The progress in the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and the lack of engagement of local and regional authorities (LRAs) in the process was the focus of an opinion drafted by Rob Jonkman, Alderman of the municipality of Opsterland, adopted unanimously by ECON members. Local leaders criticized the review report on the state of play of the RRF, published in July by the European Commission, calling it a “missed opportunity”. They regretted that no qualitative analyses are included in the report and urged Member States and the Commission to transform the current centralised trend into a multi-level implementation approach of the RRF, which fully engages local and regional authorities. The opinion also expressed regret that the review report does not analyse a number of points which are crucial for a sound implementation of the RRF including the governance of the National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRPs), the RRF's contribution to cohesion, and engagement of LRAs.
The rapporteur Rob Jonkman said: “The RRF is considered the cornerstone of the European Union's forward-looking strategy, as NRRPs set the investment and reform agenda to achieve inclusive and sustainable growth for years to come. LRAs have important competences in the six pillars of the RRF from green transition, digital transformation to economic and territorial cohesion and competitiveness. Cities and regions’ involvement in the further implementation is therefore a matter not only of logic and fairness, but also necessary for the RRF to effectively achieve its stated objectives. As such, local and regional authorities should be recognised and treated as partners, not so-called 'stakeholders'. We need more partnership and multi-level cooperation, not centralisation. We need partnership and multi-level cooperation, not centralisation.”
Jonkman's opinion recalls that LRAs account for one third of all public expenditure and more than half of public investment in the EU, much of which is in policy areas crucial to the RRF. The active engagement of LRAs is thus required throughout the process in order to ensure successful implementation.
Jonkman added that LRAs have been at the forefront of the fight to cope with the socio-economic impacts since the start of the pandemic and are now taking strong measures to address the energy crisis. Despite the important role of LRAs, several studies showed that only one out of ten local or regional authorities was either fully involved (1%) or partially involved (9%) in the drafting of the National Recovery and Resilience Plans.
He pointed out that the centralised approach leads to territorial differences being overlooked in the review report, both in terms of challenges and opportunities. As a result, NRRPs may be less efficient and have less impact than desired. This puts regions that were already lagging behind in their development before the outbreak of the pandemic at risk of an even greater development gap, be it in employment, educational attainment, business support, digitalisation, mobility or other key policy areas; In this regard he appealed "It is never too late, so let's join forces, look ahead and work together on the further implementation of the RRF at national, local/regional and European level."
With respect to synergies with other EU funds and programs, the opinion states that continued interaction and coordination are needed between cohesion policy, other EU funding and the RRF;
The opinion also emphasises that in order to ensure proper implementation and monitoring of the NRRP and an adequate take up of RRF funds, Member States should facilitate the improvement of LRAs' administrative capacities in order to achieve efficient use of public funds.
The opinion reiterates the call for the involvement of local and regional authorities in the context of the European Semester. It states that the European Semester should become more transparent, inclusive and democratic by involving LRAs as this increases the ownership at local and regional level, thus improving the overall implementation of the desired reforms and RRF in the Member States.
The opinion is scheduled to be adopted during the CoR plenary session in February 2023.