Posėdžio stenograma

Pirmadienis, 2022 m. spalio 3 d. - Strasbūras

15. Lanksti pagalba teritorijoms (FAST–CARE) (trumpas pristatymas)

  Die Präsidentin. – Als nächster Punkt der Tagesordnung folgt die kurze Darstellung des Berichts von Niklas Nienaß über den Vorschlag für eine Verordnung des Europäischen Parlaments und des Rates zur Änderung der Verordnung (EU) Nr. 1303/2013 und der Verordnung (EU) 2021/1060 im Hinblick auf zusätzliche Flexibilität zur Bewältigung der Folgen des militärischen Angriffs durch die Russische Föderation FAST - CARE (Flexible Assistance for Territories – Flexible Unterstützung für Gebiete) [COM(2022)0325 - C9-0218/2022- 2022/0208(COD)] - Ausschuss für regionale Entwicklung (A9-0232/2022)

  Niklas Nienaß, rapporteur. – Madam President, just before the summer break, the Commission proposed to us yet another emergency measure to tackle the consequences of the terrible war in Ukraine. It is, though, the fifth time within two years to finance an emergency tool out of the funds of EU regional development.

During the pandemic, we agreed upon more support for regions, citizens and the economies, as well as healthcare infrastructure through the Corona Response Investment Initiative, or CRII, then followed up with CRII+. This year we needed urgent help for regions, as regards to the support of refugees fleeing from the Russian aggression in Ukraine. We called it CARE, then another one CARE+. And now we are talking about FAST-CARE.

All these responses have shown that cohesion policy is able to help citizens in the long term but also, if need be, can react swift and in order to mitigate the impact of imminent crisis. However, we must take our responsibility as parliamentarians very serious and check very carefully if an emergency procedure is always justified. It cannot become the new modus operandi for the EU’s policy to use emergency procedure over and over again.

Because what’s next? What about the daily challenges and future ones, if we do not stick to the strategic goals of our policies and renounce resilience and preparedness? Cohesion policy is of utmost importance for the whole European Union. It is the main investment tool to help us eradicate social and territorial inequalities. Cohesion policy means solidarity within and amongst regions. Cohesion policy is not just a problem solver but a tool for democracy and we need that more than ever. We cannot and should not cut it whenever a crisis arises. Instead, we must find other solutions. The Commission must find different sources of funding.

Tomorrow, we will vote on FAST-CARE – the proposed urgent procedure gave the REGI committee a lot of headaches, to be honest, because of the matters of the principle that I already mentioned. We did take our time to look into the details of the proposal and to evaluate the substance of it. And this is our constitutional duty as co-legislators.

FAST-CARE now allows flexibility in terms of transfer between funds and regions, support for not only Ukrainians but also third-country refugees, allows for more funding money for regions due to 100% subsidies and some more. And the Commission has taken up on our call for direct funding for cities and municipalities that we express as the committee in various reports. Now, 30% of the money for helping with refugees will be spent by local actors. This is a good start, but FAST-CARE also allows for phasing of delayed projects in the current funding period. It is good to save this project and make sure that these resources already spent don’t go to waste. But it may include projects like construction of regional airports which are not eligible at all anymore and this is for good reason.

All these measures are needed and, content wise, we support most of this without any hesitation. But all these measures simply mean cuts to the cohesion budget and do jeopardise the idea being behind cohesion policy, because it is a policy that not only has a real impact when it is implemented in a long-term approach by preparatory instruments and strategically considers all regions of Europe.

For emergency measures, fresh money is needed. We can’t tackle them only by shifting the existing money from A to B. We need a more flexible MFF and not only a flexibilisation on an existing regulation.

You know, I am a young European, I was involved in the Conference on the Future of Europe process as well as the internal EP process and, of course, I am definitely in favour of modifying EU rules that are clearly outdated. But we exceptionally must take all fashion in one main regard when it comes to EU cohesion policy. We need to move back to the root of it as a strategic investment to secure overall harmonious development for all cities and regions in Europe in the long term.

With emergency measures like FAST-CARE we risk to undermine our common goals, we risk to leave regions behind and we risk European democracies as a whole. Because the political shift in Europe arises, particularly from regions and citizens that do not feel heard and seen, that are left behind. And this is what we contact with a holistic and strategic approach from cohesion policy. And if we should focus on that, we would not even have to invest in most emergency measures because we would support regions in becoming resilient for future challenges, be it a pandemic in healthcare systems, be it an economic crash, or the environmental crisis ahead.

