The key points
- Ratify the decision on own resources
On the eve of the European Council meeting, the Cohesion Alliance – a European alliance of 12,000 signatories calling for a stronger cohesion policy after 2020 – calls on member states to work in partnership with local and regional administrations the development, implementation and governance of national plans for recovery and resilience.
Local and regional authorities, a statement said, have been at the forefront of the health crisis since its inception and will play a vital role in achieving an equitable, sustainable and resilient recovery across Europe. However, in drawing up their national recovery plans, “many Member States do not significantly involve regions, cities and municipalities, nor socio-economic partners, in the planning process,” the Alliance complains.
Local and regional authorities – the note recalls – are responsible for one third of public spending and half of public investment in the EU “and without their participation the recovery will never be achieved”.
“European solidarity means demonstrating with facts that cohesion is a fundamental value for the EU. We therefore invite all Member States – the regions write – to work in partnership with local and regional authorities, socio-economic partners and civil society in the elaboration, implementation and governance of the national recovery plans that must be presented to the European Commission by the end of April. We emphasize the need to fully respect the principles of partnership and multilevel governance and to adopt a place-based approach in this process.
Ratify the decision on own resources
The Cohesion Alliance welcomed the creation of Next Generation EU, the € 750 billion recovery tool, also known as the Europe Recovery Plan, a ‘historic’ decision for the European Union. “The time has come to translate the EU’s most powerful investment plan ever into action. However – the Alliance complains – too many Member States have yet to ratify the decision on own resources “legislative act essential to allow the European Commission to borrow up to 750 billion euros on the capital markets to face the negative effects of the COVID crisis -19. “A rapid ratification of the decision by all EU member states is crucial to relaunch the recovery in Europe with new funds. National parliaments must therefore ratify the decision as soon as possible ».
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Vaccines: close coordination between EU-governments-regions is needed
Finally, according to the regions, European solidarity is also expressed through collaboration aimed at creating a truly European vaccination campaign. “A fragmented campaign benefits no one and would jeopardize the recovery by increasing inequalities between European regions.” Therefore, before the European summit, the Cohesion Alliance warns EU leaders about the risk of competition to obtain vaccines on the ground and calls for “close coordination between the EU, regional and national governments to ensure that the needs and expectations of all European citizens are met. We must concentrate all our efforts to avoid a “vaccination gap” which would accentuate the disparities existing between regions, cities and small towns in Europe ».