BETA


2014/2246(INI) Cohesion policy and the review of the Europe 2020 strategy

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead REGI RUAS Fernando (icon: PPE PPE) KREHL Constanze (icon: S&D S&D), TOMAŠIĆ Ruža (icon: ECR ECR), VAN MILTENBURG Matthijs (icon: ALDE ALDE), VANA Monika (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE)
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 54

Events

2016/03/15
   EC - Commission response to text adopted in plenary
Documents
2015/10/28
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2015/10/28
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament adopted by 530 votes to 75 with 54 abstentions, a resolution on cohesion policy and the review of the Europe 2020 strategy.

The Europe 2020 strategy and its interrelationship with cohesion policy: Members recalled that cohesion policy is the EU’s main investment growth and development policy aligned with the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and aimed at reducing disparities between regions and promoting convergence, with a budget of EUR 351.8 billion until the end of 2020.

Cohesion policy is the EU’s main policy aligned with the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy built around five ambitious objectives: employment, innovation, climate change and energy sustainability, education, and fighting poverty and social exclusion.

Cohesion policy is the main EU instrument, covering all regions, for investment in the real economy. In parallel, it is developing synergies with other EU policies such as the digital single market, the energy union, the single capital market and social policy. Members called on national and regional authorities across Europe to design smart specialisation strategies and exploit synergies between different EU, national and regional instruments, both public and private.

Parliament stresses with concern the delays in implementing cohesion policy during the current programming period. According to the first evaluation released by the Commission, the amounts allocated to research and innovation, support for SMEs, ICT, the low-carbon economy, employment, social inclusion, education and capacity-building have increased substantially as compared with the previous programming periods, while the level of support for transport and environmental infrastructure has decreased.

The resolution drew attention to the fact that, at the time of the mid-term review of the Europe 2020 strategy, data on implementation of the ESI Funds 2014-2020 may still be lacking , and that, as a result, a concrete evaluation of the contribution of these funds to achieving the strategy’s targets may still not be possible at that stage.

Review momentum of Europe 2020 and related challenges: Members recalled that the Commission launched the strategy review process in 2014 but considered it regrettable that insufficient reference was made to cohesion policy. They noted that the publication of the Commission’s proposal on the review of the Europe 2020 strategy is due before the end of 2015 and regretted this delay.

Parliament called for the scope of the mid-term review of the Europe 2020 strategy to be smart and balanced and to be focused on better interlinking the strategy’s five objectives and its flagship initiatives and on identifying methods as to how they could be better carried forward and evaluated without creating additional layers of complexity and excessive administrative burden. It stressed the importance of:

taking into account: (i) the strengths and weaknesses of the EU economy, the growing inequalities (such as in wealth), high unemployment and high public debts; (ii) increased societal and environmental sustainability; (iii) greater social inclusion; (iv) gender equality; (v) the importance of continued support from the Commission services for Member State authorities in improving administrative capacity; enhancing the responsibility of the strategy by involving Local and Regional Authorities (LRAs) and all relevant civil society stakeholders and interested parties from the target-setting and development of objectives to the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the strategy; a strengthened governance structure based on multi-level governance . The commitment by LRAs and stakeholders in the Europe 2020 strategy project should be renewed in the form of a pact between those partners, the Member States and the Commission; the need for a truly territorial approach to the Europe 2020 strategy with a view to adjusting public interventions and investments to different territorial characteristics and specific needs; acknowledging the significant role of cities and urban areas as drivers for growth and jobs; taking into consideration the characteristics and constraints of specific territories , such as those of rural areas, areas affected by industrial transition, regions suffering from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps, island, cross-border and mountain regions and the EU’s outermost regions; establishing a coherent ongoing evaluation process in order to regularly assess the progress of Europe 2020 strategy targets whilst emphasising Parliament’s role to supervise the implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy and cohesion policy in a coordinated manner, not only within Parliament, but also with all relevant institutions.

ESI Funds : Parliament recalled the importance of the new EU investment instrument, the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), which will support the mobilisation of up to EUR 315 billion in investments.

