Measures to support regional airports, the impact of EPP-led opinions on Cohesion Policy and the Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF) as well as the lessons learned by regions and cities during the pandemic were the key issues debated by EPP-CoR members during an online COTER Commission meeting.
The future of regional airports - challenges and opportunities
Members held an exchange of views with officials from the Aviation Policy unit (DG MOVE) of the European Commission and with the Director General of Airports Council International Europe.
Rastislav Trnka, Chairman of Košice Self – Governing Region said "The airport leaves a tremendous positive impact on all municipalities, not only those in our region. It even has a cross-border impact, which supports our common European goals. This is why when speaking on regional airports, we need to take into account their symbiotic relationship with the territory."
Emil Boc, Mayor of Cluj-Napoca said that the regional airport serving the city experienced a 70% decrease in passengers in 2020 when compared to 2019. In this regard he made four proposals to support airports to recover:
1. strong support from state aid and the recovery and resilience facility
2. reinforce tourism
3. discuss concrete steps to implement a vaccine passport to support the industry
4. digitalize the database of vaccinated passengers to increase traffic and tourism
Experiences and lessons learned by regions and cities during the COVID-19 crisis
Members held a debate with Joke Schauvliege, Member of the Flemish Parliament and European Committee of the Regions (CoR) Rapporteur for the opinion on 'Experiences and lessons learned by regions and cities during the COVID-19 crisis'.
Schauvliege said that the COIVD-19 crisis and the implementation of the various emergency measures has had a dramatic impact on public finances and local economies, the organisation of public services and on the operations of local and regional authorities both in the short and in the long term. In this regard she appealed for flexibility in the EU Budget "We call for further measures to increase the flexibility of the EU budget in order to tackle these and other crises in the future."
Impact of EPP-led opinions
The COTER Commission also discussed its contribution to the CoR impact report 2020.
Michael Schneider, State Secretary, Representative of the Land of Saxony-Anhalt to the Federal Government and CoR Rapporteur for the own-initiative opinion on 'The future of cohesion policy after 2020', which was adopted in May 2017 recalled how his proposal to establish a cohesion alliance had received support. He said that through early action, unity and solidarity as well as alliance, the CoR achieved important results on cohesion policy. "With the cohesion alliance we have crafted a broad alliance that has never existed before. The momentum of this manifestation secured support for our arguments from the European Commission and the European Parliament. The new policy includes our signature." Schneider added that as the new cycle starts, cities and regions will be at the forefront of its implementation and will once again debate what works on the ground and what doesn't. However, lessons learned must be used as a model for the future: start early and seek common alliances.
Nikola Dobroslavić, President of Dubrovnik-Neretva Region and CoR rapporteur on the MFF welcomed the timely agreement on the MFF and Next Generation EU which reflects the position prepared by the CoR, including when it comes to co-financing rate. He also expressed satisfaction at the inclusion of the Rule of Law mechanism in the budget.
Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy
Adrian Teban, Mayor of Cugir said that when speaking about smart cities and sustainable mobility, most people take into account big cities only. "There is no reason why smaller cities can’t also benefit from the new mobility solutions because mobility is not about cities but it is about people — and that means smaller cities can benefit just as much as any large metropolis." Teban added that there are special challenges for smaller cities. "Smaller cities have smaller budgets to work with, so city planners have to be cautious when implementing new solutions. But peripheral areas or rural villages around the cities need better connectivity through smart and sustainable mobility."
