Brussels, 18/02/2004 (Agence Europe) - Commissioner Barnier is calling on governments to take responsibility for meeting the challenges of the enlarged Europe and be willing to pay the price for it. He said this during the presentation in Brussels on Wednesday of the "third cohesion report. He declared that the cost of the "new partnership for cohesion" proposed by the Commission was reasonable but anticipated difficult negotiations with the "Six", who had called for a freeze on Community spending from 2007. The Commission outlined that cohesion expenditure would represent 0.46% of Community GNI in commitment appropriations, including regional aspects of rural development and fishing which have been transferred to the "natural resources" chapter in the draft financial perspectives. The report would be followed by legislative proposals next June, which would be prepared "in tandem" with the Commissioner's Hungarian counterpart, Péter Balazs, indicated Mr Barnier.
Launched in an effort to defend and illustrate regional policy under the Delors Commission, Michel Barnier highlighted the objectives that the Commission had reached and the challenges awaiting the enlarged Europe. He said that the figures were clear, "average income in the EU 25 would fall by 12.5%, economic and social disparities would double and unemployment would increase in many areas. Barnier said that it was necessary to pursue a policy that had won its spurs, notably in Ireland where 300,000 companies and half a million jobs had been generated. He averred that for each Euro invested by the EU had generated 3 Euros of investment in Objective 2 regions today. The photo of the regions affected will be taken in 2005 on the basis of their GDP in 2001, 2002 and 2003. These regions will receive at the beginning of the period 85% of the aid they received before and 60% at the end of the period.
As expected, the Commission is proposing a simplification of cohesion policy around three instruments instead of the current six (EUROPE 13 February p 7). Projects will have to respond to a "menu" set along the lines of the Lisbon and Gothenburg objectives. The Commissioner said that there would no longer be "micro-zoning set out in Brussels".
The first priority will set out 78% of the overall envelope. It will be aimed primarily at convergence of states and regions that need it most, countries whose GDP per inhabitant is less than 75% the Community average. Objective 1 would probably involve around 80 regions, explained the Commissioner. Barnier also explained that cohesion funds would go to countries whose GDP was less than 90% of the Community average. He made it clear that it had not been possible to propose the accompaniment of cohesion funds "phasing out" as they had studied the legal conditions as laid down in the treaty ad it was not possible but that I Objective 1 the sale legal constraints did not exist.
In parallel, Objective 1 (a) will e created for around 20 regions that are above the 75% statistical effect threshold during enlargement but whose GDP per inhabitant is still less than the EU15 threshold. This is a "fair solution" for preventing these regions being "penalised by the statistical effect", explained Barnier. He announced that he would be proposing together with Commissioner Monti, guardian of the state aid policy, an instrument that would allow for a "more generous rate of aid" for these regions.
The second priority, representing 18% of the envelope. This will involve "regional competitiveness and employment". "It will combine the targeted efforts of the regions for sustainable development and national efforts for jobs", indicated the Commissioner. He outlined that greater access to Objective 2 would be granted to around twelve regions that "exit Objective 1 naturally" as a sign of their success.
Third priority - 4% of the envelope. This will focus on European territorial cooperation and would extend, broaden or simplify the Interreg programme. In order to create a legal framework for this cooperation, the Commission aims to propose a new instrument in the form of a kind of cross-border territorial body, confirmed Michel Barnier.
A new transversal programme for cities, Urban + will be set up. This will integrate "an urban dimension in all objectives" and aims to broaden the current urban programme beyond the 70 cities that currently benefit from it.
For territories with a natural handicap. The Commissioner indicated that the rate for co-finance would be higher. This would be the case for low density population regions like northern Sweden and Finland, island and mountainous regions.
Remote areas. These areas will be encouraged to develop their international dimension with countries around them through "broad neighbouring action". For these regions, Mr Barnier explained, when answering questions from MEPs, that "the specific convergence and competitiveness instrument will be situated around EUR 1.1 bn for the whole period, to which a broad neighbourhood instrument will be added (which we are working on) and which will be funded out of cooperation policy"
Commenting on the report to the press, Commissioner Barnier expressed the hope that the Council would be sensitive to the reasonable nature of the proposals, mainly as far as the regions affected by the statistical effect are concerned. There is already "phasing out", he recalled. It will be kept as it is in the new regional policy, without increasing the thresholds beyond 75% as it had been envisaged in the second Cohesion Report. Furthermore, he stressed, aid to the regions concerned will be sliding, as it will go from 85% of what used to be provided to 60% at the end of the period.
In response to States that fear they may lose funding, Mr Barnier stressed that, in real terms, there will be no reduction in the overall allocation for regions that currently benefit from Objectives 1 and 2. The recipient regions under the new Objective 2 will be determined on three criteria: - GDP per capita, population density and employment. It is, however, not possible at this stage to specify which regions will be concerned as the final picture will not be given until 2005, the Commissioner recalled, insisting on the "provisional" nature of the data given. At any rate, he felt that he had made a "coherent and logical" policy proposal "without seeking to please any one State in particular".
Regional policy ministers will examine the Cohesion Report next week. The Irish Presidency is organising an informal meeting in Portlaoise on 26 and 27 February. The meeting will be chaired by Deputy Finance Minister Tom Parlon.