SK8 and ZMOS Representatives Oppose Planned Centralisation of EU Cohesion Policy

Bratislava, July 16 (TASR) - Representatives of the Self-governing Regions Association (SK8) and the Slovak Towns and Villages Association (ZMOS) disagree with the proposal by European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen that would have an impact on the European Union's (EU) cohesion policy. As part of the reform, the EU funds should be centralised, which would significantly weaken the functioning of this policy, representatives of the two associations agreed at a news conference on Tuesday. "The EU's cohesion policy is of strategic and immutable importance for Slovak local authorities and contributes to the long-term development of regions, towns and villages and to the improvement of the quality of life of our residents. Any policy or political initiative or ambition without its territorial anchoring has no chance of successful implementation," said SK8 chairman and Trnava regional governor Jozef Viskupic. The representatives of both associations agreed that the main actors of economic and social development at lower levels are primarily local authorities, towns, villages and regions. According to them, the centralisation of the budget would weaken the budgetary background and reduce the importance of cohesion policy at the EU level. At the same time, SK8 and ZMOS expressed their support for Vasco Alves Cordeiro, the President of the European Committee of the Regions, who sent a letter in connection with preservation of a strong cohesion policy to the EC president. ko/mcs