Karvasova: Changes to EU Cohesion Policy Financing to Delight Slovak Regions

Brussels/Strasbourg, 10 September (TASR-correspondent) – The European Parliament (EP) on Wednesday approved changes to the financing of cohesion and social policies in the European Union and the new legislation will serve as leverage against the Slovak government to unfreeze €200 million it redirected from regional cohesion funds to other uses, MEP Lubica Karvasova (Progressive Slovakia), shadow rapporteur for the Renew Europe (RE) group on this agenda, stated after the vote in Strasbourg. TASR learnt the news from its special correspondent in Brussels. The liberal Renew Europe group clarified in a press release that the vote on the mid-term review of cohesion and European Social Fund financing unlocks the potential to reprogramme EU funds toward urgent priorities, while also strengthening the rule of law. „Millions of Europeans will benefit from the new rules," stated the liberals in the EP. Their group secured a majority for key reforms, ensuring that member states and regions can address urgent needs in areas such as defence, decarbonisation, affordable housing, support for eastern borders, and more flexibly transfer unused funds to housing, electricity grid, or water management projects. Karvasova emphasised that centrist MEPs worked hard to ensure a compromise that puts European regions and citizens first, defending poorer regions and small and medium-sized enterprises. According to her, the European Commission's April proposal to allow funding of new priorities from the current EU budget period passed with broad support. „This is important because, as shadow rapporteur, I succeeded in pushing through a safeguard that prevents the Slovak government, as it did in June, from reallocating €200 million in regional EU funds away from municipalities," Karvasova explained. She specified that the adopted proposal is now part of the EU’s legislative text and carries the highest legal weight, meaning it must be followed by all, including the Slovak government. Karvasova added that the European Commission, the Council Presidency, and political groups in the EP fully understood why she insisted on this safeguard being included in the legislation. In practice, this means that Slovak Minister for Investment and Regional Development Samuel Migal (independent) and the government must immediately unfreeze the €200 million taken from municipalities without prior consultation. „The new article of the regulation obliges them to carry out such consultation. If they do not comply with the regulation, which will enter into force in the coming days, the government can be taken to court," she said. Karvasova sees the EP vote as a strong guarantee for Slovak regions, towns, and municipalities, which provide public services to citizens – from transport and education to healthcare – with the help of EU funds. She warned that, as part of the government’s fiscal consolidation, they now face the risk of losing a further €150 million. mf