Est. 1min 18-02-2004 (updated: 07-11-2012 ) Euractiv is part of the Trust Project >>> Languages: Français | DeutschPrint Email Facebook X LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram The Commission’s Third Report on Economic and Social Cohesion, to be presented today, is expected to shift the EU’s financial help for poorer regions towards the Lisbon agenda goals. Read more with Euractiv US elections: Iowa-winner John Kerry has strong foreign policy backgroundSenator Kerry, winner of the first US primary elections for the Democrats, has considerable foreign policy experience and views that are generally closer to EU positions on Iraq and the Middle East. Subscribe now to our newsletter EU Elections Decoded Email Address * Politics Newsletters BackgroundRegional Commissioner Michel Barnier will be presenting the Commission's Third Report on Economic and Social Cohesion to the European Parliament on 18 February. The report will outline the progress and successes of the EU's regional policy and propose recommendations for the period 2007-2013. As such it forms the second part of the Commission's proposal on the 'financial perspective' (the long-term spending plans), which was presented on 10 February. With the arrival of ten new and poorer Member States on 1 May 2004, the current 15 have been worried that the structural funds for their poorer regions will disappear to the benefit of the new Member States. Commissioner Barnier is therefore expected to present a compromise where, in the future, the cohesion funds would be split 50-50 between new and old Member States. The 'objective 1' and 'objective 2' criteria (criteria to determine which regions are eligible for regional funding) will also be redefined to focus more on the goals of competitiveness and growth. The Commissioner will present its report to the European Parliament at 14.30 on 18 February. EURACTIV will report on the details of the Commission proposal tomorrow.
