Reasons for stance. In addition to the very useful information it contains on the economic and social evolution of the EU regions, the new European Commission document on cohesion policy (see our bulletin of 31 January, pp. 11/12) is an argument in favour of keeping true Community policy in this area. This, at least, was my impression of the representation given by Michel Barnier last week before the press. Jacques Delors and other personalities with a feeling for Europe have taught us that the fact of reducing this policy to no more than a fund to support the poorest regions (as some recommend) would mean removing all vision and scale from the principle of "solidarity", thus eliminating one of the pillars on which the European edifice is founded.
Mr Barnier recalled several essential elements that confirm his stance:
a) Cohesion policy is effective. Leaving aside Ireland, which has now joined the more prosperous countries of the Union, the beneficiary countries of this policy have made considerable progress. Per capita GDP in Spain, Portugal and Greece was previously 68% of the Community average, but is now 79%. The catching up process will continue.
b) The fact that Member States are coming closer to each other is not yet accompanied by a similar reduction in regional differences. In some cases, disparities have, on the contrary, increased within one and the same country, mainly in terms of unemployment.
c) EU enlargement to Central and Eastern Europe will considerably increase the current disparities, which makes regional and cohesion policy still more indispensable. During the year 2000, the EU created 3 million jobs, while the candidate countries lost 600,000 (due to painful albeit necessary restructuring in heavy industry and agriculture).
Several principles for the future. The debate that took place last year with the participation of the European Parliament, the Member Sates and the representatives of the regions allowed the Commission to take certain principles on board. Also taking account of the "message from Namur" (informal meeting of ministers responsible for national regional policies), which calls for simplification of European action in this field, Mr Barnier draws the following lessons from the discussions and reflection:
- The concentration of funds in favour of regions lagging behind in development must be maintained.
- One must not, however, neglect the specific difficulties noted elsewhere, which call for continued Community intervention, mainly for areas in industrial decline and for the disadvantaged areas of large towns (even the richest).
- The regions that will no longer, after enlargement, meet the conditions to benefit from financing under Objective 1 (areas lagging behind) should not suddenly lose the current support they enjoy, but there must be reasonable gradual progression.
- A certain number of regions are destined at any rate to leave Objective 1, even without EU enlargement, as they have already or will soon go beyond the "lagging behind" criteria to their own merit. These are the regions that have been "successful". They too must also benefit from a certain gradual progression.
- The EU's action must be simplified by reducing procedures and bureaucratic constraints, which must be decentralised to a maximum.
Unanimity does not yet exist. Of course, admitted Mr Barnier, keeping an overall European policy in these areas does not win unanimity, far from it. The criteria and principles cited, however, seem to him to be supported by a majority. Personally speaking, he considers that the "threshold of credibility" of the new cohesion policy for an enlarged Europe (from 2007) is around 0.45% of EU GDP. This is the percentage reached in the conclusions of the Berlin Summit, summarising the funds foreseen by the Heads of Government, looking ahead to 2006, for the Regional Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the various instruments in favour of candidate countries. The Commission proposes to present its formal proposals after the end of 2003, so that implementation of the new cohesion policy may start up early 2007, without the delay that took place at the beginning of the current financing period. The Commission will, in July 2003, have the conclusions of the Convention on the Future of Europe available (seven of the requests put to the Convention concern this field). One can see the close link between the work in progress and the new overall financial framework of the EU for the period to begin in 2007, as well as the significance of the fact that, according to Mr Barnier, cohesion policy in an enlarged Europe may be financed by respecting the current ceiling of own resources (1.27% of Union GDP, see previous page).
(F.R.)