However, Regions and Cohesion Commissioner Raffaele Fitto attempted to defend the proposal during a hearing in the European Parliament on Thursday, leading lawmakers to accuse him of “selling off” Europe’s regions. “I think [cohesion policy] is not dead, we’re in a different phase,” he said, highlighting the €218 billion committed to development in the bloc’s poorest regions.
Hinting at his own dissatisfaction with the proposal, Fitto added he was hopeful the Parliament and the European Council would “further improve the text” in the negotiations to be held over the next two years.
Safeguard concerns
For local leaders, there’s also the additional worry over the Commission’s plan to link national governments’ ability to access EU cash with their implementation of major reforms or their adherence to the rule of law.
In the past, cohesion funds still flowed to cities and regions in countries with central governments that clashed with Brussels. But under the new terms, problems that national administrations have with the Commission could stymie cities’ ability to secure EU money for building tram lines or sustainable housing.
In Poland, where the central government’s access to EU cash was temporarily blocked due to concerns over the independence of the judiciary, Wrocław’s Deputy Mayor Jakub Mazur expressed deep concerns over tying access to funds with national leaders.
“When national governments fail to meet horizontal conditionalities such as the Rule of Law,” he argued, “local efforts might be put at risk by political changes at the national level, despite cities’ commitment to delivering on EU priorities.”
