EU Cohesion Policy legislative proposals

Transcription

1 CONFERENCE DES REGIONS PERIPHERIQUES MARITIMES CONFERENCE OF PERIPHERAL MARITIME REGIONS COMMISSION DES ILES ISLANDS COMMISSION 6, rue Saint-Martin RENNES FR Tel (0) Fax (0) jdh@crpm.org web: EU Cohesion Policy legislative proposals AMENDMENT PROPOSALS BY CPMR ISLANDS COMMISSION January

2 AMENDEMENT N 1 EXPLICATION Whereas: (55) Objective criteria should be fixed for designating eligible regions and areas for support from the Funds. To this end, the identification of the regions and areas at Union level should be based on the common system of classification of the regions established by Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and the Council of 26 May 2003 on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS). Special attention should be paid to regions which suffer from serious and permanent natural or demographic handicaps, such as regions with very low population density and island, cross-border and mountain regions, taking into account the fact that these territorial characteristics do not necessarily correspond to the breakdown currently proposed by the NUTS classification. COMMON PROVISIONS REGULATION Recital (55) The breakdown into NUTS areas does not necessarily correspond to territories beset by natural or demographic handicaps, which may cover a smaller or larger area

3 AMENDMENT N 2 COMMON PROVISIONS REGULATION Recital (1) (1) Article 174 of the Treaty provides that, in order to strengthen its economic, social and territorial cohesion, the Union shall aim at reducing disparities between the levels of development of the various regions and the backwardness of the least favoured regions. or islands, Among the regions concerned, particular attention shall be paid to rural areas, areas affected by industrial transition, and regions which suffer from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps such as the northernmost regions with very low population density and island, cross-border and mountain regions. Article 175 of the Treaty requires that the Union would support the achievement of these objectives by action it takes through the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund, Guidance Section, the European Social Fund, the European Regional Development Fund, the European Investment Bank and other instruments. Recital N 1 still quotes the imprecise, ambiguous, and now obsolete formulation of old Article 158 of the Treaty ( least favoured regions or islands ), which has been corrected by the Lisbon Treaty. The wording of Article 174 should be used. A similar correction will be made to Recital (93) where the expression least favoured regions or islands is also used

4 AMENDMENT N 3 COMMON PROVISIONS REGULATION - Article 82 point 3 - Investment for growth and jobs 3. The Cohesion Fund shall support those Member States whose gross national income (GNI) per capita, measured in purchasing power parities and calculated on the basis of Union figures for the period 2007 to 2009, is less than 90 % of the average GNI per capita of the EU- 27 for the same reference period, as well as the Small Island States. Small Island States are defined as EU Member States which are islands with no permanent fixed links with the European mainland, and whose population is below 2 million inhabitants. The Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion Fund in 2013, but whose nominal GNI per capita exceeds 90% of the average GNI per capita of the EU-27 as calculated under the first subparagraph shall receive support from the Cohesion Fund on a transitional and specific basis. [See : this point must be seen with the national authorities of Cyprus and Malta.] Small Island States are confronted with the constraints arising from their remoteness and their insularity without the support of a national mainland. Declaration 33 on Article 174 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union states that The Conference considers that the reference in Article 174 to island regions can include island States in their entirety, subject to the necessary criteria being met. So far, the necessary criteria used by the Commission has been the fact that such Member States are eligible for the Cohesion Fund. The use of such criteria is debatable since the level of GNI necessary to become eligible (<90% of EU average) is variable, and relative to the prosperity of other Member States, whereas insularity is a severe handicap of a permanent nature. Other criteria must therefore be found, which could either be based upon historical factors, or upon a size factor In that respect, it will be recalled that well before joining the Union, Malta and Cyprus have been recognized by the UN as Small Island States. A size factor could also be used to define what is a Small Island State within the European Union (e.g.: a maximum population under 2 million inhabitants)

