Tag: cohesion policy

Germany benefits greatly from the EU's regional policy in Central and East European nations through increased commerce, says a study commissioned by Poland that also says French companies are benefiting.

The European Commission's proposals that urge member states to invest part of their regional development fund on low-carbon and energy-efficiency measures sounds very encouraging, argues Markus Trilling of the CEE Bankwatch Network. The question that remains though is whether these proposals will be sufficient enough to secure the conditions for a sustainable regional development.

A drawn-out battle over the EU's next long-term budget (2014-2020) is due to begin this week with European Commission proposals expected on Wednesday (29 June). The draft will include a controversial plan for an EU tax aimed at reducing national contributions, but the overall size of the budget is expected to remain close to the current €1 trillion per seven-year framework.

French regional leaders have urged EU policymakers to maintain cohesion funding at current levels or risk throwing Europe back into recession. 

Meeting in Brussels today (1 April), regional leaders are expected to adopt a report that directly contradicts many of the European Commission's ideas for reforming the EU structural funds in the coming years. Mayor of Dunkirk Michel Delebarre spoke to EurActiv about why the Committee of the Regions cannot support some of the Commission's plans.

Regions in relatively rich countries should continue to receive money from Brussels, because this is how the European Union "shows its face," according to German MEP Markus Pieper (European People's Party), who is in charge of drafting the European Parliament's opinion on the future of EU regional policy.

Meeting in Brussels yesterday (21 February), EU ministers expressed strong support for maintaining the bloc's cohesion policy, but failed to find agreement on some of the controversial aspects of the European Commission's review proposal, including attaching conditions to the  payment of EU funds.

The EU commissioner in charge of regional policy, Johannes Hahn, has called on regional and national governments to make sure they use up all the money that is available from the EU's structural funds by speeding up the implementation of projects on the ground.

How should the EU's cohesion policy be reformed to meet the challenges facing Europe's regions in the coming years? EurActiv Czech Republic interviewed Fabrizio Barca, one of Europe's leading experts in the field of economics and regional development.

The 'new' member states in Central and Eastern Europe are working together to coordinate their views on the reform of the EU's Cohesion Policy for the next seven-year period (2014-2020). Daniel Braun, a deputy minister in the Czech government, spoke to EurActiv Czech Republic about the fruits of this close collaboration.

The success of Europe's second macro-regional strategy will depend on close cooperation between the regions and nations involved, according to the European Commission, which published its proposals for the Danube region last week (9 December).

The Bucharest-Ilfov region is using EU funds to develop its tourism infrastructure and improve its attractiveness to business travellers in the country's capital. EurActiv Romania reports. 

As the European Commission prepares to publish its ideas for the future of EU regional policy after 2013, the political debate on how much money will be available for the bloc's regional funds is already underway. EurActiv France reports.

Ahead of a summit on 17-18 June, EU member states have presented an assessment of Europe's regional policy and are due to call on the European Commission to ensure that a proper debate is held on the policy's future.

The European Commission is considering cutting its 50 billion euro annual package of regional aid for countries which repeatedly infringe the EU's budget rulebook in a bid to discourage other member states from following in the footsteps of debt-stricken Greece.

A comprehensive reform of the European Union's cohesion policy is required if the bloc's goal of boosting economic integration through regional wealth redistribution is to be achieved in the coming decades, according to an independent report published at the request of the European Commission.

A Green Paper on territorial cohesion, presented last week by EU Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner, succeeded in triggering debate on how to balance territorial, economic and social development.

The Commission boosted its focus on SMEs yesterday (9 July) by presenting a new initiative aimed at helping EU cohesion policy to better assist small businesses. The move comes just a day after it pledged to cut tax and make state aid rules more flexible to boost their growth.

EU funds have successfully boosted productivity and employment in the bloc’s poorest regions, helping them catch up with their neighbours, the Commission said in a first assessment of European cohesion policy over the 2000-2006 programming period.

The EU's enlargement on 1 May 2004 has exacerbated economic and social disparities across the EU. Recipients of Structural and Cohesion Funds such as Ireland and Spain are now being called on to contribute to the development of their new partners. In the 2007-2013 financial perspectives, cohesion policy amounts to 35.7% of the total EU budget (€308 billion), 62% of which should finance projects linked to the Lisbon agenda for growth and employment.

A new Cohesion Policy with added focus on environment, growth and job creation was backed by the Parliament on 4 July.

The economic divergence is growing among EU countries. Rich countries get richer as compared to the average and the poor getting poorer. The EU's efforts to achieve economic and social convergence is put in question. 

At two important events, leaders of the EU and its member states will discuss the European model, focusing on whether successful models such as the Nordic one can be transferred to countries in distress.

The article summarises the key points of the debate that surrounds the future of the EU's cohesion policy after enlargement.