Vlagiszlav Makszimov, EURACTIV.com | Implementing the EU’s €750 billion recovery plan in addition to regular regional spending at European level is likely to prove a challenge, the bloc’s politicians admitted at an informal meeting of EU cohesion ministers in Lisbon on Tuesday (18 May). This was reported by the website EURACTIV.com.
The meeting brought together the EU 27 ministers and regional representatives to discuss how the EU’s recovery fund and cohesion policy can complement each other. The aim is to ensure that there is no overlap or double funding, stressed Portugal’s Minister of Planning Nelson de Souza.
The “NextGenerationEU” stimulus package has a total volume of 750 billion euros. As part of a restructuring mechanism, grants of EUR 312.5 billion are to be paid out. A further 360 billion euros will be available to EU countries as loans, which are to be issued before 2026.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Eleni Marianou secretary general of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) warned that the parallel implementation of the cohesion policy programmes and the National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRPs) may lead to conflicts and overlaps. There could be risks of double funding, additional administrative burden, or lack of strategic alignment between the funded investments.
“Our early analysis on the recovery plans submitted to the Commission so far has found that most plans provide only a vague indication as to how they intend to ensure an optimal coordination between NRRPs and cohesion programmes”, Marianou cautioned, calling for a closer involvement of regional authorities in the recovery fund implementation.
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Photo: EPA-EFE/MIGUEL A. LOPES]