The EFSI should be complementary and additional to the ESI Funds . Whilst regretting that it is not clearly linked to the Europe 2020 strategy, Parliament considered that, through its objectives and the selection of viable, sustainable projects, it should contribute to the implementation of the strategy in specific areas.

Future cohesion policy : Parliament stressed that both future cohesion policy and the future EU long-term strategy should be drafted before the end of the Commission’s current term, bearing in mind that there will be elections to the European Parliament in 2019, and that this imposes significant specific time constraints on the co-legislators as regards the negotiation calendar, and on the new Commission and the Member States as regards the preparation and adoption of the new partnership agreements and operational programmes before the start of the next MFF.

The Commission is therefore called upon to take into consideration all the specific constraints and to develop a coherent approach as regards the EU’s future long-term sustainable growth and jobs strategy, the EU budget, cohesion policy in particular, and other instruments under the MFF.

Documents
2015/10/28
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament
2015/10/27
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2015/10/27
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2015/09/30
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary
Details

The Committee on Regional Development adopted an own-initiative report by Fernando RUAS (EPP, PT) on cohesion policy and the review of the Europe 2020 strategy.

Members recalled that cohesion policy is the EU’s main investment growth and development policy aligned with the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and aimed at reducing disparities between regions and promoting convergence, with a budget of EUR 351.8 billion until the end of 2020. Moreover, preconditions linked directly to these thematic objectives have been established in order to ensure that investments are made in such a way as to maximise their effectiveness. Members underlined its full support for this new approach, which will contribute to increasing the effectiveness of spending.

In parallel, underlining the fact that cohesion policy is developing synergies with other EU policies such as the digital single market, the energy union, the single capital market and social policy, the report called on national and regional authorities across Europe to design smart specialisation strategies and exploit synergies between different EU, national and regional instruments , both public and private.

Review momentum and related challenges : Members recalled that the Commission launched the strategy review process in 2014 but considered it regrettable that insufficient reference was made to cohesion policy. They noted that the publication of the Commission’s proposal on the review of the Europe 2020 strategy is due before the end of 2015 and regretted this delay, given that it was initially scheduled for early 2015.

The report called for the scope of the mid-term review of the Europe 2020 strategy to be smart and balanced and to be focused on better interlinking the strategy’s five objectives and its flagship initiatives and on identifying methods as to how they could be better carried forward and evaluated without creating additional layers of complexity and excessive administrative burden.

It stressed the importance of:

taking into account: (i) the strengths and weaknesses of the EU economy, the growing inequalities (such as in wealth), high unemployment and high public debts; (ii) increased societal and environmental sustainability; (iii) greater social inclusion; (iv) gender equality; (v) the importance of continued support from the Commission services for Member State authorities in improving administrative capacity; enhance the responsibility, ownership, transparency and participation dimensions of the strategy by involving Local and Regional Authorities (LRAs) and all relevant civil society stakeholders and interested parties from the target-setting and development of objectives to the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the strategy; a strengthened governance structure based on multi-level governance. The commitment by LRAs and stakeholders in the Europe 2020 strategy project should be renewed in the form of a pact between those partners, the Member States and the Commission; the need for a truly territorial approach to the Europe 2020 strategy with a view to adjusting public interventions and investments to different territorial characteristics and specific needs; acknowledging the significant role of cities and urban areas as drivers for growth and jobs; taking into consideration the characteristics and constraints of specific territories , such as those of rural areas, areas affected by industrial transition, regions suffering from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps, island, cross-border and mountain regions and the EU’s outermost regions; establish a coherent ongoing evaluation process in order to regularly assess the progress of Europe 2020 strategy targets whilst emphasising Parliament’s role to supervise the implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy and cohesion policy in a coordinated manner, not only within Parliament, but also with all relevant institutions.

The report noted the importance of the new EU investment instrument, the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), which will support the mobilisation of up to EUR 315 billion in investments.

The EFSI should be complementary and additional to the ESI Funds . Whilst regretting that it is not clearly linked to the Europe 2020 strategy, Members considered that, through its objectives and the selection of viable, sustainable projects, it should contribute to the implementation of the strategy in specific areas.