5 AMENDMENT N 4 COMMON PROVISIONS REGULATION - Article 82 point 5 and new proposed point 6 5. In 2017, the Commission shall review the eligibility of Member States for the Cohesion Fund on the basis of Union GNI figures for the period 2013 to 2015 for EU-27. Those Member States whose nominal GNI per capita exceeds 90% of the average GNI per capita of EU-27, shall receive support from the Cohesion Fund on a transitional and specific basis 6. [New] In 2015, the Commission shall review the eligibility of Regions under the various categories referred to in point 2. Those regions where, due to the recession, the GDP per capita has fallen by at least 5% between the above reference period and the period 2010 to 2012 will benefit from supplementary funding corresponding to their new situation. The financial crisis will have severe consequences for Regions whose GDP is highly reliant upon the public sector. The reference period ( , at best) largely pre-dates the full impact of budgetary cuts, and cannot reflect this situation satisfactorily. A reassessment is necessary. [see also Article 84 point 9] - 5 -

6 AMENDMENT N 5 COMMON PROVISIONS REGULATION - Article 84 Point 1 - Resources for Investment for growth and jobs and for European territorial cooperation 1. Resources for the Investment for growth and jobs goal shall amount to 96,52 % of the global resources (i.e., a total of EUR ) and shall be allocated as follows: (a) 50,13 % (i.e., a total of EUR ) for less developed regions; (b) 12,01 % (i.e., a total of EUR ) for transition regions; (c) 16,39 % (i.e., a total of EUR ) for more developed regions; (d) 21,19 % (i.e., a total of EUR ) for Member States supported by the Cohesion Fund; e) XXX as additional funding for the outermost regions identified in Article 349 of the Treaty and for which the level of support should correspond to the realities of OMR-related handicaps. f) XXX as additional funding for the NUTS level 2 regions fulfilling the criteria laid down in Article 2 of Protocol No 6 to the Treaty of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden. g) XXX as additional funding, to be allocated to areas beset by permanent and severe geographic handicaps in the framework of Operational Programmes undertaken under article 10 of the ERDF Regulation; such areas being those defined by Article 111 4, excluding those already mentioned above under e) and f). e) The situation of Outermost Regions relates to a specific article of the Treaty (Article 349), and associating it with that of other territories may dilute the purpose of this article. Therefore, the OMR situation should be addressed separately, with a level of support corresponding to the severity of their situation. f) The allocation of additional funding to Swedish and Finnish sparsely populated areas is to be welcomed, but it is not acceptable to ignore the situation of other territories with permanent and severe handicaps which are equally covered by Article 174 of the Treaty. g) Specific funding could be granted through Operational Programmes under ERDF article 10, which would provide a sufficiently flexible framework to allow for SF intervention in such territories irrespective of their NUTS size

7 AMENDMENT N 6 COMMON PROVISIONS REGULATION - Article 84. Point 2 - Resources for Investment for growth and jobs and for European territorial cooperation 2. The following criteria shall be used for the breakdown by Member State: (a) eligible population, regional prosperity, national prosperity and unemployment rate for less developed regions and transition regions; (b) eligible population, regional prosperity, unemployment rate, employment rate, educational level and population density for more developed regions; (c) Population, national prosperity and surface area for the Cohesion Fund. d) percentage of territory and population concerned by permanent and severe geographic or demographic handicaps as mentioned in Article 174 of the Treaty, and defined by Article of the present regulation. The geography of Europe is not homogeneous. Some Member States are beset more than others by permanent and severe geographic handicaps such as insularity, mountainous terrain, or low-population density. Such constraints have unavoidable consequences in economic and social terms (in particular, higher cost of providing infrastructures and services, etc.), which should be taken into account as a criterion for breakdown

