Presidenza tal-UE

This own-initiative opinion constitutes the contribution of the ECO section to the 2025 EESC transversal own-initiative opinion package on the cost-of-living crisis, looking at specific economic policy measures that can help make the European economy future-proof.

Cohesion policy in its current form has had positive impact on the socio-economic development of the EU, individual countries and regions. However, the Polish presidency points out that there is a need to improve the effectiveness of the mechanisms supporting the transformational objectives of cohesion policy. In the discussion of its future, there are ideas aimed at reforming the implementation mechanisms with the approach used in the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) implemented since 2021 as a response to the challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and to support the transformation processes of economies.

In view of Europe's current security challenges, in particular with the armed conflict caused by Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine, defence funding places a significant burden on the budgets of many EU Member States, worsening their fiscal position. 

At the same time, the resources that Member States are currently able to allocate to the development of defence capabilities still seem to be insufficient. 

As Europe needs to develop defence capabilities in a more integrated way, there is a need to significantly increase investment in European defence infrastructure and technological innovation to improve preparedness to respond to threats. 

The Territorial Agenda (TA) 2030 is an inter-governmental declaration with no direct legal, financial or institutional implementation instrument. The application of the Territorial Agenda 2030 relies on informal multilevel cooperation between Member States, sub-national authorities, the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European Committee of the Regions, the European Economic and Social Committee, the European Investment Bank and other relevant players.

The Commission is proposing amendments to three EU regulations to ensure that EU funds can be quickly mobilised in support of post-disaster recovery. 

The amendments concern the Regulations governing the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund (CF), and the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), for the 2021-2027 programming period. 

These proposals come as a direct response to the floods affecting Central and Eastern European countries and wildfires in Portugal in September 2024 and include injecting liquidity with increased pre- and co-financing under Cohesion Policy.

In its opinion on 'Additional considerations on the euro area economic policy 2024', the EESC urges closer coordination of national budgetary policies and considers instruments like NextGenerationEU essential for future stability. 

The EESC recommends including similar tools in the EU’s future financial frameworks to ensure resilience and fiscal sustainability. 

The Committee calls for the completion of the Capital Markets Union to prevent investors from migrating to global markets, prioritising financial market stability and consumer protection, and highlights the need to fully implement the Banking Union by addressing regulatory disparities across Member States, creating a common deposit insurance scheme, and mobilising financial resources for European infrastructure projects.