We need commitment from the Member States, we need commitment from the Commission – for the Commission to act in solidarity. So I call for the Commission that if you should propose another emergency measure, I would ask you to provide also a plan on how to solve the issues in the long run, how to fade out from the emergency to regular legislation and how to finance them without dropping out of our future. Thank you very much and I am looking forward for support for this FAST-CARE proposal.

Spontane Wortmeldungen

  Tsvetelina Penkova (S&D). – Madam President, my remarks would be more or less in line with what the rapporteur just said. We saw during the COVID pandemic that cohesion funds could be crucial to help our citizens in crisis situations. However, we have to be careful not to turn the cohesion funds into a common pool where everyone could just take out money for various projects.

This is not the case now. The Cohesion’s Action for Refugees and the following flexible assistance to territories are very needed instruments because they’re the only way we could show real, measurable European solidarity to people fleeing war at the moment. They show this not only with words, but with specific and concrete actions.

It is crucial that this proposal be adopted as soon as possible, because otherwise our local and regional authorities and civil society organisations cannot get the funding quickly enough. In that case we would be risking to jeopardise our help and increase the disparities within the Union.

  Vlad-Marius Botoş (Renew). – Frau Präsidentin! Ich will mich bei dem Berichterstatter Herrn Nienaß für die gute Zusammenarbeit bedanken.

Stimați colegi, acum este momentul să utilizăm toate mijloacele posibile pentru a sprijini ucrainenii care au fugit din calea războiului, femeile și copiii ucraineni care trăiesc temporar printre noi. Cetățenii europeni s-au mobilizat într-un mod absolut impresionant. Așa au făcut și românii mei în județele Maramureș, Suceava, în Tulcea. Acestea ne arată că spiritul european este încă la un nivel foarte ridicat, în ciuda propagandei antieuropene susținute în mod clar și continuu de către Putin și Rusia.

Însă nu este suficient efortul individual al oamenilor. Trebuie să găsim resurse, dar și să ne asigurăm că acestea ajung la cei care au nevoie de ele. Trebuie să ajutăm ONG-urile și autoritățile locale care se implică în gestionarea și integrarea refugiaților. În normele de aplicare, în discuțiile cu fiecare stat membru, este important să prioritizați proiectele de integrare și o minimă autonomie financiară a refugiaților, pentru ca aceștia să își poată singuri asigura nevoile minime pentru un trai cât de cât decent și să nu depindă exclusiv de gazda lor sau de autoritățile publice.

(Ende der spontanen Wortmeldungen)

  Helena Dalli, Member of the Commission. – Thank you, Madam President. Honourable Members, since the Russian aggression on Ukraine started, Europe has welcomed an unprecedented number of people – mostly women and children.

We stand united and our response – also thanks to this House – has been firm and unwavering in full solidarity with the Ukrainian people. Beyond the human suffering, the economic costs of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression and weaponising of gas supplies are acutely felt in Europe. Among the measures introduced at Union level and with the indispensable support of this Parliament, cohesion policy has been instrumental in addressing these challenges.

But we hear time and again from all our partners, NGOs, regions and Member States, that the first two CARE packages were welcome, but more must be done. So FAST—CARE responds to these calls. It leverages cohesion funding to the aid of Member States and refugees, ensuring that support reaches those at the forefront of the solidarity effort, NGOs and local authorities. FAST—CARE also tackles the difficulties and delays in cohesion projects, due notably to shortages of supplies and inflated costs of raw material to ensure investments continue and projects do not come to a halt. FAST—CARE aims, first, to provide additional flexibility for projects addressing migratory challenges, second to alleviate the impact of public budgets by an extra EUR 3.5 billion of pre—financing, as well as higher co—financing rates, third to support local authorities and NGOs, making sure at least one—third of resources reach them directly and, fourth, to support projects delayed by implementation difficulties.

While we are introducing significant flexibility, we do not compromise on our core cohesion policy principles and objectives. With these measures in place, Member States and managing authorities will be able to finish major projects under the previous programming framework and move forward to the new programmes to achieve cohesion policy’s long—term objectives of reducing disparities and promoting convergence.