8 AMENDMENT N 7 COMMON PROVISIONS REGULATION - Article 84. Point 3 - Resources for Investment for growth and jobs and for European territorial cooperation 3. At least 25 % of the Structural Funds resources for less developed regions, 40% for transition regions and 52% for more developed regions in each Member State shall be allocated to the ESF. For the purposes of this provision, the support to a Member State through the [Food for deprived people instrument] shall be considered as part of the share of Structural Funds allocated to the ESF. Member States where at least 50% of the territory is classified as areas beset by permanent and severe geographic handicaps under the definitions of Article 111, and where the use of ERDF is deemed more appropriate to meet the needs of these areas, may decrease the ESF allocation by 50%. The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that Member States whose territories cover a high percentage of areas with permanent and severe natural or demographic handicaps, and where ERDF is often a more appropriate instrument, are not excessively tied up to ESF. For example, a high percentage of ESF allocation could prove a particular hurdle for Phasing Out Regions. AMENDMENT N 8 COMMON PROVISIONS REGULATION - Article 84. Point 9 - Resources for Investment for growth and jobs and for European territorial cooperation 9. [new] 5% of the resources for the Investment for growth and jobs goal shall constitute a crisis reserve to be allocated in accordance with the provisions of Article 82 6 If the situation of the regions, and the possible sharp fall in their GDP per capita due to the recession, is to be reassessed in 2017, provision must be made to provide extra funding for these regions. [see Amendment on Article 82, new point 6] - 8 -

9 AMENDMENT N 9 COMMON PROVISIONS REGULATION - Article 111- Modulation of the co-financing rates The co-financing rate from the Funds to a priority axis may be modulated to take account of: (4) the coverage of areas with severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps defined as follows: (a) Small Island Member States eligible under the Cohesion Fund, and other islands except those on which the capital of a Member State is situated or which have a fixed link to the mainland; Small Island Member States should be automatically recognized as island regions (see Amendment proposal in Article 82.3). [See this point must be seen with the national authorities of Cyprus and Malta.] (b) mountainous areas as defined by the national legislation of the Member State; c) sparsely (less than 50 inhabitants per square kilometer) and very sparsely (less than 8 inhabitants per square kilometer) populated areas. In such areas, the ceiling of co-financing rates set in Article may be increased by 10% up to a maximum ceiling of 80%. This article must be given substance by increasing the ceiling of cofinancing rates in such territories. For example, one may note that without such provision, there would be little significance in allowing a Small Island State to modulate the co-financing rate from the Funds to a priority axis since the whole of its territory is an island

10 AMENDEMENT N 10 Tasks of the ERDF The ERDF shall contribute to the financing of support which aims to reinforce economic, social and territorial cohesion by redressing the main regional imbalances through support for the development and structural adjustment of regional economies, including the conversion of declining industrial regions and regions lagging behind, and also addressing the difficulties affecting territories suffering from serious and permanent natural or demographic handicaps. ERDF REGULATION Article 2 EXPLICATION

11 AMENDEMENT N 11 EXPLICATION ERDF REGULATION Article 5 - Investment priorities Investment priorities The ERDF shall support the following investment priorities within the thematic objectives set out in Article 9 of Regulation (EU) No [ ]/2012 [CPR]: (7) promoting sustainable transport and removing bottlenecks in key network infrastructures, especially in peripheral and island regions: (a) supporting a multimodal Single European Transport Area by investing in the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) network; (b) enhancing regional mobility through connecting secondary and tertiary nodes to TEN-T infrastructure; (c) developing environment-friendly and low-carbon transport systems and promoting sustainable urban mobility; (d) developing comprehensive, high quality and interoperable railway system; (e) developing sustainable maritime or air transport systems that are likely to help islands optimise their accessibility for passengers and freight alike. Emphasis on the situation of peripheral and island regions is justified both in light of the provisions set out in Article 174 of the Treaty and those set out in Article 170 which underlines the need to link peripheral and island regions to the central regions of the EU

12 AMENDEMENT N 12 ERDF REGULATION - Article 8 - Urban development platform 1. The Commission shall establish, in accordance with Article 51 of Regulation (EU) No [ ]/2012 [CPR], an urban development platform to promote capacity-building and networking between cities and exchange of experience on urban policy at Union level in areas related to the investment priorities of the ERDF and to sustainable urban development. 2. The Commission shall adopt a list of cities to participate in the platform on the basis of the lists established in the Partnership Contracts, by means of implementing acts. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 14(2). The list shall contain a maximum number of 300 cities, with a maximum number of 20 per Member State. Cities shall be selected based on the following criteria: (a) population, taking account of the specificities of national urban systems; (b) the existence of a strategy for integrated actions to tackle the economic, environmental, climate and social challenges affecting urban areas. c) the provisions set out in point a) should not prevent the selection of cities situated in peripheral or island regions where the size of their population is significantly lower than those of the Member State s big metropolitan areas. EXPLICATION A degree of flexibility should be authorised to allow Member States to select metropolitan areas located in peripheral or island regions, despite them having a smaller sized population

