Brussels, 09/07/2003 (Agence Europe) - In Brussels on 8 July the deputy Italian economics minister Gianfranco Micciché announced the holding of an informal Council on Structural Fund policy in Rome on 3 October as part of the process of examining a new Structural Fund regulation. Earlier the same day in Brussels, the Regional Policy Commissioner, Michel Barnier, met representatives of virtually all the regions of the enlarged EU, Micciché told reporters, describing their discussions as “very rich” (at the meeting, the Italian Presidency's regional policy priorities were outlined by Italian minister Enrico la Loggia: see EUROPE of 5 July, p.13). Micciché spoke of the third cohesion policy report (which the Commission will be unveiling later this year), saying that two topics were at issue, namely maintaining the regionalisation of the Structural Funds (which most countries see as an advantage) and nationalising them. After discussing the formal proposals in the Commission's third report, the Council will look at reforming the Structural Funds.
In answer to reporters' questions, Gianfranco Micciché said:
1. Shared approaches. He said it would be a matter of simplification. In areas where the regions are given great responsibility and subsidiary is applied in the use of the Structural Funds, they would be calling for responsibility for controls. Resources would be concentrated on Objective I.
2. Maintaining the current policy or renationalising?: The minister said the Netherlands, the UK and Austria wanted the Structural Funds to be renationalised, making states responsible for managing their spending. Germany also favoured a degree of renationalisation, but is reported to have changed its views, explained a spokesperson.