In a meeting with the EPP Group members of the European Parliament's ECON-BUDG Working Group on the scrutiny of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF Working Group), the EPP-CoR Coronavirus Response Task Force discussed the crucial role of villages, towns, cities and regions in the implementation of the of Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) which aims to mitigate the economic and social impact of the pandemic through loans and grants.
Olgierd Geblewicz, President of West Pomerania Region and President of the EPP-CoR group shared his experience on the preparation of the Polish National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). He said that consultation with local and regional Polish authorities was formalistic with tight deadlines for consultation and low take-up of what input was given. Furthermore, general engagement of local and regional authorities (LRAs) was low. President Geblewicz said that a forthcoming CoR study on the impact of the pandemic should be shared broadly and proposed more contact as the assessment and implementation phases get underway.
Emil Boc, Mayor of Cluj-Napoca and former Prime Minister of Romania spoke about the heavy tendencies for policy solutions to focus on the national level without taking into account the local and regional needs and assets. On the RRF Boc underlined that education should be given due importance to ensure better quality of life and to fight intolerance. In this regard, the Romanian plan will set aside for education EUR 3.6 bn out of the EUR 29 bn (grants and loans combined). In his concluding remarks, he recalled that structural funds should not be overshadowed by the RRF.
Birgitta Sacrédeus, member of Dalarna Regional Council said that regions in Sweden, being in charge of hospitals and the health system, have received significant financial support from national level in coping with COVID-19 pandemic. Concerning the drafting phase of the national RRP, Sacrédeus said that a satisfactory consultation process was conducted involving LRAs and other stakeholders.
Eddy van Hijum, member of the Council of the Province of Overijssel remarked that the NRRP of Netherlands is unfortunately being delayed. In order to speed up the process and have the regions involved, the Dutch Association of municipal and regional authorities will come forward with a separate plan on how to effectively use the national RRF envelope of 6 billion euros consisting of innovation; digitalisation and greening of SMEs; education, human capital and skills agenda; as well as infrastructure investment and renovation. In this regard, he welcomed the support offered by MEPs from the Dutch EPP Group delegation.
Michael Murphy, member of Tipperary County Council and ECON Chair recalled that as elected public representatives, local and regional leaders have a high level of responsibility. LRAs implement 70% of EU legislation, represent 50% of public employment, one-third of public spending, and two-thirds of public investment. He praised the response of LRAs, local communities and enterprises to the pandemic. Murphy provided an in-depth account of Ireland's NRRP, which requested just under EUR 1 billion for the 2021-22 period. The plan comprises 16 investment and 9 reform commitments around three priority areas (advancing the green transition – public retrofit project, commuter rail projects, carbon tax implementation; accelerating and expanding digital reforms; social and economic recovery and job creation – skills and technological universities).
Gaetano Armao, Vice-President of the Sicily Region said that Italian LRAs have not been involved enough in the formulation of Next Generation EU plans. He added that the NRRP was an opportunity to bridge the long standing divide between the north and the south of the country. He said that 50% of the recovery funds must be devoted to southern regions. Referring to the bridge of Messina as one of the most important infrastructure projects in Italy, Prof. Armao emphasised the need to use recovery instruments as an opportunity to invest in connectivity and to address the insularity that is badly impacting the Sicilian region and its citizens.
Background
This RRF Working Group - made up of 27 MEPs and substitute members - is the main preparatory and follow-up body for the bi-monthly Recovery and Resilience Dialogues with the European Commission.
The EPP-CoR Coronavirus Response Task Force's mission is to act as a hub to collect, gather, define and communicate the EPP-CoR positions to the coronavirus response measures at multi-levels of governance and relevant initiatives.
The Recovery and Resilience Facility (the Facility) will make €672.5 billion in loans and grants available to support reforms and investments across Europe. The aim is to mitigate the economic and social impact of the coronavirus pandemic and make European economies and societies more sustainable, resilient and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the green and digital transitions.