Brussels, 11/03/2004 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the permanent representatives of the Member States of the EU confirmed their deep differences on the future of regional policy, during a discussion on the new large heading "sustainable development" proposed by the European Commission for the 2007-2013 financial perspectives. Only Italy said that it shared the Commission's vision.
The representatives of France, Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Sweden and Austria reiterated their appeals for budgetary rigour (see EUROPE of 28 February 2004, p.8, on the Member States' reactions at the informal meeting on the cohesion policy). Germany said that the sums proposed by the Commission for regional policy are incompatible with the need not to exceed 1% of gross domestic product (GDP). Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom asked for structural aid to be spent almost solely on the new Member States. According to the French delegation, the global envelope proposed does not respect budgetary restrictions. The Netherlands and Sweden wanted to reduce the phasing out proposed for the Objective 1 regions of the Fifteen which will be hit by the statistical effects of enlargement. A Council working group has been set up to study the issue of the statistical effect.
In the opposite camp, the Spanish delegation said that the sums proposed for this policy were insufficient, and asked to be able to continue to benefit from part of the cohesion fund, bringing in "phasing out" here as well. The funds proposed by the Commission are the bare minimum to support regional development after enlargement, said the representatives of Portugal and Greece, who also feel that the cohesion policy should not be linked to the Lisbon Strategy. Slovenia called for flexibility in the rule which state that the structural funds a Member State can receive should not exceed 4% of its GDP.
Coreper also looked at the other plank of the "sustainable growth" heading, the sub-heading "competitiveness for growth and employment", dedicated to the Lisbon Strategy. Germany, France, Austria and the Netherlands criticised the Commission for having set priorities before deciding how much money to make available. Germany criticised a too broad strategy, which it feels does not take account of the principle of subsidiarity. It feels that the Community budget should not help the telecommunications sector, which is already privatised, projects in the field of education (as this comes under national and regional competencies), or social policy (which would have no added value at Community level). The Commission representative clarified how the funds under this sub-heading will be divided up: 60% for research, 20% for trans-European networks, 10% for education and training, and 10% for social policy. Coreper will continue its discussions next week, reviewing the other headings of the forthcoming financial framework.