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You are here: Home / Archives for MFF

AER Meeting European Commissioner Johannes Hahn

7 July, 2020 By Vania Freitas

The AER President, Magnus Berntsson, met virtually today with Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration to discuss the Commission’s proposal for the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and recovery plan.

Magnus Berntsson emphasized the importance of an ambitious long-term EU budget that secures a more sustainable, prosperous and inclusive Europe.

The AER President underlined the critical role of cohesion policy in responding to the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 crisis and in supporting the transition towards a green, digital and fair Europe.

The meeting was an opportunity to give a strong warning against the attempt to centralise cohesion policy and stress the importance of involving local and regional authorities in the design and implementation of future investment programmes, in line with the principles of partnership and multilevel governance.

The AER President and Commissioner Hahn agreed on the need for a swift agreement on the MFF and its sectoral instruments for timely financing and start of EU programmes in 2021.

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Cohesion and partnership must be the driving force for European recovery

29 May, 2020 By Erica Lee

The #Cohesion Alliance – an EU-wide alliance of 12,000 signatories calling for a stronger cohesion policy after 2020 – welcomes the European Commission’s revised 2021–2027 EU budget and Recovery Plan proposals including the extension of the current cohesion programmes with increased flexibility and additional funding.  However, the Alliance urges the European Commission and Member States to ensure the involvement of cities, municipalities and regions and maintain a strong focus on cohesion in all recovery measures, aimed at rebuilding the economy, fostering sustainability and strengthening the territorial and social fabric of our Union, including in the European Semester process.  

The EU’s Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF) and Recovery Plan must focus on cohesion as a fundamental value of the European Union, to pursue major challenges such as the European Green Deal, the Sustainable Development Goals, the European Pillar of Social Rights as well as the digital transformation. In the current crisis, cities, municipalities and regions need the direct support of a strong cohesion policy more than ever to prevent widening territorial disparities and an asymmetric recovery as Member States have different financial means to address the current economic and social challenges.

The #CohesionAlliance welcomes the European Commission’s proposal to ensure the role of Cohesion policy as a strong EU long-term investment policy, as well as the investment of 55 bn EUR (2018 prices) through REACT-EU to provide an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its social and economic consequences. The extension of the current Operational Programmes will allow for a quick implementation of crucial investment. In addition, the increased flexibility for transferring resources between funds and the widening of scope to support the health services, tourism and culture sectors as well as to provide working capital to SMEs will help local and regional governments invest money where it is most needed, provided that it fully respects the cohesion core principles.

The Alliance is nevertheless concerned that without consideration for the diverse needs of regions, cities and municipalities as well as strong involvement of local actors, the Recovery and Resilient Facility – which is the most powerful investment tool of the EU recovery plans – is at risk of failure. For now, most measures are only directed to Member States without clarifying how much say local and regional authorities would have in revising programmes and in spending resources. The strong link of the Facility to the European Semester and to country specific recommendations can lead to a further centralisation of the recovery plans. The Alliance urges all EU and national institutions – and in particular EU Reforms and Cohesion Commissioner Elisa Ferreira – to take the needed steps to ensure that the national plans for recovery and resilience comply with the Partnership Principle, respond to the real needs of citizens and businesses and allow for stronger and more structured involvement of local and regional authorities.

The #CohesionAlliance partner organisations have put forward their priorities in a new draft declaration affirming cohesion as a fundamental value of the European Union and a key objective for all its policies and investment. The partners of the Cohesion Alliance 2.0 will launch the new declaration during their next meeting in early June.

 Contact the #CohesionAlliance secretariat:

[email protected]

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AER Response to MFF & Recovery Fund Proposals

29 May, 2020 By Erica Lee

On 27 May, the European Commission published its proposals for the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2027 and COVID-19 recovery plan. 

The next long-term budget of the European Union will be of crucial importance to the European project. Not only will it be delivered in exceptionally challenging times after the COVID-19, but it is also the Union’s first spending plan since the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union.

AER has produced a ‘Statement on the European Commission Proposal  for the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework‘ that outlines 10 key points that the European institutions & national governments should take on board.

Among these, AER welcomes the allocation of additional funding to form part of the Recovery Fund to help regions across the EU who have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 virus. This package will help to reboot regional economies, safeguarding jobs and livelihoods for EU citizens.

AER underlines the important role played by Cohesion Policy, and welcomes the new REACT-EU initiative.

“Cohesion policy has been instrumental in responding to the pandemic. Its major role of reducing economic, social and territorial disparities in the EU has never been more needed to address the longer-term impacts of the crisis and the challenges that lie ahead, driving the necessary transition towards a green, digital and fair Europe, consistent with the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals.”

In reflecting on the future of cohesion policy within the new MFF, AER stresses the need for principles of partnership, multilevel governance and place-based approach.

As an advocate for more than 150 regions in Europe, AER calls for the meaningful involvement of local and regional authorities in the design and implementation of future EU investment programmes. A fair and inclusive recovery to the crisis, as well as a prosperous Union of future, can only be built with the active participation of all levels of government, acting on behalf of all EU citizens.

Read the Statement in full below:


Photo by bruno neurath-wilson on Unsplash

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Meeting with Commissioner Ferreira

28 April, 2020 By Erica Lee

AER President Magnus Berntsson met with European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms this afternoon to discuss the forthcoming EU Budget – the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021 – 2027. The discussion centred around the future of European cohesion funding, the new Recovery Fund to deal with the knock-on implications of COVID-19 as well as the future of the Just Transition Fund as part of the EU Green Deal.

The AER President reiterated the concerns of the Cohesion Alliance, following the release of a common press release on 27 April, and stated that the Assembly of European Regions welcomes the recovery plan approved on 23 April 2020 by the European Council. He also took the occasion to ask for a stronger and fairer cohesion policy budget within the next Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027.


The full statement by the AER President may be read below:

The Statement may also be downloaded as a PDF here.

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