Future cohesion policy : the report stressed that both future cohesion policy and the future EU long-term strategy should be drafted before the end of the Commission’s current term, bearing in mind that there will be elections to the European Parliament in 2019, and that this imposes significant specific time constraints on the co-legislators as regards the negotiation calendar, and on the new Commission and the Member States as regards the preparation and adoption of the new partnership agreements and operational programmes before the start of the next MFF.

The Commission is therefore called upon to take into consideration all the specific constraints and to develop a coherent approach as regards the EU’s future long-term sustainable growth and jobs strategy, the EU budget, cohesion policy in particular, and other instruments under the MFF.

Documents
2015/09/17
   EP - Vote in committee
2015/07/07
   EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2015/05/29
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2015/01/15
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament
2014/11/04
   EP - RUAS Fernando (PPE) appointed as rapporteur in REGI

Documents

Activities

Votes

A8-0277/2015 - Fernando Ruas - Résolution #

2015/10/28 Outcome: +: 530, -: 75, 0: 54
DE IT PL ES GB RO FR BE CZ PT HU SE FI BG NL AT HR SK LT DK SI LV IE EE LU MT EL CY
Total
82
70
46
47
65
24
63
20
15
21
19
17
13
11
24
18
9
10
8
11
8
7
10
6
5
6
18
5
icon: PPE PPE
187

Lithuania PPE

1

Denmark PPE

For (1)

1

Estonia PPE

For (1)

1

Luxembourg PPE

2

Malta PPE

Against (1)

3
icon: S&D S&D
169

Czechia S&D

3

Netherlands S&D

2

Croatia S&D

For (1)

1

Slovakia S&D

2

Slovenia S&D

For (1)

1

Latvia S&D

1

Ireland S&D

For (1)

1

Estonia S&D

For (1)

1

Luxembourg S&D

For (1)

1

Malta S&D

3

Cyprus S&D

For (1)

1
icon: ALDE ALDE
63

United Kingdom ALDE

1

Romania ALDE

2

Bulgaria ALDE

3

Austria ALDE

For (1)

1

Croatia ALDE

2

Denmark ALDE

3

Slovenia ALDE

For (1)

1

Latvia ALDE

1

Ireland ALDE

For (1)

1

Estonia ALDE

3

Luxembourg ALDE

For (1)

1
icon: ECR ECR
63

Italy ECR

2

Romania ECR

For (1)

1

Czechia ECR

1
2

Netherlands ECR

2

Slovakia ECR

Abstain (1)

3

Denmark ECR

Against (1)

2

Latvia ECR

For (1)

1

Greece ECR

Abstain (1)

1
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
46

Belgium Verts/ALE

2

Hungary Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Finland Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Netherlands Verts/ALE

2

Austria Verts/ALE

3

Croatia Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Lithuania Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Denmark Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Slovenia Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Latvia Verts/ALE

1

Estonia Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

For (1)

1
icon: NI NI
12

Germany NI

Against (1)

1

Poland NI

Against (1)

1

United Kingdom NI

For (1)

1

France NI

Against (1)

1
3
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
45

Italy GUE/NGL

3

United Kingdom GUE/NGL

Abstain (1)

1

France GUE/NGL

Against (1)

3

Portugal GUE/NGL

Abstain (1)

4

Sweden GUE/NGL

Abstain (1)

1

Finland GUE/NGL

Abstain (1)

1

Netherlands GUE/NGL

3

Denmark GUE/NGL

Abstain (1)

1
4

Cyprus GUE/NGL

2
icon: EFDD EFDD
39

Poland EFDD

1

France EFDD

Against (1)

1

Sweden EFDD

2

Lithuania EFDD

For (1)

1
icon: ENF ENF
34

Poland ENF

2

United Kingdom ENF

Against (1)

1

Belgium ENF

Against (1)

