On Monday 11 November, the Euroregion Pyrenees-Mediterranean, which brings together the territories of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and the Occitania region, adopted a declaration opposing any generalised centralisation of cohesion policy under the EU’s next multiannual financial framework (MFF).
The declaration, issued on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Euroregion Pyrenees-Mediterranean in Barcelona, calls for multi-level governance to provide a better response to the challenges of climate change and natural hazards, and for a stronger role for the regions in cohesion policy and greater involvement in European programmes.
The removal of the 150 km limit for maritime cross-border cooperation is requested in order to include island territories to a greater extent. This limit is the maximum distance stipulated by current regulations on European territorial cooperation to qualify for support from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The Euroregion, of which one of the members is an island region, cannot benefit fully from the Interreg cross-border cooperation programmes.
Spain and France are invited to strengthen cross-border cooperation and develop the Mediterranean rail corridor.
Link to the statement: https://aeur.eu/f/e9h (in French and Catalan) (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)