‘Less money, more intelligence’

By Tim King

Date: 01/06/06

Michel Delebarre is clearly not happy with the allocation of structural funds for the budgetary period 2007-13 (see right).

Although he held a succession of ministerial posts in French socialist governments in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Delebarre is critical of the deal struck by the EU's national governments in December. Delebarre is now president of the EU's Committee of the Regions, the consultative body representing Europe's regions.

The new EU states have, he says, "enormous needs", not least in terms of their physical infrastructure, which have to be addressed by the structural funds.

But the budget deal has left the EU pursuing a regional policy for cohesion that has more countries and regions but less money.

There will, inevitably, he says, be greater selectivity about what must be done and that, says Delebarre, will necessitate greater dialogue with the representatives of the regions.

"Less money: more intelligence," is his prescription and he believes that the regional representatives, who are closest to the regions, can provide that intelligence. He himself was president of the French region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and is still a member of parliament for Nord.

While arguing that the EU10 deserve more structural funds, Delebarre does not believe that money should be diverted from the EU15. His own region will see its funding cut from EUR 1.3 billion to EUR 900 million, and it is a similar story elsewhere, he says.

But these cuts should provide impetus, he believes, towards the 'Lisbonisation' of regional policy (see above), with the regions seeking out other EU money for research, training and small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Delebarre regrets his compatriots' rejection of the EU constitution in the referendum of one year ago. The constitution would, he points out, have introduced, as one of the EU's main objectives, the aim of territorial cohesion. While he argues that there were national reasons for the 'No' votes in France and the Netherlands, a common message was that "Europe is too far from its citizens". The regions, he believes, can help close the gap.

Although the CoR is not widely credited with exerting much influence in Brussels, Delebarre argues that it is still a maturing institution. "It is the youngest," he said. "It doesn't have the same history. We have to grow in maturity."

The fact that the CoR is not directly elected does not mean it lacks legitimacy, he says, although it does mean that it is not in competition with the European Parliament. Its members do have a democratic mandate, he argues, since they are elected members of their regional assemblies.

Comments by Michel Delebarre, President of the EU's Committee of the Regions, on the allocation of structural funds for the budgetary period 2007-13.
Article is part of a European Voice Special Report, 'Europe's regions'.

European Commission: DG Regional Policy: 2007-2013: Preparing the new generation of Structural Funds programmes http://ec.europa.eu/comm/regional_policy/funds/2007/index_en.htm

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