13 AMENDMENT N 13 ERDF REGULATION - Article 10 - Areas with natural or demographic handicaps Operational programmes co-financed by the ERDF covering areas with severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps referred to in Article 111(4) of Regulation (EU) No [ ]/2012 [CPR] shall pay particular attention to addressing the specific difficulties of those areas. The specific additional allocation for areas beset by permanent and severe geographic handicaps shall be used to enable these territories to alleviate such constraints, to improve their attractiveness for people and for industries, and to exploit their assets. It will support actions in the following fields: (a) all thematic objectives set out in Article 9 of Regulation (EU) No [ ]/2012[CPR]; (b) start-up aid for transport services; (c) cooperation actions not covered by Regulation (EU) N [ ]/2012 on specific provisions for support from the European Regional Development Fund towards the European territorial cooperation goal. The additional allocation should be targeted towards projects which can have a maximum impact in those areas bearing in mind their specific constraints and opportunities, such projects being freely chosen amongst the possibilities offered by Article 9 on Thematic Objectives of the Common Provisions Regulations, and without the restrictions imposed by Article 4 of ERDF Regulation on thematic concentration. The additional allocation should also be used to improve the accessibility of these territories, by developing their transport network (e.g: by funding experimental air or sea routes). In the field of cooperation it could also provide support for initiatives which would be beyond the scope of the European territorial cooperation Regulation, especially if the 150Km limit for cross-border is not removed. [See amendment on EUROPEAN TERRITORIAL COOPERATION - Article 3 Geographical coverage ]

14 AMENDMENT N 14 EUROPEAN TERRITORIAL COOPERATION - Article 3 Geographical coverage 1. For cross-border cooperation, the regions to be supported shall be the NUTS level 3 regions of the Union along all internal and external land borders other than those covered by programmes under the external financial instruments of the Union, and all NUTS level 3 regions of the Union along maritime borders separated by a maximum of 150 km, without prejudice to potential adjustments needed to ensure the coherence and continuity of cooperation programme areas established for the programming period. The 150Km maximum will not apply to Island regions within the limits of their sea basin area, so as to promote cooperation actions based on a common strategy within their functional area. The 150Km limit is irrelevant to regions which are isolated by the sea, and have a long tradition of co-operation within their sea basin area, and should thus be deleted. AMENDMENT N 15 EUROPEAN TERRITORIAL COOPERATION - Article 4 Resources for European territorial cooperation 3. The Commission shall adopt a single decision setting out the list of all cooperation programmes and indicating the amounts of the total ERDF support per programme and of the 2014 allocation per programme by means of implementing acts. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 30(2). Population in the areas referred to in the 3rd sub-paragraph of Article 3(1) and the first sub-paragraph of Article (3) shall be used as the criterion for the annual breakdown by Member State. Special allocation will be made for the Small Island States in consideration of their limited population size. As such, the provision of this article would severely restrict the funding made available to Small Island States for the purpose of cross-border and transnational cooperation because of their limited population. [See this point must be seen with the national authorities of Cyprus and Malta]

15 AMENDEMENT N 16 EXPLICATION EUROPEAN TERRITORIAL COOPERATION - Article 7 - Content of cooperation programmes 2. A cooperation programme shall set out: ( ) (c) the contribution to the integrated strategy for territorial development set out in the partnership contract including: (i) the mechanisms that ensure coordination between the Funds, the EAFRD, the EMFF and other Union and national funding instruments and with the European Investment Bank (EIB); (ii) where appropriate, a planned integrated approach to the territorial development of urban, rural, coastal areas and areas with particular territorial features such as those suffering from geographic, demographic or natural handicaps, in particular the implementation arrangements for Articles 28 and 29 of Regulation (EU) No./2012 [CPR];