Debate: The role of cohesion policy in tackling the socio-economic fallout from COVID-
Date: FRIDAY, 10 JULY 2020
Speaker: Elisa Ferreira
Language: EN

First of all, I would like to start by quoting what Mr Heide mentioned, that the Cohesion Policy is the beating heart of Europe. I think it is, and I think it was beating when Europe was in trouble, when Europe was suffering. Et je vous remercie, Monsieur Omarjee, de votre référence au travail qu’on a fait ensemble pour avoir une réponse immédiate au problème du coronavirus. I would like also to say that, in fact, this opportunity, for all those that mentioned that there was really the need to go to specific situations, to the people, that in fact these flexibilities that became available in the context of the response by the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative (CRII) and CRII+ have already been used by almost all EU Member States. For the time being, all Member States, with the exception of Austria and Denmark, have been using these transfers, this possibility to use the available funds – a maximum of over EUR 50 billion – in order to pay what has been paid: the masks, the ventilators, the support jobs and to support small and medium enterprises and to give an immediate answer. So, for all those that used to say that the Cohesion Policy is an old policy, I think we have proven that it is quite alive and quite capable of delivering emergency aid when it is needed. Actually, with State aid it was almost the only financing policy. I mean it’s not the only one, but it is the biggest one, and the most visible one. My second point is on the quality of what we have proposed. Yes, we had to propose a long—term kind of action that combines a short—term instrument, REACT—EU, with all the flexibilities and keeping the possibility of a co—financing of up to 100% if Member States so decide. Of course, for practical reasons REACT—EU cannot be distributed immediately by the Commission at the level of each region because we are distributing the envelope on the basis of actual data, and by the end of the summer we will not have the data at the regional level. But it is up to the Member States to transfer the same criteria that for the Commission is the drop in GDP, drop in growth, the increase in unemployment, including youth unemployment, and the relative prosperity of the country in order to have a follow—up, a bridge to the next Multiannual Financial Framework that really can help the regions to bridge these differences. But we hope and we are very attentive to the quality and the criterion that Member States will be using in this distribution. (I am also trying to answer your question, Mr Omarjee.) Having said this, I would just like to add that, yes it is important that we now take the Commission’s proposal as the real basis. I think we should stop saying that there is not enough money, I think there is a lot of money and here I quote Mr  Nienaß and others: we have got to see what we want to do with this money and the quality of what we’ll be doing, because the quality of what we’ll be doing determines our future. Sendo assim, e em particular para o Sr. Ferreira que referiu a potencial quebra de fundos, não há quebra de fundos.  Os fundos do MFF têm, neste momento, de ser contabilizados com os outros instrumentos adicionais que estão a ser propostos pela Comissão e eles são, de facto, 55 mil milhões de euros para o REACT-EU, um extra de 32,5 mil milhões de euros para o fundo de transição justa e um valor de 10 mil milhões de euros que virão no ano de 2020 a ser distribuídos de acordo com os dados efetivos de quebra de rendimento e aumento de desemprego das regiões da Europa. Portanto, são mais 100 mil milhões de euros.  Penso que, neste momento, o que importa é que, rapidamente, nós tenhamos uma clara ideia e uma clara capacidade de organizar o que queremos fazer, de fazer e organizar o modo como se pode fazer a implementação na prática e no bom sentido das oportunidades que estão a ser criadas.   I’m very proud that the Commission was so blunt and so strong in this proposal. This could only be done because you were here and you were putting on pressure. This could only be done because also, at the level of certain governments, there was this impulse for us to act.  So, let’s work together and let’s very quickly decide the approval, with fine—tuning, with better quality here and there, but that quickly, we move forward so that the money is, as all of you were saying, available – with continuity, not stopping – and directed to a green, to a digital, to a modern recovery, that is shared by all the regions and all citizens in Europe.  So, this is what we have at this moment on the table. Let’s work together as institutions to deliver what the citizens are expecting us to deliver in such a critical and difficult moment in the history of Europe. Thank you very much. Let’s go on working together and yes, of course, we are always attentive to the regions that are most in difficulty. We have proven it, so let’s work together and let’s help citizens wherever they are because they all need to be part of our common future.