1

Netherlands ENF

4
AmendmentsDossier
190 2014/2246(INI)
2015/07/07 REGI 190 amendments...
source: 560.908

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

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Rules of Procedure EP 159
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REGI
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activities
  • date: 2015-01-15T00:00:00 body: EP type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP shadows: group: S&D name: KREHL Constanze group: ECR name: TOMAŠIĆ Ruža group: ALDE name: VAN MILTENBURG Matthijs group: GUE/NGL name: PAPADIMOULIS Dimitrios group: Verts/ALE name: VANA Monika responsible: True committee: REGI date: 2014-11-04T00:00:00 committee_full: Regional Development rapporteur: group: EPP name: RUAS Fernando
  • date: 2015-09-17T00:00:00 body: EP type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP shadows: group: S&D name: KREHL Constanze group: ECR name: TOMAŠIĆ Ruža group: ALDE name: VAN MILTENBURG Matthijs group: GUE/NGL name: PAPADIMOULIS Dimitrios group: Verts/ALE name: VANA Monika responsible: True committee: REGI date: 2014-11-04T00:00:00 committee_full: Regional Development rapporteur: group: EPP name: RUAS Fernando
  • date: 2015-09-30T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2015-0277&language=EN type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading title: A8-0277/2015 body: EP type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
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  • date: 2015-10-28T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2015-0384 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading title: T8-0384/2015 body: EP type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
commission
  • body: EC dg: Regional and Urban Policy commissioner: CREȚU Corina
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body
EP
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REGI
date
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docs
  • date: 2015-05-29T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE557.275 title: PE557.275 type: Committee draft report body: EP
  • date: 2015-07-07T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE560.908 title: PE560.908 type: Amendments tabled in committee body: EP
  • date: 2016-03-15T00:00:00 docs: url: /oeil/spdoc.do?i=26180&j=0&l=en title: SP(2016)67 type: Commission response to text adopted in plenary
events
  • date: 2015-01-15T00:00:00 type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2015-09-17T00:00:00 type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2015-09-30T00:00:00 type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2015-0277&language=EN title: A8-0277/2015 summary: The Committee on Regional Development adopted an own-initiative report by Fernando RUAS (EPP, PT) on cohesion policy and the review of the Europe 2020 strategy. Members recalled that cohesion policy is the EU’s main investment growth and development policy aligned with the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and aimed at reducing disparities between regions and promoting convergence, with a budget of EUR 351.8 billion until the end of 2020. Moreover, preconditions linked directly to these thematic objectives have been established in order to ensure that investments are made in such a way as to maximise their effectiveness. Members underlined its full support for this new approach, which will contribute to increasing the effectiveness of spending. In parallel, underlining the fact that cohesion policy is developing synergies with other EU policies such as the digital single market, the energy union, the single capital market and social policy, the report called on national and regional authorities across Europe to design smart specialisation strategies and exploit synergies between different EU, national and regional instruments , both public and private. Review momentum and related challenges : Members recalled that the Commission launched the strategy review process in 2014 but considered it regrettable that insufficient reference was made to cohesion policy. They noted that the publication of the Commission’s proposal on the review of the Europe 2020 strategy is due before the end of 2015 and regretted this delay, given that it was initially scheduled for early 2015. The report called for the scope of the mid-term review of the Europe 2020 strategy to be smart and balanced and to be focused on better interlinking the strategy’s five objectives and its flagship initiatives and on identifying methods as to how they could be better carried forward and evaluated without creating additional layers of complexity and excessive administrative burden. It stressed the importance of: taking into account: (i) the strengths and weaknesses of the EU economy, the growing inequalities (such as in wealth), high unemployment and high public debts; (ii) increased societal and environmental sustainability; (iii) greater social inclusion; (iv) gender equality; (v) the importance of continued support from the Commission services for Member State authorities in improving administrative capacity; enhance the responsibility, ownership, transparency and participation dimensions of the strategy by involving Local and