Meer Europees geld om op regionaal niveau de crisis te bestrijden (en)

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COR/09/62

Brussels, 3 June 2009

More money at regional level to fight the crisis: CoR supports European Commission move to relax EU social fund rules

Luc Van den Brande , President of the Committee of the Regions (CoR), welcomed Commission plans, unveiled today, to relax co-financing requirements for the European Social Fund. Emphasising the great efforts of Europe's regions and cities in fighting the crisis, he stressed that they cannot shoulder the financial burden alone. By boosting training and employment projects, today's proposal would stimulate the economy and safeguard jobs without further burdening the strained public finances of EU Member States and regions in times of crisis. Van den Brande urged the Commission to extend its proposed co-financing derogation to all structural funds and called upon EU Member States and the European Parliament to support the measure.

Current rules for EU social fund and regional aid require that the involved national or regional actors co-finance the approved projects by up to 50%. Aggravated by the fact that allocated funds become forfeit if authorities cannot use them within three years, regional and national authorities are struggling to meet EU funding conditions in times of crisis. Under Commission plans presented today, the need to co-finance new EU social fund projects would be postponed to 2011. Having repeatedly voiced the concerns of Europe's local and regional authorities over the past months, Van den Brande welcomed the Commission's proposal, and requested its extension to all EU structural funds.

"The crisis calls for more flexible EU regional aid rules. At the moment, empty public coffers prevent many regions and cities from accessing the EU funds allocated to them, as they are unable to meet the co-financing criteria. This creates a downward spiral, where the regions hit hardest by the crisis are also the ones that are struggling the most to set up EU-funded projects. The measure proposed today would benefit our ailing businesses and safeguard jobs, while the crucial training and qualification programmes funded that way will increase the competitiveness of our regions. Extending this proposal to all structural funds would generate more projects and jobs in other vital areas, such as transport or environmental infrastructure."

The Commission is expected to present a legislative proposal which then has to be approved by EU Member States and the European Parliament in order to become law. Van den Brande urged EU lawmakers to support the measure and adopt the proposal without delay. " This measure is a concrete example of the EU's added value in times of crisis. Europe's regions and cities are taking strong action against the crisis, for instance by boosting investments in infrastructure, research and eco-friendly technologies or by raising advance payments for small and medium-sized enterprises in their public procurement. But they cannot shoulder the financial burden of tackling the crisis alone."

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The Committee of the Regions

Around two-thirds of EU legislation is implemented by local and regional authorities in the Member States. The Committee of the Regions was created in 1994 to give representatives of local government a say over the content of these laws. The CoR organises five plenary sessions a year, where its 344 members vote on opinions issued in response to proposed legislation. The European Commission, which initiates EU laws, and the Council of Ministers, which determines the final content of the legislation (usually in tandem with the European Parliament), are obliged to consult the CoR on a wide range of policy areas including the environment, employment and transport. The Lisbon Treaty will strengthen the position of the Committee of the Regions further. In future, the Committee must be consulted by the European Parliament on all issues that are important for regions and municipalities. The Committee can also appeal to the EU Court of Justice if its rights are infringed or it believes that an EU law violates the subsidiarity principle or fails to respect regional or local powers.

For more information, please contact:

Michael Alfons

Tel.: +32 (0)2 546 85 59

Michael.Alfons@cor.europa.eu

Athénais Cazalis de Fondouce

Tel. + 32 (0)2 282 24 47

Athenais.CazalisDeFondouce@cor.europa.eu

Chris Jones

Tel. + 32 (0)2 546 87 51

christopher.jones@cor.europa.eu

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