Commission's ESI Funds’ partners group of experts reviews Cohesion policy’s response to COVID-19 crisis

EURoma and other partners also addressed the state-of-play and next steps of the negotiations and programming of the cohesion policy legislation (CPR, ESF+, ERDF…) for the 2021-2027 period and the implementation of the partnership principle.

On 30 June, EURoma Technical Secretariat took part in the 12^th meeting of the European Commission’s Structured Dialogue with European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds)’s partners group of experts, of which EURoma is a member.

This expert group brings together European Commission’s Directorate-Generals (DG) in charge of the different ESI Funds (DG Regional and Urban Policy, DG Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion, DG Agriculture and Rural Development and DG Maritime Affairs and Fisheries) together with relevant umbrella organisations at EU level working in the field of the ESI Funds.

It aims to establish an open, frank and informal dialogue between European Commission’s DGs and relevant EU level partners with a view to:

Assisting the European Commission in the development of the Cohesion Policy, building on the knowledge and expertise of the actors in the different fields;
Discuss on the implementation of the ESI Funds;
Bringing ESI Funds closer to civil society;

The 12^th meeting of the Structured Dialogue was clearly marked by the COVID-19 crisis and the role that Cohesion policy can play in this situation. Specifically, it focused on:

The Cohesion policy’s response to this crisis, notably:

– The different instruments and measures adopted by the European Commission over the past months, including the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiatives CRIIand CRII+, the Recovery Plan and the changes introduced in financial instruments such as ESF/ESF+, ERDF or FEAD.

– The uptake of the instruments and measures already in place (CRII and CRII+) in Member States and regions.

The state-of-play and next steps of the negotiations and programming of the cohesion policy legislation for the 2021-2027 period, considering the impact of the current COVID-19 crisis.