PES ministers convened in preparation for the informal meeting of ministers responsible for Cohesion Policy, Territorial Cohesion and Urban Matters taking place next week. The PES meeting comes after the Commission proposal of the mid-term review of Cohesion Policy 2021-2027 and ahead of the expected proposal of the next long-term EU budget post-2027.
Chair of the meeting, Aleksander Jevšek, Slovenian Minister of Cohesion and Regional Development, said:
‘‘Leaving nobody behind, everywhere in Europe, is part of the DNA of our political family. Europe can only be strong if it provides good living standards for all our citizens and by including them in delivering this exercise. This is and must remain the very essence of Cohesion Policy.
EU priorities have largely shifted to competitiveness and security, both highly important topics in the current economic and geopolitical context. At the same time, we must uphold the goal of upwards social convergence in Europe. We can only create a resilient Europe if we prevent fragmentation among and within EU member states. This also means an ambitious Cohesion Policy with a long-term outlook.”
The European Commission proposes to review the current period of Cohesion Policy, providing Member States with the possibility to reprogramme cohesion projects in line with the priorities of housing, water resilience, energy transition, defence, and competitiveness. The PES supports efforts to modernise this Policy, including through administrative simplification and flexibility in unforeseen events. Stepping up the dimension of housing in Cohesion Policy is welcome in this regard. At the same time, Cohesion Policy can never lose its focus on achieving social, territorial and economic cohesion across the EU. PES ministers underlined that this can only succeed with a decentralised and foresighted approach. At the centre of this undertaking must be projects tailored to the specificities of each region and city which will also be one of the main focus areas of next week’s informal Council meeting.
