Regions press EU for new budget policy
It is a bit amusing now to think about the accusations that the left had launched against the then Minister of European Affairs, Raffaele Fitto (even though he remained the most appreciated representative of the government, even by the opposition) of wanting to centralize the management of community funds. Because what is happening now around the natural discussions that are taking place within the community executive, blatantly contradicts what may now appear to be a political exploitation. According to some authoritative community sources, Raffaele Fitto himself would oppose the hypotheses circulating in these hours of the eve, on the alleged desire to want to nationalize the management of the next cohesion policy. According to the newspaper Politico, in fact, Fitto would be "conducting a rearguard battle within the EU executive to guarantee a prominent role for the European regions in the new multiannual budget of the Union." Three days ago in Brussels he met with a delegation of thirty regional presidents and ministers, led by Marek Wozniak, president of the Wielkopolska region, representing 132 European regions, to take stock of the new EU budget and cohesion policy.
According to authoritative sources, the presidents of the regions have been reassured of the maximum commitment by the executive vice president to ensure that regions and local authorities are not excluded from the discussions on the new EU budget policy. According to the first drafts of the reform, in fact, it would seem that the president of the commission Ursula Von der Leyen is intent on reducing the weight of local authorities in the management of European funds.
The new European budget must address new needs, first and foremost that of funds earmarked for rearmament, and the risk that some fear is that there may be a reduction, for example, in the allocation of CAP funds (which should be merged into a single fund, a topic strongly criticized by the main trade associations), the common agricultural policy.
The funds have so far been based on the so-called “ Berlin formula” adopted by the European Council in 1999, which is used to distribute EU cohesion policy funds between less developed, transition and more developed regions. Some say this formula could be abandoned to give individual countries more leeway in managing their own funds. This would give national governments more leeway in how they allocate the funds to regions. Critics see this as a problem, as it could exacerbate existing disparities within countries and marginalise regions from the process.
Again according to internal sources of the commission, reported by Politico, Raffaele Fitto is against this hypothesis, which among other things could also reduce the weight of the commission itself in the management of the funds. His opinion is widely shared by Serafin, by the MEPs of von der Leyen's European People's Party (EPP), by 149 regions and 14 national governments, who have written a critical letter to the president of the Commission. In the last few hours, Fitto is reportedly trying to convince president Von der Leyen, with whom relations have always been characterized by the utmost mutual esteem and respect, of the fundamental role that regions and local authorities must continue to have in the management of cohesion funds.
Fitto, whose weight within the community executive is becoming increasingly significant, being now practically the only real number two of President Von der Leyen (the other 5 vice-presidents for different reasons seem to play the role of extras) is trying to convince the president that this hypothesis risks creating disparities between the regions of the different nations, and could create a dangerous democratic deficit.
Raffaele Fitto, whose diplomatic skills are recognized and appreciated also in Brussels (it was he who contributed and made possible the rapprochement between the Populars and the Conservatives, which in this legislature is fully displaying its effects, putting the old majority of Socialists, Green Liberals and Populars in serious difficulty. And it is precisely for this reason that Giorgia Meloni very reluctantly agreed to deprive herself a year ago of one of her best men, to send him as a sort of ambassador to Europe.
The budget discussion date is set for July 16, but first Ursula Von der Leyne will also have to pass the examination of the chamber, for the motion of no confidence for the Pfizergate scandal, presented by the Bulgarian MEP Gheorge Piperea, of the ECR, the group of European conservatives, which also includes the party of Prime Minister Meloni. No one thinks that the motion has any chance of coming to fruition, but what seems certain is that for the president of the commission, the beginning of summer 2025, seems to be hot, and not only from a climate point of view.
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The article Regions pressuring EU for new budget policy comes from Scenari Economici .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/raffaele-fitto-non-vuole-escludere-le-regioni-dalle-discussioni-sul-nuovi-bilancio/ on Sat, 05 Jul 2025 14:30:24 +0000.