Progressive political leaders from Italy have joined forces to defend Europe’s cohesion policy and call for a stronger, fairer and more ambitious EU budget, warning that the European Commission’s proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and even more the recent Negotiating Box proposed by the Irish Presidency risk weakening the European Union’s ability to deliver for its citizens and territories.
In a joint declaration entitled “A Europe of territories, not a Europe of cuts”, the six presidents of regions of the Italian progressive camp (Decaro, Proietti, Todde, Giani, de Pascale e Fico), together with the PES Group President Menesini, the Head of Delegation of the Partito Democratico Zingaretti and the Head of 5 Star Movement in the European Parliament Tridico, reject a budget that cuts cohesion funding, weakens agricultural policy and sidelines cities and regions in decisions that directly affect their communities.
They argue that the drive for simplification must not become a pretext for a smaller, more centralised Union that is further removed from its citizens.
“An inadequate Commission proposal is made worse by the short-sightedness of Member States, whose only concern is to curb the Union's financial, and therefore political, power” the declaration states, stressing that a citizen’s opportunities and quality of life should never depend on where they live.
The regional and European policy-makers call for some specific points to be taken into consideration in upcoming negotiations on the MFF:
- an EU budget that matches the needs of citizens and remains at least as ambitious as the European Parliament’s demands;
- they insist that cohesion policy must remain an autonomous policy with its own stable and protected funding, including a European Social Fund that preserves at least its current level in real terms, taking inflation into account;
- the assurance of a territorial balance within the European Competitiveness Funds to make sure it does not deepen disparities between regions. For instance a “do no harm to cohesion” principle as advocated recently by the European Committee of the Regions;
- greater investment in affordable housing, healthcare, climate adaptation and child policy. It proposes, among other measures, at least €10 billion for an autonomous EU4Health programme and at least €20 billion for the European Child Guarantee;
- a serious response to the growing impact of natural disasters,with a solidarity reserve of at least €4 billion per year, in addition to the MFF spending ceilings, alongside dedicated resources for prevention, water resilience, protection against hydrogeological risks and European civil protection;
- the signatories call for a subsidiarity clause to prevent national plans (NRPPs) from bypassing constitutionally guaranteed regional competences, as recently request by the European Committee of the Regions;
- a minimum 20% allocation of funding to integrated territorial development strategies, with particular attention to inland and less accessible areas.
Without these safeguards, they warn, Europe risks undermining not only its regional policy but also the founding promise that every territory should have the opportunity to develop and converge towards higher living standards.
The signatories urge the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament to uphold this promise and reject a smaller EU budget and a governance model driven by national interests at the expense of a common European future.
The joint declaration is signed by:
- Luca Menesini, President of the PES Group in the European Committee of the Regions
- Nicola Zingaretti, Head of the Italian Democratic Party delegation in the European Parliament (S&D Group in the European Parliament)
- Pasquale Tridico, Head of the Five Star Movement delegation in the European Parliament (The Left in the European Parliament)
- Stefania Proietti, President of the Umbria Region and member of the European Committee of the Regions (PES Group in the European Committee of the Regions)
- Antonio Decaro, President of the Apulia Region and alternate member of the European Committee of the Regions (PES Group in the European Committee of the Regions)
- Alessandra Todde, President of the Sardinia Region and member of the European Committee of the Regions (Greens and Progressives Group)
- Michele de Pascale, President of the Emilia-Romagna Region
- Eugenio Giani, President of the Tuscany Region
- Roberto Fico, President of the Campania Region