On Tuesday, 22 November, the Council of the EU adopted the conclusions prepared by the Czech Presidency on key principles and the future of cohesion policy (see EUROPE 13067/15).
Put to the vote as part of a General Affairs Council (GAC) dedicated to cohesion, these [conclusions] stress the importance of preserving the long-term objectives for the structural funds while insisting on the need to continue simplifying [cohesion policy] (see EUROPE 13064/17). They thus recognised the ability of cohesion policy to adapt to crises. “Our main target is to [not only] keep internal cohesion [...] in [the] long term but also [protect] the regions and the countries from these external impacts that can completely disrupt economic and social fabric”, summarised European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira after the deliberations.
The ministers also approved the EU budget for 2023, which has an overall level of commitment set at €186.6 billion. “Almost €63 billion [one-third of the budget] next year will be attributed to economic, social, and territorial cohesion. [...] That proves that it’s a strong instrument [that is] always supported by the [...] European Union”, said Czech Deputy Prime Minister for Digitalisation and Minister for Regional Development Ivan Bartoš.
Rule of law
While the conclusions touch on a multitude of topics, European ministers responsible for cohesion policy stressed, ahead of the meeting, the importance of respecting the EU’s fundamental values. German State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Sven Giegold stated decisively, “European structural funds should not be spent in regions where we have structural problems with corruption and the rule of law”. He thus called for the conditionality mechanism to be applied “consistently”. Reactions The #CohesionAlliance (see EUROPE 13041/7)—made up of 12,000 signatories including the European Committee of the Regions (CoR)—welcomed the Council conclusions, “which underline the importance of cohesion as a [...] pillar of the European Union”. It also expressed its willingness to work with the European Commission and EU countries to “further define the ‘do no harm to cohesion’ principle” (see EUROPE 12903/20). Finally, CoR President Vasco Alves Cordeiro praised “the commitment of Member States today to improve the coordination of EU funds geared towards Europe’s cohesion”.
To read the adopted conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/467 (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)