“We want to give a new impetus to cohesion policy”, said Vasco Alves Cordeiro, President of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), on Thursday 22 June, on the eve of a meeting in Sibiu, Romania, of the CoR’s Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget (COTER).
This committee will discuss cohesion policy post-2027, following the expiry of the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and at a time when the European Commission has just presented its proposals on the mid-term review of the MFF (see EUROPE 13205/1).
“Only a strong cohesion policy [...] can ensure that citizens feel a strong sense of belonging to the European project. Cohesion policy is not just about funding. It involves a programme, a partnership and a policy”, Mr Cordeiro stated at a press conference in Sibiu (see EUROPE 13187/15).
“The timing of this meeting is very important, as we are already discussing cohesion policy for the period after 2027”, he said, before adding, “For us, it is one of the European Union’s most important policies, if not the most important, because it goes to the very heart of the European project: social, economic and territorial cohesion”.
In response to a question from the press, the President of the CoR pointed out that cohesion policy “helps to spread the benefits of the single market throughout Europe”. “If you cut cohesion policy, you are interfering with a policy that is a pillar of the European project”, he warned, in response to those calling for a reduction in the EU budget allocated to cohesion policy.
Emil Boc (EPP, Romanian), President of COTER, argued for a more decentralised approach for cities and regions when it came to implementing community projects in the field of cohesion policy. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)