Regional Authorities (LRAs) and all relevant civil society stakeholders and interested parties from the target-setting and development of objectives to the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the strategy; a strengthened governance structure based on multi-level governance. The commitment by LRAs and stakeholders in the Europe 2020 strategy project should be renewed in the form of a pact between those partners, the Member States and the Commission; the need for a truly territorial approach to the Europe 2020 strategy with a view to adjusting public interventions and investments to different territorial characteristics and specific needs; acknowledging the significant role of cities and urban areas as drivers for growth and jobs; taking into consideration the characteristics and constraints of specific territories , such as those of rural areas, areas affected by industrial transition, regions suffering from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps, island, cross-border and mountain regions and the EU’s outermost regions; establish a coherent ongoing evaluation process in order to regularly assess the progress of Europe 2020 strategy targets whilst emphasising Parliament’s role to supervise the implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy and cohesion policy in a coordinated manner, not only within Parliament, but also with all relevant institutions. The report noted the importance of the new EU investment instrument, the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), which will support the mobilisation of up to EUR 315 billion in investments. The EFSI should be complementary and additional to the ESI Funds . Whilst regretting that it is not clearly linked to the Europe 2020 strategy, Members considered that, through its objectives and the selection of viable, sustainable projects, it should contribute to the implementation of the strategy in specific areas. Future cohesion policy : the report stressed that both future cohesion policy and the future EU long-term strategy should be drafted before the end of the Commission’s current term, bearing in mind that there will be elections to the European Parliament in 2019, and that this imposes significant specific time constraints on the co-legislators as regards the negotiation calendar, and on the new Commission and the Member States as regards the preparation and adoption of the new partnership agreements and operational programmes before the start of the next MFF. The Commission is therefore called upon to take into consideration all the specific constraints and to develop a coherent approach as regards the EU’s future long-term sustainable growth and jobs strategy, the EU budget, cohesion policy in particular, and other instruments under the MFF.
  • date: 2015-10-27T00:00:00 type: Debate in Parliament body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20151027&type=CRE title: Debate in Parliament
  • date: 2015-10-27T00:00:00 type: Debate in Parliament body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20151027&type=CRE title: Debate in Parliament
  • date: 2015-10-28T00:00:00 type: Results of vote in Parliament body: EP docs: url: https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=26180&l=en title: Results of vote in Parliament
  • date: 2015-10-28T00:00:00 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2015-0384 title: T8-0384/2015 summary: The European Parliament adopted by 530 votes to 75 with 54 abstentions, a resolution on cohesion policy and the review of the Europe 2020 strategy. The Europe 2020 strategy and its interrelationship with cohesion policy: Members recalled that cohesion policy is the EU’s main investment growth and development policy aligned with the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and aimed at reducing disparities between regions and promoting convergence, with a budget of EUR 351.8 billion until the end of 2020. Cohesion policy is the EU’s main policy aligned with the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy built around five ambitious objectives: employment, innovation, climate change and energy sustainability, education, and fighting poverty and social exclusion. Cohesion policy is the main EU instrument, covering all regions, for investment in the real economy. In parallel, it is developing synergies with other EU policies such as the digital single market, the energy union, the single capital market and social policy. Members called on national and regional authorities across Europe to design smart specialisation strategies and exploit synergies between different EU, national and regional instruments, both public and private. Parliament stresses with concern the delays in implementing cohesion policy during the current programming period. According to the first evaluation released by the Commission, the amounts allocated to research and innovation, support for SMEs, ICT, the low-carbon economy, employment, social inclusion, education and capacity-building have increased substantially as compared with the previous programming periods, while the level of support for transport and environmental infrastructure has decreased. The resolution drew attention to the fact that, at the time of the mid-term review of the Europe 2020 