Brussels, 18/05/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is organising on 21 and 22 May, in Brussels, a Forum on European regional policy and on its future in the light of Union enlargement to less wealthy countries. This "Second Cohesion Forum" is expected to bring together some 1500 people, including European Commissioners responsible for regional policy, enlargement and social affairs, and the Ministers of the Member States and candidate countries. The aim is to launch a broad debate on the future of cohesion, on the basis of the report on economic and social cohesion adopted end January by the Commission, declared Commissioner Barnier just a few days before the Forum. He insisted on the fact that "all the actors concerned must be involved, because the stakes of this discussion are fundamental: it is first of all a question of giving the disadvantaged regions the means to develop, and then to consolidate, together, economic convergence and the model of European society".
The debate on regional policy after the current "regional package", which ends at the end of 2006, was launched by the Commission end January in its report on cohesion. But also by Spain, which, at the European Council of Nice, first of all demanded unanimity for the adoption of the next regional package, and which is now putting pressure on to obtain "political assurance" that consequential Community aid would be maintained for its regions - it is followed in this mainly by Greece and Portugal but also by Italy - with the threat, or at least pressure, on accession negotiations (Monday last at the General Affairs Council Madrid blocked the agreement of the common negotiating position for the free movement of persons, as sufficient "assurance" was not given: see EUROPE of 14/15 May, p.9).
The first half-day of the conference, Monday afternoon, will be devoted to this result and to the lessons to be learnt from it. In its Cohesion Report, the Commission draws up the balance sheet of the results of regional policy and other EU policies on the reduction of disparities between Member States. It notes that, while the level of development in Member States is tending to become more harmonised, there are still large disparities between regions. The report thus underlined a very clear gap between Spain, Greece and Portugal, on one hand, and the other Member States on the other. Regarding the link between regional policy and the other national and Community policies, the Commission criticised the "limited coherence" between the maps for aid granted by the EU to regions and the maps for aid granted by each Member State. Participants at the discussions chaired by Commissioner Barnier will include the Spanish Finance Minister Cristobal Montoro, the Czech regional Development Minister Petr Lachnit, and the President of the European Investment Bank, Philippe Maystadt.
On Tuesday, the Forum will examine the question of cohesion policy after enlargement. The report on cohesion mainly raised the issue of the future of regional policy in an enlarged European Union, and we read that "regional disparities will double with enlargement". The population and the territory of the EU would increase by one third from 15 to 27 Member States, while the GNP would only increase 5%, which shows how much the new regions need European structural funds. Furthermore, statistically, the less wealthy regions of the Fifteen would no longer fulfil eligibility criteria. Discussions on this point will be opened by Commissioner Verheugen, then chaired by Commissioner Diamantopoulou, in the presence of Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Bucek, Portugal Minister for Planning Elisa Ferreira, and the chair of the European Parliament's regional committee, Kostantinos Hatzidakis…
Belgium will be organising a Council on regional policy mid July at the beginning of its Presidency. The European Commission is expected, in 2004, to present its concrete proposals for the next regional policy (2007-…), in the third Cohesion Report.