This package is crucial, and time is of the essence. I am particularly grateful to this Parliament, the REGI Committee and the rapporteur for once again playing a decisive role in ensuring that Europe provides tangible solutions to the unprecedented challenges of the day.

FAST—CARE is yet another illustration of our Union’s capacity for careful consideration and swift action at the service of citizens. These last two years, circumstances have many times required that we adopt new initiatives at maximum speed, and every time we have done this quickly – motivated by our common European values of solidarity. So many thanks to this House, and I commend this legislation to Parliament.

  Die Präsidentin. – Die Aussprache ist geschlossen. Die Abstimmung findet am Dienstag, 4. Oktober 2022, statt.

Schriftliche Erklärungen (Artikel 171)

  Sara Cerdas (S&D), por escrito. – O relatório pretende permitir uma maior flexibilidade para fazer face às consequências da agressão militar da Federação da Rússia (Assistência Flexível aos Territórios) FAST - CARE. Esta proposta foi anunciada no plenário de julho e remetida à Comissão de Desenvolvimento Regional, sendo apresentada pela Comissária Elisa Ferreira. A proposta considera o impacto da agressão militar russa e proporciona respostas através de uma série de flexibilidades, que dizem respeito a vários aspetos fundamentais que também afetam as Regiões Ultraperiféricas, como a Madeira e os Açores, como os programas da política de coesão para 2021-2027 que devem reforçar a competitividade das economias locais, através do desenvolvimento do turismo e da produção agrícola ou de respostas para as necessidades básicas dos cidadãos através do financiamento, da habitação, do abastecimento de água, da gestão dos resíduos, das energias renováveis e das infraestruturas de saúde, bem como da formação e da educação. Todo este processo obedeceu a um procedimento simplificado, desde a apresentação da proposta da Comissão Europeia, durando cerca de 3 meses até chegar a votação no plenário do Parlamento Europeu onde o seu relator relembra a urgência para a entrada em vigor deste regulamento e por essa razão recomenda a aprovação pelo Parlamento sem alterações.

  Elżbieta Kruk (ECR), na piśmie. – Agresja zbrojna Federacji Rosyjskiej na Ukrainę doprowadziła do destabilizacji sytuacji geopolitycznej i gospodarczej Świata. Eskalacja tego konfliktu szczególnie dotkliwie wpływa na środkowe i wschodnie regiony Unii Europejskiej, w tym Polskę, doprowadzając do poważnego kryzysu migracyjnego, załamania łańcuchów dostaw, jak i dramatycznego wzrostu cen oraz kosztów energii.

Sytuacja jest więc nadzwyczajna i wymaga pilnego działania. Dlatego wniosek Komisji w sprawie „Elastycznej pomocy dla terytoriów” (FAST-CARE) należy procedować jak najszybciej, by sprostać tym wyzwaniom w jak największym zakresie i w odpowiedzi na potrzeby poszczególnych państw członkowskich. W związku z tym należy zapewnić większą elastyczność wykorzystywania środków i umożliwić szybsze oraz pełniejsze wsparcie z Funduszy, aby odciążyć budżety krajowe oraz ułatwić realizację działań dotyczących zarówno wyzwań migracyjnych, jak i zakłóceń na rynku w kluczowych sektorach gospodarki.

Kryzys jest daleki od zakończenia i musimy skupić się na jego jak najszybszym zażegnaniu, dla dobra nas wszystkich. Jasne jest, że zmieniająca się sytuacja wymaga dodatkowych, wzmożonych działań.

  Rovana Plumb (S&D), în scris. – Asistența flexibilă pentru teritorii (FAST – CARE) este un nou pachet legislativ care face posibilă obținerea de finanțare prin intermediul politicii de coeziune a Uniunii Europene, destinat autorităților locale, organizațiilor din societatea civilă și statelor membre care găzduiesc refugiați.

Acest lucru este de o importanță deosebită pentru regiunile care se confruntă cu fluxuri migratorii și, în special, pentru comunitățile UE care se învecinează cu Ucraina. Politica de coeziune este deci instrumentul care ne ajută să abordăm consecințele agresiunii ruse asupra poporului și teritoriului ucrainian. Trebuie să fim flexibili și, în consecință, să adaptăm regulile pentru a ne asigura că banii sunt cheltuiți în mod inteligent și că ajung la cei care au cea mai mare nevoie de ei.