site.btaBorissov: Cohesion Policy Is Most Important to Connectivity in Europe

Sofia, June 8 (BTA) - Addressing a high-level conference on the EU's Cohesion Policy and the post-2020 prospects for convergence and sustainable regions, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov Friday said Cohesion Policy is of the utmost importance to connectivity in Europe.

Borissov said: "All the good things we have done in recent years worth over 20 billion leva were financed under these programmes. This opens the way to larger investments, GDP growth and improving skills." He stressed the importance of infrastructure - motorways, railways and water treatment facilities, to which he added competitiveness, digital and energy connectivity. It is Cohesion Policy that can be the pivot of many EU policies. He said that all EU Member States deplore the UK's decision to leave the EU, which will lead to a multibillion shortfall in the next Multiannual Financial Framework. At the same time, Europe is faced with many important issues: cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, the common European defence and the migrant crisis.

Borissov said migration and cohesion are the topics which most often divide the EU Member States because it is tempting to solve domestic problems by going back home and saying: "We won, we got the best deal for us."

He expressed concern over Turkey's decision on Thursday to suspend its migrant readmission deal with Greece. The Prime Minister noted that Bulgaria strictly meets its commitments to guard the EU's external border and is under zero migrant pressure. He stressed the agreement with Turkey was working perfectly.

The US decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and the EU's firm stance have led to an increase in the number of migrants from Iran. When people have a sense of impending war, nothing can stop them from seeking a safe haven, Borissov said.

In this context, he stressed that stability and a European perspective have no alternative for the Western Balkans. This can be achieved through transport, digital and energy connectivity.

The Prime Minister reiterated Bulgaria's position on migrant pressure: all European countries should follow Bulgaria's example and close their borders, allowing entry only through border checkpoints. The countries that have no EU external borders should provide financial support to Italy, Spain and Greece. In his view, migration can be controlled by buying patrol boats and posting police and service persons.

Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev said a shared future would not materialize if the gap between rich and poor regions widened. Despite the EU's great achievements and the role played by Cohesion Policy, there still is an over tenfold gap between the richest and the poorest regions. All this and the Member States' different views on Cohesion Policy and its place in the EU budget make the future negotiations extremely difficult, he stressed.

Donchev pointed out that it is almost impossible to reach agreement on certain points of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). The debate on Cohesion Policy should start with a clear diagnosis of the problems: the Single Market, connectivity, the environment and youth unemployment are the challenges that need to be addressed by that policy, said Donchev, calling for reform both at national and European level.

Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov said the debate between the finance ministers will not be easy because the redistribution role should be kept relatively low, while global competition means that more policies in the EU should be centralized. Goranov also said the attempt to turn Cohesion Policy into an instrument of imposing policies on the individual countries is good in principle, but should be employed very carefully so as not to leave the impression that the European Commission tries to impose policies beyond the written rules on the Member States.

The Finance Minister said it would be overly optimistic to expect to reach agreement on Cohesion Policy and the MFF under the present Commission, which does not mean that the Member States should stop trying. The good news is that all regions will have access to Cohesion Policy because the opposite would pose many risks.

Marc Lemaitre, Director-General, European Commission DG Regional and Urban Policy, said the European Commission had been guided by four keywords: to make the policy more modern, more dynamic, more flexible, and simpler. The proposed policy objectives are: a smarter Europe, a greener, low carbon Europe, a more connected Europe, a more social Europe, and a Europe closer to its citizens.

The Commission proposes a policy for all regions with substantial means, which is more than ever concentrated on the poorest. It should remain the key policy of investment and solidarity in the EU toolbox, said Lemaitre.

He said the Member States would have almost two years by the end of 2020 to agree on the future priorities and content of Cohesion Policy and its shape in each Member State and region. The Commission believes that a check after the first four or five years into the next programming period would show if the original priorities are still valid.

He also said: "Elaborating on innovation, we propose a new tool which would stimulate cooperation between European regions on concrete innovation projects and we would build into that new instrument the need to partner up between less developed and more developed regions. Secondly, as the needs in terms of solidarity are evolving, we propose to firmly embed some support for the long-term integration of migrants within Cohesion Policy, and mainly within the policy objective for a more social Europe." The principle of some prior conditions, which will be called enabling conditions, will be maintained after being revisited. Lemaitre also talked about what he called the "natural complementarity" between the two instruments: Cohesion Policy and Horizon Europe.

European Budget and Human Resources Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said that considerable proceeds will be lost due to Brexit, to the tune of 12 billion - 14 billion euro annually, which means that cuts will need to be made. However, the EC has a clear intention whereby the Cohesion Policy have 30 per cent of the common funds. The goal is for the new member states to attain the European average per capita GDP.

Oettinger said that countries such as Bulgaria are on the right track but this needs to continue in the next decade so as to guarantee that Bulgaria will assume its due place in the EU policies. The Commissioner said he expects criticism that the Cohesion Policy is cut. He voiced a hope that at the EU-27 summit at the end of June, the heads of state and government of the member states will be convinced that the approach to the Cohesion Policy is right, particularity in respect of net payers.