The European Union should support all regions in achieving a fair and just transition, particularly those that are heavily dependent on a single economic sector or energy-intensive industries, according to an opinion of the Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget (COTER) of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), adopted on Wednesday 3 July.
The difficulties encountered in approving just transition plans and the reduction in funds at the end of the programming period underline the need to extend the deadline for using the resources of the ‘Just Transition Fund’ as part of the Next Generation EU recovery plan, according to the COTER Commission. It calls on the European Commission to simplify funding and improve transparency in the EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) post-2027.
In adopting a draft opinion by Marco Marsilio (ECR, Italian), the COTER commission advocated broadening the scope of the Just Transition Fund 2021-2027 to include other sectors in transition, such as the automotive industry. Local elected representatives recognise the need to continue to support regions that will not be able to complete their transition by 2027.
According to the COTER Commission, the issue of just transition should become “an essential element of a reformed cohesion policy that focuses on anticipating change, in order to support regions faced with the transformation of the most strategic, energy-intensive, greenhouse gas-emitting and labour-intensive industries, including the automotive industry and the components supply sector”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)