7
Mar
2022
Watch
Implementation of the 2021-2027 cohesion policy (debate)
Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, exactly what we feared and what I have denounced on several occasions has happened. Member States preferred to focus their efforts on the recovery and resilience plans, you say that it is right, but neglecting cohesion policy and arriving at today's very serious delays is not conceivable. Not surprisingly, the rhetoric of urgency prompted the Commission to close its eyes to too many distortions, because recovery and resilience plans could not be said no. I would like to call for this not to happen also with the partnership agreements of the next programming period, the consequences would be disastrous. All too often we are talking only about spending resources, a condition, of course, necessary, but not sufficient for real economic, social and territorial convergence, which is increasingly distant. Above all, do not give in to the pressures of those who want to water down the target climate with operations of greenwashing, using emergency rhetoric. We are living it in these terrible days: Delaying the transition is only a gift for those who profit from fossil fuels and certainly not for our citizens, who are increasingly vulnerable.