Debate: Cohesion policy - – implementation and outcomes in the Member States
Date: WEDNESDAY, 13 MARCH 2024
Speaker: Elisa Ferreira
Language: EN

I took note of everything that you said and I would like just to make a couple of comments. The first one is, in fact, to thank you and also to note the diversity of cases that you are bringing forward. Good examples but also difficult problems to be addressed. You mentioned border areas, you mentioned rural areas, you mentioned the outermost regions, mountainous areas. I think the most important conclusion that we have to make is, in fact, that this is a policy that has to be built bottom-up and reflecting and fine-tuned to the diversity of situations we have to face. So, the character of a place-based policy that involves the agents on the ground, the stakeholders, the trade unions, the mayors, the civil society; everybody has got to participate because the quality of the vision for the region determines the success of the policy. A second aspect I would like to underline is that it is not only for cohesion policy to promote cohesion. It is important that the value that cohesion brings from a political and from an economic angle is shared by the Member State and by all the actors on the ground, including the regions that have the internal imbalances that some of you have mentioned. The purpose of the cohesion policy is not to keep financing the regions forever, it is to give the support that is used in such a way that the region can participate in the internal market without, in the future, ideally receiving any support. It is the capacity to grow by itself that has got to be stimulated and not a permanent transfer of funding. From this perspective, I would like to underline something that was also said here, that is when a region grows, it enlarges the internal market. It gives opportunities for investment – private investment, public investment – and selling for all the countries in Europe. When you look at the regions and countries that joined the European Union after 2004 enlargement, they had a GDP per capita of 52 % of the average. Now they have 80 %. This means a lot of people wanting to buy products, a lot of opportunities for investments, a lot of new jobs that can be created. It is with the quality of the analysis and proposals that we can change the disparities inside Europe. This is the work that has got to be shared by all Member States and taken into account in the horizontal policies. All policies have asymmetric impacts on the different regions. So, I urge you to continue this debate, including the presentation of the 9th Cohesion Forum. I would like you to be present in the meeting that we have foreseen for 11 and 12 April, and I think for the future, when we are thinking of enlargement and all the things that are changing – greening, digital and unexpected events – we need a strong cohesion policy to make all these challenges an advantage. I encourage you to share your reflections, to share your discussions, but also to come forward, to come outside the group of people that know the policy and to share with citizens in general and with other actors – ministers in your country, prime ministers and other colleagues – how important it is for Europe to progress, to develop, to have an even stronger cohesion policy. Thank you very, very much for all your work.