strategy, data on implementation of the ESI Funds 2014-2020 may still be lacking , and that, as a result, a concrete evaluation of the contribution of these funds to achieving the strategy’s targets may still not be possible at that stage. Review momentum of Europe 2020 and related challenges: Members recalled that the Commission launched the strategy review process in 2014 but considered it regrettable that insufficient reference was made to cohesion policy. They noted that the publication of the Commission’s proposal on the review of the Europe 2020 strategy is due before the end of 2015 and regretted this delay. Parliament called for the scope of the mid-term review of the Europe 2020 strategy to be smart and balanced and to be focused on better interlinking the strategy’s five objectives and its flagship initiatives and on identifying methods as to how they could be better carried forward and evaluated without creating additional layers of complexity and excessive administrative burden. It stressed the importance of: taking into account: (i) the strengths and weaknesses of the EU economy, the growing inequalities (such as in wealth), high unemployment and high public debts; (ii) increased societal and environmental sustainability; (iii) greater social inclusion; (iv) gender equality; (v) the importance of continued support from the Commission services for Member State authorities in improving administrative capacity; enhancing the responsibility of the strategy by involving Local and Regional Authorities (LRAs) and all relevant civil society stakeholders and interested parties from the target-setting and development of objectives to the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the strategy; a strengthened governance structure based on multi-level governance . The commitment by LRAs and stakeholders in the Europe 2020 strategy project should be renewed in the form of a pact between those partners, the Member States and the Commission; the need for a truly territorial approach to the Europe 2020 strategy with a view to adjusting public interventions and investments to different territorial characteristics and specific needs; acknowledging the significant role of cities and urban areas as drivers for growth and jobs; taking into consideration the characteristics and constraints of specific territories , such as those of rural areas, areas affected by industrial transition, regions suffering from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps, island, cross-border and mountain regions and the EU’s outermost regions; establishing a coherent ongoing evaluation process in order to regularly assess the progress of Europe 2020 strategy targets whilst emphasising Parliament’s role to supervise the implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy and cohesion policy in a coordinated manner, not only within Parliament, but also with all relevant institutions. ESI Funds : Parliament recalled the importance of the new EU investment instrument, the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), which will support the mobilisation of up to EUR 315 billion in investments. The EFSI should be complementary and additional to the ESI Funds . Whilst regretting that it is not clearly linked to the Europe 2020 strategy, Parliament considered that, through its objectives and the selection of viable, sustainable projects, it should contribute to the implementation of the strategy in specific areas. Future cohesion policy : Parliament stressed that both future cohesion policy and the future EU long-term strategy should be drafted before the end of the Commission’s current term, bearing in mind that there will be elections to the European Parliament in 2019, and that this imposes significant specific time constraints on the co-legislators as regards the negotiation calendar, and on the new Commission and the Member States as regards the preparation and adoption of the new partnership agreements and operational programmes before the start of the next MFF. The Commission is therefore called upon to take into consideration all the specific constraints and to develop a coherent approach as regards the EU’s future long-term sustainable growth and jobs strategy, the EU budget, cohesion policy in particular, and other instruments under the MFF.
  • date: 2015-10-28T00:00:00 type: End of procedure in Parliament body: EP
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  • body: EC dg: url: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/regional_policy/index_en.htm title: Regional and Urban Policy commissioner: CREȚU Corina
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Rules of Procedure EP 54
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Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament EP 052
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  • 4.70.02 Cohesion policy, Cohesion Fund
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4.70.02
Cohesion policy, Cohesion Fund (CF)
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2015-10-27T00:00:00
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  • The Committee on Regional Development adopted an own-initiative report by Fernando RUAS (EPP, PT) on cohesion policy and the review of the Europe 2020 strategy.

