Namur, 16/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - The first debate over the future of regional policy after enlargement allowed to achieve a wide ranging consensus over the need to maintain a strong policy of economic and social cohesion, stated Jean-Claude Van Cauwenberghre, President of the Informal Regional Council, which took place on Friday in Namur (see EUROPE of 14 July, p.7 for first reactions). All the participants welcomed the beginning of the debate at an early stage, because it would be complex and difficult, all spoke in favour of maintaining the priority for the regions lagging behind in development in the countries that will accede as well as in the present EU countries and some also spoke for supporting the regions, which suffer from structural delays, he underlined. This first debate did not lead to specific guidelines over the various questions put forward by the Commission cohesion report (form of aids, eligibility criteria…), but it allowed to specify the positions of each without, apparently, the budgetary issues blocking the talks.
Commissioner Michel Barnier, he too very pleased with the talks, indicated that he had seen in the participants, a wider orientation than he thought for a regional policy that, as proposed by the Commission, goes beyond just Objective 1, aimed at the regions most behind. With different ideas, many spoke in favour of a new Objective 2 policy, more decentralised, and simpler, he stated. Mr Barnier added that at the beginning of next year the Commission will hand over a interim report on the future of cohesion policy. This report, mentioned by the Commission on the eve of the May forum on cohesion (see EUROPE of 19 May, p8 and of 23 May, p7), should include an assessment of the impact of enlargement, to answer the expectations and concerns expressed by Spain and other Member States. This report should also update the figures provided, in January 2001, in the second report on cohesion (see EUROPE of 1 February, p.9 and 2 February, p.8). Another report is being prepared, which covers the beneficiaries of regional aid, to see, beyond the regions eligible, what benefits each draws from these aids (for example, the companies from another Member States, which win contracts subsidised by Community aids). This latest report should be ready during the autumn. Moreover, the Commission should organise, as of the end of the year, a series of ten thematic seminars on the ten priorities put forward in the Cohesion report: urban areas, cross-border cooperation, regions lagging behind in development, restructuring… Finally, the Commission will present, in 2004, its proposals for regional policy after the present programming period, which finishes in 2006.
In the final Communiqué, which acts as a conclusion, the Presidency also returned to the talks on Friday morning, which covered the preparation of the Objective 1 aid programmes for 2000-2006 (EUROPE of 14 July, p.7). The text outlines good points to the European Commission: Progress over the strategic content of the regional programmes thanks to a systematic use of assessment, the reinforcing of the partnership and the taking into account of the Community priorities such as information society or the environment. As well as the bad points: a significant concern as to the risk of not achieving the aim of a greater simplification linked to decentralisation, due to the implementation of the rules for financial management and control by the Commission.