On Monday 17 June, the President of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), Vasco Alves Cordeiro, wrote to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to express the concerns felt by the political assembly representing Europe's local and regional authorities regarding the possible reform of EU Cohesion Policy post-2027.
The EU General Affairs Council will discuss cohesion policy (see EUROPE 13429/15) on Tuesday 18 June.
The CoR President is reacting to press reports concerning an internal Commission note on a possible transformation of Cohesion Policy on the model of the ‘Recovery and Resilience Facility’ (RRF), the initiative aimed at mitigating the economic and social impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, “which would lead to a centralisation of the funds”. The CoR believes that this facility lacks the principles of place-based approach, multi-level governance and partnership that are unique to Cohesion Policy.
In his letter, the CoR President warns against projects within the Commission that would: - reduce Cohesion Policy to a simple instrument to serve limited priorities such as economic recovery or economic convergence; - eliminate the role of a Commissioner responsible for Cohesion Policy; - give up on the social and territorial dimension of Cohesion Policy; - limit Cohesion Policy funds only to developing regions.
Link to the CoR letter: https://aeur.eu/f/coi (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)