12/07/2022 (Agence Europe) – The European Parliament’s Committee on Regional Development said on Tuesday (12 July) that European cohesion policy funding should not be used to fill budgetary needs arising from an overly limited EU financial framework, when it adopted the draft ‘Krehl’ report on the European Commission’s 8th Cohesion Report (see EUROPE 12887/2). At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, and now to accommodate refugees fleeing Ukraine due to the Russian invasion and to accelerate the reduction of Europe’s dependence on Russian hydrocarbons, cohesion funds can be reallocated to address the emergency. After 2027, MEPs call for a cohesion budget at least equal to that of the period 2021-2027, to which would be added a new generation Just Transition Fund to support the transition of industrial regions. (MB)