At the European Summit of Regions and Cities on Monday 18 and Tuesday 19 March in Mons, Belgium, the European Committee of the Regions defended a robust Cohesion Policy post-2027 and called for regional policy to remain a fundamental pillar of the EU’s development model and the core long-term decentralised investment policy of the future EU budget (see EUROPE 13344/6).
Elisa Ferreira, the European Commissioner for Cohesion, defended a “strong” cohesion policy and pointed out that funding for this policy had increased in parallel with the enlargement of the EU to include new countries.
She said that there were two problems: there was a lack of development in certain regions, and these different levels of development had to be combined with cases of stagnation.
Cohesion policy is not charity, explained the Commissioner, the aim is for the regions to contribute to global welfare. This is a development policy, not a transfer, she declared. She advocated a finely-tuned and proportionately more intense policy for regions that are unable to help themselves.
Younous Omarjee, Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Regional Development, defended a cohesion of values, democratic cohesion and social cohesion, as well as solidarity and freedom.
Vasco Alves Cordeiro, President of the European Committee of the Regions, stressed that it was necessary to think faster than the opponents of cohesion policy, in particular by responding to the new challenges and questions about the consequences of enlargement.
Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, Chair of the high-level group of specialists on the future of cohesion policy, took part in the debate (see EUROPE 13354/6). He insisted on the need for an ambitious and fair transition, particularly with regard to climate change.
Finally, on Monday 18 March, the European Committee of the Regions and the founding partners of the #CohesionAlliance launched a Joint Call to the European institutions and national governments to ensure that cohesion policy remains the fundamental pillar of the EU’s development model over the next decade.
To respond appropriately to current and future challenges, the authors of this Joint Call advocate a renewed Cohesion Policy post-2027 based on the following principles: - a policy available to all regions, cities and municipalities; - a policy that helps to anchor social, economic and territorial cohesion within the European Green Deal industrial policy; - the strategic autonomy of the EU.
Link to this Joint Call: https://aeur.eu/f/be6 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)