'Cooperation across borders: the embodiment of EU added value'. The Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) is
OPEN LETTER TO THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION ‘Cooperation across borders: the embodiment of EU added value’ The Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) is following very closely the current debate on the Multi-Annual Financial Framework and on the future of Cohesion policy. European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) is one of the two objectives of Cohesion policy and the epitome of the added value of EU policies in Europe’s territories. Cooperation across all types of European borders is behind the rationale for the whole European union project. The challenging context of the upcoming EU budget negotiations are calling into question the very existence of Cohesion Policy and of cooperation across borders. We urge the European Commission to take the following messages into account in its upcoming legislative package for the post-2020 EU Budget and Cohesion Policy:
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The CPMR urges the Commission not to abandon maritime cross-border cooperation programmes.
Maritime borders could cease being shared areas to become barriers for cooperation. 23 EU Member States have a coastline and several of them are almost entirely maritime. Maritime regions, including islands and outermost regions, face a number of specific handicaps such as peripherality, the impacts of which are amplified by the existence of those borders. They therefore require special attention. Maritime Member States and regions must not be penalised due to their geographical characteristics, as this would increase even more regional disparities across Europe and within Member States. Beyond geographical considerations, the specific nature of maritime-related obstacles and opportunities call for strong EU support in this area. These include exploiting the potential of blue growth such as marine renewable energies, but also addressing the specific impacts of climate change in maritime regions and challenges linked to managing the maritime space such as accessibility and maritime safety. These issues can only be tackled in cooperation.
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European Territorial Cooperation Programmes require a strong and wellresourced budget for the post-2020 period.
The budget line for INTERREG proposed by the Commission was reduced the most by Member States during the negotiations of the last two programming periods within Cohesion Policy. A Commission proposal with an already reduced budget for the post-2020 period would threaten the very existence of ETC. There is no other policy instrument that exists to foster cooperation across European regions. In view of the far-reaching questions people have about Europe, the need for cooperation across Europe has never been so important. This, combined with the emergence of new EU borders, means strategic cooperation is needed now more than ever: for example, programmes fostering
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the cooperation between the UK and EU regions, such as the Channel programme, would perform such a strategic role.
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Regional authorities must remain at the core of cooperation programmes, macro-regional and sea basin strategies
Cohesion Policy programmes are based on shared management, multilevel governance and the partnership principle. These features are even more important as regards cooperation programmes, which involve a great variety and number of stakeholders from different regions and countries. The success of cooperation lies in a bottom up participation approach, the involvement of citizens and the ownership of the programmes by the different actors across borders. A better involvement of regions and stakeholders must be accompanied by efforts to simplify ETC for managing authorities, beneficiaries and EU citizens. Better alignment of transnational cooperation programmes and Macro-Regional or Sea basin strategies and initiatives where such initiatives exist are welcome.
Mr Vasco Alves Cordeiro President of the CPMR President of the Autonomous Regional Government of the Azores
