The German government is calling for a “fundamental reform” of cohesion policy, in a document sent to the European Commission on Monday 16 December, signed by German Secretary of State Bernhard Kluttig and the German Federal States.
Without commenting on the amount to be set aside for it after 2027, Germany believes that the EU’s future cohesion policy must respond to criticism. “These criticisms notably include slow absorption of the funds, complex administrative procedures and a mismatch between administrative requirements and local capacities”, according to the document (see EUROPE 13455/13).
According to Berlin, regional investments must be more focussed on the long term and on transition, competitiveness and resilience. In addition, cohesion policy must be prepared for future enlargement of the EU. “Despite the many success stories of cohesion policy, there is uneven convergence within the Union and the impact of the investments in advancing towards the objective of convergence is called into question”, reads the German position.
This would be particularly true “where there are negative effects of structural conditions on a region’s investment environment”.
German document: https://aeur.eu/f/eu8 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)