    Members recalled that cohesion policy is the EU’s main investment growth and development policy aligned with the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and aimed at reducing disparities between regions and promoting convergence, with a budget of EUR 351.8 billion until the end of 2020. Moreover, preconditions linked directly to these thematic objectives have been established in order to ensure that investments are made in such a way as to maximise their effectiveness. Members underlined its full support for this new approach, which will contribute to increasing the effectiveness of spending.

    In parallel, underlining the fact that cohesion policy is developing synergies with other EU policies such as the digital single market, the energy union, the single capital market and social policy, the report called on national and regional authorities across Europe to design smart specialisation strategies and exploit synergies between different EU, national and regional instruments, both public and private.

    Review momentum and related challenges: Members recalled that the Commission launched the strategy review process in 2014 but considered it regrettable that insufficient reference was made to cohesion policy. They noted that the publication of the Commission’s proposal on the review of the Europe 2020 strategy is due before the end of 2015 and regretted this delay, given that it was initially scheduled for early 2015.

    The report called for the scope of the mid-term review of the Europe 2020 strategy to be smart and balanced and to be focused on better interlinking the strategy’s five objectives and its flagship initiatives and on identifying methods as to how they could be better carried forward and evaluated without creating additional layers of complexity and excessive administrative burden.

    It stressed the importance of:

    • taking into account: (i) the strengths and weaknesses of the EU economy, the growing inequalities (such as in wealth), high unemployment and high public debts; (ii) increased societal and environmental sustainability; (iii) greater social inclusion; (iv) gender equality; (v) the importance of continued support from the Commission services for Member State authorities in improving administrative capacity;
    • enhance the responsibility, ownership, transparency and participation dimensions of the strategy by involving Local and Regional Authorities (LRAs) and all relevant civil society stakeholders and interested parties from the target-setting and development of objectives to the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the strategy;
    • a strengthened governance structure based on multi-level governance. The commitment by LRAs and stakeholders in the Europe 2020 strategy project should be renewed in the form of a pact between those partners, the Member States and the Commission;
    • the need for a truly territorial approach to the Europe 2020 strategy with a view to adjusting public interventions and investments to different territorial characteristics and specific needs;
    • acknowledging the significant role of cities and urban areas as drivers for growth and jobs;
    • taking into consideration the characteristics and constraints of specific territories, such as those of rural areas, areas affected by industrial transition, regions suffering from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps, island, cross-border and mountain regions and the EU’s outermost regions;
    • establish a coherent ongoing evaluation process in order to regularly assess the progress of Europe 2020 strategy targets whilst emphasising Parliament’s role to supervise the implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy and cohesion policy in a coordinated manner, not only within Parliament, but also with all relevant institutions.

    The report noted the importance of the new EU investment instrument, the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), which will support the mobilisation of up to EUR 315 billion in investments.

    The EFSI should be complementary and additional to the ESI Funds. Whilst regretting that it is not clearly linked to the Europe 2020 strategy, Members considered that, through its objectives and the selection of viable, sustainable projects, it should contribute to the implementation of the strategy in specific areas.

    Future cohesion policy: the report stressed that both future cohesion policy and the future EU long-term strategy should be drafted before the end of the Commission’s current term, bearing in mind that there will be elections to the European Parliament in 2019, and that this imposes significant specific time constraints on the co-legislators as regards the negotiation calendar, and on the new Commission and the Member States as regards the preparation and adoption of the new partnership agreements and operational programmes before the start of the next MFF.

    The Commission is therefore called upon to take into consideration all the specific constraints and to develop a coherent approach as regards the EU’s future long-term sustainable growth and jobs strategy, the EU budget, cohesion policy in particular, and other instruments under the MFF.

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2015-10-26T00:00:00
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2015-10-28T00:00:00
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2015-09-30T00:00:00
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Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
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2015-10-27T00:00:00
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Regional Policy
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Regional and Urban Policy
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  • date: 2015-01-15T00:00:00 body: EP type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP shadows: group: S&D name: KREHL Constanze group: ECR name: TOMAŠIĆ Ruža group: GUE/NGL name: PAPADIMOULIS Dimitrios group: Verts/ALE name: VANA Monika responsible: True committee: REGI date: 2014-11-04T00:00:00 committee_full: Regional Development rapporteur: group: EPP name: RUAS Fernando
committees
  • body: EP shadows: group: S&D name: KREHL Constanze group: ECR name: TOMAŠIĆ Ruža group: GUE/NGL name: PAPADIMOULIS Dimitrios group: Verts/ALE name: VANA Monika responsible: True committee: REGI date: 2014-11-04T00:00:00 committee_full: Regional Development rapporteur: group: EPP name: RUAS Fernando
links
other
  • body: EC dg: url: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/regional_policy/index_en.htm title: Regional Policy commissioner: CREȚU Corina
procedure
dossier_of_the_committee
REGI/8/02312
reference
2014/2246(INI)
title
Cohesion policy and the review of the Europe 2020 strategy
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Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament EP 052
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Awaiting committee decision
subtype
Initiative
type
INI - Own-initiative procedure
subject
4.70.02 Cohesion policy, Cohesion Fund