Local and regional leaders of the European Union, meeting in Kiruna, Sweden, on Friday 28 April, adopted a declaration that calls on the European institutions to “take account of the specific situation of remote areas and areas with geographic and demographic handicaps during the mid-term review of the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027 and with a view to the debate on the European Union’s future budget cycle”.
The declaration, entitled ‘Achieving a green, just and fair transition with and in all European regions’, was signed at the Committee of the Regions’ (CoR) ‘Bureau’ meeting, organised under the Swedish Presidency of the EU Council and attended by Erik Slottner, the Swedish Minister for Public Administration.
The text recognises the undeniable impact of the climate crisis, which is “a major threat for everyone but especially for more remote regions such as the Arctic” and has serious consequences for their socio-economic development and biodiversity.
The ecological and digital transitions, which will be necessary to achieve the EU’s ambition of climate neutrality by 2050, create opportunities for sustainable prosperity, while posing a number of important challenges for all regions of Europe, in particular those suffering from geographical and demographic handicaps, such as sparsely populated areas, islands and the outermost regions.
The fundamental role of cohesion policy is recalled (as the Union’s main investment policy to support locally targeted development in all of Europe’s territories), as well as its key role in addressing serious structural difficulties.
At a press conference, Vasco Alves Cordeiro, President of the CoR, argued that, “without cohesion, there is no Europe. The debate is about the future of the cohesion policy and the CoR is committed to promoting and defending this policy”.
Link to the statement: https://aeur.eu/f/6m1 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)