Brussels – The tug-of-war between local and regional authorities and the European Commission over the shape to be given to the next EU multi-year budget continues. But today (Dec. 12), Raffaele Fitto, executive vice-president of the new College with delegations to Cohesion and Reforms, offered an olive branch to local government representatives, defending the centrality that regional policy must maintain even in the next budget period (2028-2034).
When a joint meeting of the relevant committees on cohesion policy of the EU Parliament (REGI committee) and the Committee of the Regions (COTER committee) was held this morning, all eyes and ears were on Fitto, making his first public appearance in his new role as executive vice president of the new von der Leyen cabinet.
The issue which has been holding court for months now is the centralisation of cohesion policy in the new EU budget (properly called the Multiannual Financial Framework, MFF), which will cover the 2028–2034 period and will engage the co-legislators (Parliament and Council) in lengthy negotiations starting next year after the Commission has made its proposal. The Committee of the Regions (CoR)has already reiterated on several occasions its “no” to nationalising the management of one of the Union’s most important expenditure items (about a third of the EU budget).
According to rumours, which Berlaymont has never officially confirmed, the next MMF should result in a revolution in structure. Instead of several hundred cross-thematic funds, which member states draw on simultaneously (in the current budget, there are over 530), the idea would be to split EU funds into twenty-seven national plans modelled after the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) for post-pandemic recovery.
In this way, the responsibility for deciding the allocation of European funds would be transferred from the local to the national level of government, and capitals would get the various tranches of funding by completing a series of reforms agreed in advance with the EU executive, just as happens with the NRRPs. Local authorities are protesting because, they say, this approach violates the principles of partnership, subsidiarity, and multilevel governance that underlie the very idea from which cohesion policy was born, namely the convergence in the socio-economic development indices of the various regions of the Union.
In his speech, Fitto at least partially addressed the concerns of representatives of sub-national governments. “We need a cohesion policy with the regions at the centre,” he punctuated, assuring that his commitment “is with regions and cities, with external regions, with islands and border regions,” and promising that “regions, cities and citizens of the European Union will be at the centre of our mission.” Moreover, he noted, “for the first time, the Cohesion portfolio has been given to a vice president,” proving that “the European Union cannot move forward without a strong cohesion policy.”
After reiterating that one of the key objectives of this policy is to enforce “people’s right to stay in the place they consider home” without having to move to more economically developed regions, the former minister of European Affairs extended his hand to his interlocutors. “Cohesion policy will have to maintain a central role in the next long-term budget,” he said, “and be adequately funded, aligned with EU priorities, but retain its founding principles, such as the place-based approach and multi-level governance” as well as “shared management of resources” to enable territories to help set priorities for spending and action.
But, he cautioned, “cohesion policy needs to be strengthened and modernised“: “Not only in terms of reducing disparities, but also in support of Europe’s priorities,” namely “green and digital transition, geopolitical security and strategic industries, competitiveness, and preparation for future enlargement.” To achieve this goal, he remarked, “the Union’s cohesion policy must evolve.” The first test, according to the commissioner, “will concern the mid-term review of the 2021–2027 budget, which will help speed up the implementation of current programs and the definition of future policy.”
An opening that, although welcomed by local governments and MPs, has not convinced them definitively. “Fitto has reassured us, but there are still open questions,” noted Isabelle Boudineau, a regional councillor from French New Aquitaine. “Regions should not just be executors of a cohesion policy that is decided at the national level,” she explained, as the latter “is only effective when it is decided by the managing authorities” according to the principle of partnership.
Agrees with her 5-Star Valentina Palmisano, a member of the REGI committee: “I agree with Fitto’s words on the need for a modern and renewed cohesion policy,” she said, “but it must respect some fundamental pillars” and “strengthen dialogue and collaboration between the EU, member states, local and regional authorities,” with the latter “not mere executors but integral partners” in the management of European funds. Also important for the MEP is “simplifying access to and use of cohesion funds” through “a legal framework that reduces bureaucratic complexity.”
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
