On Tuesday, May 14, Karina Ploka, Parliamentary Secratary of Ministry of Finance attends the Informal Meeting of Cohesion Ministers. At the meeting, the priorities of the EU Cohesion policy are discussed and the joint ministerial declaration initiated by the Czech Republic on the future of the Cohesion Policy after 2027 is signed.
In Latvia's view, the Cohesion Policy is still the main EU-level tool for promoting equal growth. Its role is primarily to create a long-term impact in EU regions, especially supporting less developed regions.
“Russia's war in Ukraine has created unprecedented geopolitical challenges in Europe, ever since the EU was created. Latvia borders both Russia and Belarus, thus it is inevitable that we face new challenges in economic development. Cohesion Policy should take a crucial role in mitigating war's negative impact on the economy and boost productivity,” says Karina Ploka.
Latvia believes that the Cohesion Policy should be able to both respond and flexibly adapt to different challenges and crises. This would mean greater flexibility and the possibility to make changes to investment plans in line with new needs. There is also a need to reduce the administrative burden in the implementation of Cohesion Policy projects by simplifying the various processes and requirements for both beneficiaries and fund administering authorities. This would allow more resources to be directed towards achieving the investment objectives rather than executing the various administrative processes.
At the same time, a Czech-initiated Joint Ministerial Declaration on the future of Cohesion Policy after 2027 was signed in the informal meeting. The declaration sets out the main aspects of Cohesion Policy beyond 2027, including the need to maintain a long-term focus for investment, to ensure shared management and to focus on the needs of the regions. The declaration also sets out the scope of Cohesion Policy beyond 2027, with an emphasis on support for structural reforms, simplified thematic concentration, and greater focus on the needs of less developed regions. Financial aspects were also addressed, with the need for adequate funding in the next programming period, stability of implementation conditions, GDP as a criterion for regional categorization and more flexibility for implementation at national level. The impact of potential EU enlargement on Cohesion Policy was also addressed.
Photo: Ministry of Regional Development of the Czech Republic