Regional Government attentive to European Council meetings on new Financial Framework
The Regional Assistant Secretary of the Presidency for External Relations stated in Ponta Delgada that the Azores should receive about 51 million Euros from the European Union's specific allocation for Outermost Regions under the Cohesion policy and the new Multiannual Financial Framework for 2021/2027.
Rui Bettencourt spoke to journalists at the end of a hearing at the Committee on Economic Affairs of the Legislative Assembly, expressing his optimism on this subject. On the occasion, he stated that the Regional Government has “great expectations” regarding the results of the European Council meetings, scheduled for July, with the German and French leadership in this process, which he hopes to be solved during the German presidency.
"This amount has already been guaranteed for Outermost Regions and, in the case of the Azores, it is set at 51 million Euros, which is an absolutely new appropriation to offset the remoteness of these outermost regions, such as the Azores," the government official said, stressing that this appropriation “is based on the number of inhabitants.”
The Secretary for External Relations explained that the new European Commission's proposal, presented in late May, provides for an allocation of 55 billion Euros for the Cohesion Policy. It includes a specific allocation for Outermost Regions, “in addition to all new appropriations to be made under the 750 billion Euro Framework," which is expected to be approved by the European Council in July.
“We have other arguments besides this one, seeing that the amount granted under this allocation is fixed. The other arguments are, evidently, our geographical dispersion, our remoteness, our permanent weaknesses and our need to invest in our development projects," said the government official. In this regard, he recalled the conciliation that took place in the Azores between the civil society and politics as well as the need to invest to "mitigate the negative impact of COVID on tourism, the economy, people's lives and health."
“There are two important moments in this negotiation,” said Rui Bettencourt. According to him, the first will be the discussion and approval of the financial framework at the European Council in July, while the second concerns the issue of eligibility and regulations, which will address what is eligible and what can be accessed. In this context, he reiterated the need for the co-financing rate to be 85% and not 70% so that the effort is only 15% and not 30%, doubling the Region's own effort.
Rui Bettencourt highlighted the fact that the European Commission's proposal for the 2021-2027 Financial Framework has increased by 70%, from 1,100 billion Euros to 1,850 billion Euros. This sum adds up to the 540 billion Euros approved by the Eurogroup: 100 billion Euros to support workers (SURE programme), 200 billion Euros to support companies through the EIB Pan European Guarantee Fund and 240 billion Euros to support States through the European Stability Mechanism.
For the government official, “this framework is completely different from the previous ones, not only because there is this issue arising from the impact of the pandemic, but also because there is a need to become aware that the revival of the European Union entails a consistent financial framework,” stressed the government official.
As regards eligibility, the Regional Secretary also mentioned that some issues have changed, such as health issues. At the time when the preparation of the financial framework with the Azorean civil society was under discussion, they were not eligible; however, they were considered a key element in the cohesion of the Azores and in the quality of life of all Azoreans, "regardless of where they live." In the present moment, health emerges as "an area of paramount importance."
“Now it will certainly be easier to invest in health infrastructures in a dispersed region like ours, where we believe that all people must have access to health and education. Hence, it is necessary that this investment in health be eligible, which will be much easier now in the post-pandemic than it was before, when we issued our opinion in 2017,” stressed Rui Bettencourt.