A Parliament resolution, backed by a large majority of MEPs in Strasbourg, aims to bolster the role played by EU funds in helping regions to see out the crisis.
Author Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou MEP (European People's Party) argues that many regions are struggling to fulfil projects and use the EU funds available to them due to the crisis.
As a result, the Greek centre-right MEP called for more "intelligent" use of regional money, given that the funds are the EU's vehicle "par excellence" to address the crisis.
Regional policy is not only a way to immediately "damp down" the negative economic and social effects of the crisis, but is also a long-term policy for combating the structural weaknesses revealed and created against the background of the crisis, she said, adding that "this is particularly true of competitiveness and employment in the Objective 2 regions".
Desperate times, flexible measures?
According to Kratsa, funding must be more supple in eligibility, functioning and resources. In other words, it should be easier to apply for grants, and the money should get to project leaders more quickly.
The Greek MEP favours less rigid interpretation of certain funding rules.
Specifically, the resolution argues that "in special circumstances - such as the economic crisis - greater flexibility can be exceptionally required" in the application of certain rules.
Social fund not anti-crisis instrument, says French MEP
However, not all MEPs share the view that regional funding tools should be promoted as anti-crisis measures.
French centre-right MEP Pascale Gruny (EPP) told EurActiv that the European Social Fund (ESF), on which she is the Parliament's rapporteur, should not be viewed as an anti-crisis weapon.
"The ESF meets important EU needs that have nothing to do with the crisis. By this I mean it contributes to constant challenges in terms of education, training, social inclusion and more recently, the targets on poverty and social exclusion identified in the Europe 2020 strategy," she said.
Gruny believes that whether it is a time of growth or a time of recession, the ESF should remain at the same level of funding and functioning.
"For me, the ESF does respond to the crisis in the sense that there are more unemployed people, more people in economic difficulty, and therefore more people in need of training," she said, "but it's a tool that responds to day-to-day reality, no matter what the level of EU unemployment".
