initiatives (see EUROPE 12918/7). However, they are worried that the funding that is made available may not be enough given the scale of the refugee crisis.
The three amendments that have been tabled by the ECR group – which insists on the use of Cohesion Policy to help Member States who are in the front line for welcoming refugees – were not retained by the MEPs.
To read the resolution: https://aeur.eu/f/14s (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)