BSSSC supports the #CohesionAlliance

08.01.2017

 

At the last BSSSC Board Meeting of 2017 in December, the BSSSC Board agreed to support the initiative called #cohesionalliance. The #CohesionAlliance is a coalition of those who believe that EU cohesion policy must continue to be a pillar of the EU's future. The Alliance was created through cooperation between the leading European associations of cities and regions and the European Committee of the Regions. It demands that the EU budget after 2020 makes cohesion policy stronger, more effective, visible and available for every region in the European Union.

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Roger Ryberg, Chairman of BSSSC says the Cohesion Alliance is of high importance. Currently worth one third of the EU budget, the EU's cohesion policy reduces regional disparities, creates jobs, opens new business opportunities and addresses major global issues such as climate change and migration. In these days, the EU budget after 2020 is discussed and the EU cohesion policy is under pressure. BSSSC is convinced that cohesion policy’s prominent role among EU policies and also within the future Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) must be maintained beyond 2020.

 

- We are an organization that is in good contact with the EU leadership, especially the regional committee, and we ensure that there is a great deal of participation in the debate about future funds, says Mr Ryberg.

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- It is huge money to be redistributed. We want to participate in this, I can assure you.

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As #CohesionAlliance we declare that cohesion policy…

1. works as a long-term investment policy for all regions in Europe to support growth and jobs at local
and regional level by promoting innovative solutions for issues such as climate change and energy
transition, social inclusion, as well as for cross-border, transnational and interregional co-operation;

2. is needed more than ever as an expression of European solidarity to overcome the economic, social
and territorial divide by providing every citizen, wherever they live in Europe, with a tangible opportunity
to experience the advantages of our European Union;

3. must be better communicated as the EU policy closest to the citizen, having a direct impact on their daily
lives;

4. must continue to be an effective policy with sufficient resources of at least one-third of the future EU
budget to be delivered via grants and, where appropriate, via financial instruments;

5. must be based on the existing European Structural and Investment Funds with a common set of
provisions;

6. requires the strengthening of the partnership principle and the place-based approach by reinforcing
the key role of local and regional authorities in delivering the policy by actively engaging urban and rural
communities and promoting tools to trigger and support local development through integrated strategies;

7. must be better coordinated with other EU policies on a level playing field by taking into account the
specificities of municipalities, cities and regions in the European Union;

8. must not be subject to conditionalities at European level that cannot be influenced by local and regional
authorities and other beneficiaries;

9. must be simplified and improved, based on increased trust between the levels of government
implementing the funds and a more flexible and differentiated approach.

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Read the rest of the declaration and sign up here. 

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You may also read the BSSSC paper and statement on cohesion policy post 2020, written in February 2017.

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